A Study of package handling drops in the United States postal service

Rochester Institute of Technology

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1999

A Study of package handling drops in the United

States postal service

Thomas Kausch

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A

STUDY

OFPACKAGEHANDLING DROPSIN

THE UNITED STATESPOSTAL SERVICE

By

Thomas J. Kausch

A Thesis

Submittedto the

Departmentof

Packaging

Science

CollegeofApplied Scienceand

Technology

inpartial fulfillmentoftherequirements

forthedegreeof

MASTER OF SCIENCE

Rochester Institute of

Technology

Department of Packaging Science

College of Applied Science and Technology

Rochester Institute of Technology

Rochester, New York

CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL

M. S. DEGREE THESIS

The M. S. degree thesis of Thomas J. Kausch

Has been examined and approved

By the thesis committee as satisfactory

For the thesis reqwrement for the

Master of Science Degree

Stephen Pierce

John

C.

Kohler

David L.

Olsson

July 11, 1999

COPY RELEASE

ASTUDY OF PACKAGE HANDLING DROPS IN THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE

I,

Thomas J.

Kausch,

hereby

grant permissionto theWallace Memorial

Library

ofRITtoreproducethisthesisinwhole orinpart.

Any

reproductionwillnotbe for

commercial use or profit.

July

11,

1999

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

IwouldliketothankMr. Stephen

Pierce,

MS. fromtheEastman Kodak

Company

for hiscontinued support and guidancethroughoutthisproject.

Iwould alsoliketo thankMr. John

Kohler,

MS.,

who withouthis

encouragement and supportthisproject would nothave beenpossible.

Iwouldliketo acknowledgeMr. Dan Curtin fromtheUnitedStates Postal

Servicewho provided valuable_{information regarding}theoperation oftheUSPS

package

handling

system aswellas _coordinatingvisitstothePittsburghBulk Mail

CenterandtheBuffalo

Auxiliary

Service Facility.

IwouldliketothankMr.

Craig

L. Deanfrom Eastman Kodak

Company

for

coordinatingtheshipments oftestpackagesthroughoutthisprogram.

Iwouldliketoexpress_myappreciationtoMr. JamesE. Scottfrom Eastman

Kodak

Company

who provided managementsupporttothis_studyas well as _my

enrollmentintheMastersprogram.

IwouldliketoacknowledgeMs. Merrilee

Ritter,

MS. fromEastman Kodak

Company

who was instrumentalinanalysis ofthedatacollectedthroughoutthis

study.

IwouldliketoacknowledgeDr. Daniel L. GoodwinandDr. David L. Olsson

fromtheRochester Instituteof

Technology

fortheirsupport andguidance

during

this

DEDICATION

Iwouldliketodedicatethis thesisto_mywife,Maureenwho supported_my

desiretocontinue_myeducation. Without hersupport andencouragementthiswork

would nothavebeenpossible. It isoftendifficulttodescribethesupport and

sacrifices others make

during

an_undertaking such asthis.The success ofthisproject

is as muchhersasit ismine.

Iwould also liketodedicatethisworkto_my

father,

thelate Robert A. Kausch

who always supported_mycontinuededucation.

A STUDY OFPACKAGEHANDLING DROPS IN THE UNITEDSTATESPOSTAL SERVICE

By

Thomas J. Kausch

ABSTRACT

Theobjective ofthis_studywastomeasure

drop

heightsenvironmentwithin the

United States Postal Service. Apopularbelief has beenthat theUnited States Postal

Serviceprovided a

handling

environmentthatwasmore severethanother small

parcel carriers.Previous studies of small package carriershave documentedthe

handling

environments ofthosecarriers. The datagathered

during

thecourseofthis studywere comparedto thoseresults. The intentofthis_studywastoprovidedata thatwouldindicatethat theUnites States Postal Service didnotprovidea

handling

environmentthatwasmoreseverethan_competingcarriers.

Anadditional objective ofthis _studywastounderstandanddocumentthesmall

package

handling

systemused withintheUnited States Postal Service.

CONTENTS

CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL II

COPY RELEASE HI

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS IV

DEDICATION VI

ABSTRACT _VII

CONTENTS VIII

1.0 INTRODUCTION 1

BACKGROUND-UNITED STATESPOSTALSERVICE 1

SMALL PARCEL MARKET 2

STUDY ASSUMPTIONS 3

STUDYOBJECTIVES 3

SMALLPARCEL HANDLING ENVIRONMENT 3

BULK MAIL SYSTEM 4

BULK MAIL CENTEROPERATION 5

PARCEL SORTING 7

2.0 TESTMETHODSANDMATERIALS 8

DATA COLLECTION DEVICE 8

TEST PACKAGE 9

TEST PACKAGE DESTINATIONS 10

TEST PACKAGE IDENTIFICATION AND LABELING 11

TEST PLAN 11

TEST PACKAGE PREPARATION 12

3.0 TEST RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 13

ATLANTA DROP HEIGHT DATASUMMARY, HISTOGRAM,STATISTICS 14

ATLANTA DROP FREQUENCY DATASUMMARY,HISTOGRAM,STATISTICS 16

WINDSOR DROP HEIGHT DATASUMMARY, HISTOGRAM,STATISTICS 18

WINDSOR DROP FREQUENCY DATASUMMARY, HISTOGRAM,STATISTICS 20

USPS,SMALL PARCELCARRIERS,LTL DROP HEIGHT DATASUMMARY, HISTOGRAM,

STATISTICS 22

USPS,SMALL PARCELCARRIERS,LTL DROP FREQUENCY DATASUMMARY,

HISTOGRAM,STATISTICS 24

RESULTS 26

4.0 CONCLUSIONS 29

5.0 REFERENCES 31

1.0 INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND-UNITED

STATESPOSTAL SERVICE

The UnitedStatesPostal Servicehas a

history

thatdates backto the_{early days}

of our country. Itwas on

July

26,

1776thattheContinental Congress appointed

BenjaminFranklinthefirstPostmaster General. The Post Officecarried onfor nearly

100years througha number of

temporary

Actsuntil onJune

8,

1872 Congress

formally

declareditan executivedepartment. The Post Officeremainedas an

executive departmentthrough

July

1,

1971 whentheUnited States Postal

Service,

was named as anindependent agencyoftheexecutive_{branch1. Since it's early}

beginning,

thePost Office provided a meanstomoveletters aswellas parcelsfrom

onelocationtoanother;

however,

itwasn't until 1913thatParcel Postwasbrought

into being. Parcel Post is a subclass ofStandard Mailwith ratesbasedon_weight,

zoneand

delivery

within abulkmail center.

SMALL PARCEL MARKET

Following

theintroduction ofParcel

Post,

thePostal Serviceenjoyed ahuge

increase in business. Mail orderhousessuch as SearsandRoebuckand

Montgomery

Wardprosperedas

they

soldtheirgoodsthrough theUS Mail. Aswith_any

business,

competitionwasinevitable. The Postal Service eventually saw adecline inthe

volumeofparcels_movingthroughits facilities. Newand more efficient competition

contributedto thereduction. Carriers suchasUnited Parcel Service

(UPS),

Federal

Express,

DHLandnumerous lessthan truckload

(LTL)

carriershavereplacedthe

United States Postal Serviceasthenumberone carrierforsmall parcels. As a

governmental agency, thePostal Servicetriedtobeallthingstoall people. The

Postal Service handlesa wide_varietyof parcelsfromoccasional customers aswellas

regularshippers. The PostalServicemust maintain over40,000 facilitieswhereas

carriers such as United ParcelServicecould maintain_{approximately} 1,000. This has

preventedtheUSPS from_{effectively competing}inthismarket. UPS and othersmall

parcel carriers ontheother

hand,

haveestablished relationships withlarge business

firms. Thepackageshandled

by

thesecarriersforthemost part arewell packaged

which allowsforswift and efficient

movement.2

Asthecompetition was_pouring

millions ofdollars_{into upgrading}theiroperations,thePostal Service didnotreactin

the same manner. Constrained

by

limited

budgets,

thePostalservicefell behind in

the _abilitytohandlepackages_efficientlyand withoutdamage. Atonepoint, in

1974,

an_{internal survey indicated}that theUSPS damaged halfoftheparcels marked

fragile.3

In anefforttoimprovetheiroperation,in

1975,

theUSPS completed

installationofaNational Bulk Mail Systemat a cost of over$1 billion. Theresult of

this workwas asystemthatwas designedtocompete withprivate carriersfor

efficiency, speed and_abilitytohandlemail and packages without_causing

damage.4

Throughout

1998,

thePostal Service deliveredover82 billionpiecesofStandard

Mail

(A)

andalmost 1 billionpiecesofStandard Mail (B).5

Bulk Mail is definedas

Standard Mail

(A)

thatis lessthan 16oz.Mass mailings and periodicalsfall intothis

2

Tierney,JohnT.,PostalReorganization:_ManagingthePublicsBusiness, (Boston,MA. Auburn House_PublishingCompany) 1981,p.138.

3

Adie, Douglas,K.,Monopoly Mail:PrivatizingtheU.S. PostalService,(NewBrunswick, USA,

TransactionPublishers, 1989,p.54. 4

Tierney,JohnT.,PostalReorganization:_ManagingthePublics_{Business, (Boston,}MA. Auburn House_PublishingCompany) 1981,p.59.

5

category. Standard Mail

(B)

is definedas parcel post and printed matter such as

boundbooks.6

STUDY

ASSUMPTIONS:

1.

HYPOTHESIS:

Theassumptionforthis _{study is}thatthe

frequency

and

heightofdrops occurringwithintheUSPS

handling

environmentis

comparableto thatof_competingsmall package carriers.

2. Thedatacollected

during

this_studywillberepresentative ofthat

encounteredinthenormal

handling

environment oftheUnited States

Postal Service.

STUDYOBJECTIVES:

1. Themain objective ofthe_studywastomeasure

drop

heightsencountered

within the

handling

environment oftheUSPS and comparetheresultsto

results obtainedinprior studies ofother smallpackage carriers

2. Anadditional objective ofthis_studywastounderstandthesmall package

handling

environmentwithintheUnited States Postal Service.

SMALL PARCEL HANDLING ENVIRONMENT

Throughoutthenormal

handling

environmentofpackage carriers, therewillbe

a_varietyofforcesthatwillaffect apackage.

Vibration, Shocks,

Impactsanddrops

aretypical eventsthathaveaninfluenceonthe

integrity

ofa package anditscontents.

This study focuses on

drop

eventswhich _generallycausethemost visible and severe

damage. Overthepast severalyears,therehave beena number of studies completed

on the

handling

environmentof small package andLTLcarriers.

6

THE BULK MAIL SYSTEM

Tounderstandtheeffectiveness ofthe

delivery

system withinthe

USPS,

itis

importanttounderstandthemethod

by

which packages aremoved. Packagestobe

shipped originate at a number oflocations. _{Packages may be dropped}off at alocal

mail

facility

such astheneighborhoodPost Office. Arrangementscan alsobemade

withthePostal Servicetopick_uppackages at a specificlocationsuchas amailroom

within a_companyorbusinessmail facility. Theother method of

introducing

packagestothePostal

System,

whenlargequantities areinvolvedor when

economically

feasible,

istohavetheshipperdeliverthem toaBulk Mail Centeror an

Auxiliary

Service Facility. The Bulk Mail System implemented

by

theUSPS is

comprisedof21

highly

automatedregional facilities designedtohandlethelarge

amounts ofbulkmailaswellas small parcels. The 21 Bulk Mail Centers

(BMC)

are

linkedto asystemof10

Auxiliary

Service Facilities (ASF). The

Auxiliary

Service

Facilitiesarepartof ageneral mailfacility. The ASFserves as a subordinateto the

BulkMail Centerandis also capableof

handling

Standard AandB mail.Thetypical

volume of parcels movedthroughaBulkMail Centersuch astheonein

Pittsburgh,

PAisover 1,700,000parcelsper

week.7

BULKMAIL CENTEROPERATION

Items

traveling

through the_{BMC generally}arrive atthe

facility

by

_truck;

however,

thefacilitiescan also accommodate raildelivery. Parcelscanbe

hand-stowed,

palletized orcontainerizedwhen _arriving

atthefacility. Hand-stowedor

non-unitized parcels are off-loaded_manually

usingan _{ergonomically designed}

mechanized conveyor(Figure 1). Parcels

unloadedinthismanner enterthe

automated system

directly

forprocessing.

^^.e

_l

Smallparcels

heading

towarda common

destination mayalsobe "sacked" atalocal

facility

forease of movement. Palletized

units areunloaded

by

aforktruckand removedfrom

thepallet

by

hand for entry intotheconveyance system. Packages transportedfrom localpost offices andASFto the_{BMC may}alsobeplacedin large reusable containers. Twotypesare most_commonly

used, the 'BulkMail Center

(BMC)

Container' [image:14.571.297.477.198.361.2]

(Figure

2)

andtheCorrugated Bincontainer. The Bulk Mail Centercontainerisconstructed of Figure 2.

aluminumandisonwheels _{allowing for easy}movement. Thecorrugated style

trucktoliftand move. Removalofthecontents of

theBMCcontainerismanual whereasthe

corrugatedbincontaineris accomplished either

by

handor more_commonly

by

means of a

tipping

device. Thedeviceliftstheentire container and

emptiesthecontents onto a mechanized conveyor

.

r (Figure

3)

that

movestheparcelstothenext_{step in}

the system, whichisthekeypad/bar_codingstation.8

The

handling

and methods of_{unloading previously described}are_generallytruefor

packages andStandard Mail

(A)

_{weighing less} than_{35 lbs. Packages weighing}more

than35 lbs. are

typically

handsorted and placed on pallets orhand-trucks for

movement withinthesystem as opposedtoautomated conveyance.Decisiontoutilize

the automated_{conveyance-sorting}systemis

generallyatthediscretion ofthePostal

Serviceoperatorattheinitialsort. Further

oninthe sequenceof automated package

sorting,isthekeypunchand_scanning

[image:15.571.299.483.416.561.2]

station(Figure 4).

Figure 4.

Hereanoperatorkeypunchesthedestination

ZIP Codeorscans thebarcodelabel previouslyapplied

by

themailer or atthelocal

Post Office. The barcodeused

by

theUSPS isthePOSTNETcode andis comprised

of52characters. OncetheZIP Code is

keypunched,

abarcodelabel is thenprinted

exam

following

training

_{and must read and}

correctly

key

32 parcels per minute with

98% accuracy. Thepackagethen

moves on_{its way}towarda container

orbin in an areaknownas a"runout"

(Figure

5)

thataccumulatespackages

designated fora specifiedZIP Code.

Fullcontainers are relocatedto the _{Fi 5}

truckortraindestinedfora particularZIP Code forshipmenttothefinal

delivery

point.

The scope ofthis _studywastocapture and evaluate

drop

eventswithinthe

USPS system whichincludes

handling

atthelocal Post Office level as well asthe

automated_sortingfacilitiessuch astheBulk MailCenters. While it isnotedthat

considerable attention ispaidto thecharacterization ofthe

handling

attheBMC it

shouldbenotedthatopportunitiesfor drops andimpactsare_equallypresent atthe

local Post Office level.

PARCEL SORTING

Theparcel _sortingsystemisa maze ofconveyorsmonitoredfroma central

controlcenterthatoversees systemstatus.

Monitoring

is accomplished

by

a closed

circuit TVsystem. Over200 TVcameras monitor atypical

system.9

Theconveyance

system usesaseriesofbeltconveyors,slides,

diverting

mechanisms and specialized

traystotransportthepackages andbulkmailthroughthefacility. Thecomputer

tracksthemovementoftheparcel viathebarcode. Constant monitoringkeepstrack

8

Daniel P.Curtin,USPS,personal conversation. 9

of whichtrays are_emptyandwhichones are

headedtoa particular"runout" with aparcel.

Upon_approachingtheassigned runoutthe

tray

istippedandthepackage

slidesdowna chuteintothe_outgoingparcel

Figure6. container.

Once

full,

containers are movedtothe_outgoingshipment area withinthePostal

facility. Herecontainers areloaded intotrailers. Thecontainers aresecured (Figure

6)

withinthe trailer

by

a means of

locking

mechanismsintheflooror

by

theuse of

strapsthatare attachedto thewalls ofthe trailer.

Containersaretransportedwithinthebulkmail networkinthisfashion.

Manually

sorted packagesarepalletized andstretchwrapped

(Figure

7)

forshipmentto theASF.Uponarrival

atthenext

Auxiliary

Service

Facility

orlocal

Postal

facility,

packages arethen_manually

handledand sortedfor

delivery

totheirfinal

destinations. Fi8urc7

2.0 TEST METHODS ANDMATERIALS

DATACOLLECTION DEVICE

Thecollectiondeviceused

during

this_studywastheSAVERmanufactured

by

[image:17.571.334.478.369.504.2]

Figure 8.

vibration environment recorder. Thedeviceis capable of_recordingacceleration,

drop

height,

temperatureandhumidity. The data isdigitizedand stored_{into memory for}

later uploadingand analysis. The SAVER

incorporatestriaxial accelerometers as well as_analog

todigital_converters,

temperature/humidity

sensors

and a real-time clock are afew ofthecomplex

components ofthisdevice. Thecollecteddata is

uploadedtoaWindows-based host_{PC using}a program called"SaverWare".10 All

data_recordingunits were calibrated priorto

testing

_usingaccelerometers as specified

by

theNational BureauofStandards.

TEST PACKAGE

Packageswere assembledin a

laboratory

inthe

following

manner. Thetest

package was comprisedofafabricatedwoodenfixture. The fixture hada

hollowed-outcenterso astoallowfor

fastening

ofthedatarecorderto thefixture (Figure 9).

OncetheSAVERwas

fastened,

thefixturewas reassembled and secured_using

threadedbolts and nuts. Thefixturewas made

from

hardrockmaple. The fixturewas packedina

shippingcase_alongwithtwo-inch_thick,one

pound (1

lb.)

density

polyethylenefoam. The

Figure9.

foam linedtheinsideofthecase on allsix sides

(Figure 10). The foamwasusedtoprotectthe

data-recording

device fromexcessive [image:18.571.333.477.478.615.2]

Figure10.

from accurately recording

drop

heights. Previous fieldtestsas well as

laboratory

tests

haveconfirmedthis. Thecorrugated

shipping

containersusedinthe testwere regular

slottedcontainers madefrom 44ECTmaterial. Thecases werejoined

by

a glue-in

glue

lap

and measured 13"x 13"x 13"_{inside. Thetestpackages weighed35 lb.}

which are representativeof_manysmall packages shippedtoday.

TESTPACKAGE

DESTINATIONS

The origin ofthe testshipments was

Rochester,

New York. Thepackage_shipping

destinations inthis_studywheredesignedto

simulate routine or normal destinationsfor

productstransported

by

means ofa small parcel carrier. Inthisstudy,twolocations

were chosen oneto

Atlanta,

Georgiaandtheotherto

Windsor,

Colorado. Atlantaand

Windsorwere selected asitcouldbeassuredthat the testpackages wouldtravel

through aBulk Mail Centerontheirjourney. Destinationscloserto theorigin_may

nothaveexperiencedthesametypeof

handling

thatmightbeencounteredintheBulk

Mail Centeras

they

_{may have been}routed

directly

to thefinal destinationvia anASF.

The USPSpicked_upoutbound_packages,senttoAtlantaand

Windsor,

atthe

mailroomof alarge firm in Rochester New York. Thepackages weredeliveredto the

local Postal

facility

in Rochesterandthendirectedto thePittsburgh Bulk Mail Center.

Thepackages werethenrouted ontoAtlanta for

delivery

totheirfinal destination.

The Windsor boundpackages followedthesamescenarioexcept

they

weredirected

totheChicago BMC/ Denver BMContheir_waytodelivery. Returnofthepackages

10

Instruction Manual forthe_SAVER,DallasInstruments,A Landsmont_Company,Version 1, 1995

[image:19.571.325.456.201.345.2]

encounteredthesame USPSfacilities _{only in}thereverseorder. Thepackages evaluatedinthis_studyweighed35

lb.,

which would providethemwiththe

opportunitytobetransported throughout theBMC

by

means ofthe_sortingconveyor system or

by

special

handling

trucks.

During

the_{study it}was notknownwhich method was used as packages movedthroughtheBMCandistypical ofUnited States Postal Serviceprocedures and

guidelines.11

TEST PACKAGEIDENTIFICATIONAND LABELING

Thecorrugated_shippingcases usedin this_studywere not printedand

contained no outside markings otherthat therequired corrugatedboxcertification stamp. Thecaseswereleftunmarked so asnottobiasthe testas well as anadditional securitymeasure of anonymity. Theaddress informationwassecuredinsideaclear sleeve_alongwithinstructionsto the addresseeforreturnprocedures. Contentsofthe

packages werenotapparenttoPostalworkers

during

the test.

TESTPLAN

Thetestplan calledfor shipping fivepackagesto adestinationat onetime.

Upon arrivalatthedestinationan operator wouldreaddress thepackages and enter

them intothe _outgoingmailforreturntoRochester. Theplan calledforthreeround

tripsperdestination foreachofthefivepackages. Thisproducedatotalof60 individual one-waytrips through theUSPS system. Datawas collected andanalyzed foreachofthe60trips.

11

Daniel P.Curtin,USPS,personalconversation.

Thetablebelow outlinesthenumber of packages andtrips.

Destination #packages per

round

trip

#roundtrips Equivalent #of

one-waytrips

Atlanta,

GA 5 3 30

Windsor,

CO 5 3 30

Total - - 60

TESTPACKAGE PREPARATION

The SAVERdatacollection deviceswereset_{up in}the

following

configuration.

The SAVERwas settorecognize and save all

drop

eventsthatweregreaterthanor

equalto 10G. This wasdonetobeconsistent withthedatacollectedfromprevious

studies.

Following

configuration,thedatacollectiondeviceswerefastenedto the

woodenfixtures and packedin the testcorrugated_shippingcases.

Foam,

asdescribed

earlierlinedthe cases. Thecases were sealed withtwo-inchwide,pressure sensitive

plastic tape._{To signify}thestartofthetrip,eachtestcasewasdroppedonthebottom

surface(flat

drop)

fromaheightof24 inches. The dateandtimeofthe

drop

are

noted.

Knowing

thedateandtimeofthecalibration

drop

isuseful when_analyzingthe

dataand

determining

drops thatmightnotbepart ofthestudy. The 24 inch

drop

is

performedatthe time the testpackages are received attheiroutbound andinbound

destinations. Uponreturn ofthe test packages, thedata isuploadedfromtheSAVER

unitto aPCandthenanalyzed.

3.0 TEST RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Throughoutthis_studyanAnalysisofVariance

(ANOVA)

andleast

squares'

meanstestswere usedto

identify

andisolatecharacteristics_affecting

drop

heightand

frequency. The

following

pages are a compilation and statistical _summaryofthedata

collected

during

thestudy.

ATLANTADROPHEIGHT DATA

SUMMARY,

HISTOGRAM,

STATISTICS

The

following

is the_summaryoftheAtlanta

drop

height data:

Drop

Height

Frequency

Cumulative %

(inches)

(drops)

2 2 1.79%

4 14 14.29%

6 16 28.57%

8 20 46.43%

10 15 59.82%

12 11 69.64%

14 9 77.68%

16 6 83.04%

18 7 89.29%

20 3 91.96%

22 1 92.86%

24 1 93.75%

26 4 97.32%

28 1 98.21%

30 0 98.21%

32 1 99.11%

34 1 100.00%

More 0 100.00%

The

following

is aHistogramoftheAtlanta

Drop

Heights: 25 20 * 15 CD cr CD 10

HistogramofAtlanta

Drop

Heights,

USPS

11 9 !

Frequency

Cumulative %

Do

1 f 0.9 0.8 t 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0

<V t <b <b N<_ NT, _^ Nfc Nfc ,>

fy ^

<$>

tf

r> <g, $ ^>

DropHeightin Inches

The

following

isthe statistical _summaryoftheAtlanta

drop

heights:

Mean(inches)

Median

(inches)

Mode

(inches)

ATLANTADROP FREQUENCY DATA

SUMMARY, HISTOGRAM,

STATISTICS

The

following

_{is summary}oftheAtlantadropsper

trip

data:

ops/Trip

0

Frequency

(trips)

3

Cumulative

%

10.00%

2 10 43.33%

4 8 70.00%

6 4 83.33%

8 1 86.67%

10 2 93.33%

12 2 100.00%

More 0 100.00%

The

following

is aHistogramoftheAtlanta dropspertrip:

12

10

Histogramofthe Numberof Drops per

Trip

Atlanta USPS Data

10

Frequency

Cumulative %

4 6 8 10

NumberofDrops per

Trip

12

1

0.9

0.8

0.7

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0

More

The

following

isthestatistical _summaryoftheAtlantadropspertrip:

Mean

(drops)

3.73

Median

(drops)

3

Mode

(drops)

1

Standard Deviation

(drops)

3.27 Range

(drops)

12 Minimum

(drops)

0 Maximum

(drops)

12

Count

(drops)

112

WINDSOR DROPHEIGHT DATA

SUMMARY, HISTOGRAM,

STATISTICS

The

following

isthe_summaryoftheWindsor

drop

height data:

Drop

Height

Frequency

Cumulative %

(inches)

(drops)

0 3 10.00%

2 10 43.33%

4 8 70.00%

6 4 83.33%

8 1 86.67%

10 2 93.33%

12 2 100.00%

More 0 100.00%

The

following

isaHistogramoftheWindsor

drop

height:

Histogramofthe

Drop

HeightsforWindsor USPSData

25 20 O 15 C 0 _3 O" __ 10

l l

Frequency

Cumulative%

2 2

11 1

D

n ia,0

,i,l -1 --0.9 --0.8 0.7 1 _0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0

<V <x <b N

*

sfc N* N*

^ ^

<^ <{>

?

#

*

_<?

Drop

Heights in Inches

The

following

isthestatistical _summaryoftheWindsor

drop

heights:

Mean

(inches)

Median

(inches)

Mode

(inches)

Standard Deviation

(inches)

The

following

isthe _summaryoftheWindsor

drop

frequency

data:

Drops/Trip

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

More

equency

(trips)

3

Cumulative%

10.00%

4 23.33%

0 23.33%

11 60.00%

4 73.33%

2 80.00%

3 90.00%

0 90.00%

0 90.00%

0 90.00%

1 93.33%

1 96.67%

1 100.00%

The

following

isaHistogramoftheWindsor dropspertrip:

HistogramoftheNumberofDropsper_Trip

Windsor USPS Data

12 -, 10 w - 1 - 0.9 - 0.8 S 8 >. o

1

6-cr 0) _. LL 4 -I 2 -0 7 - 0.7 0.6 - 0.5 - 0.4 -0.3 0.2 - 0.1 n 3 4 4 3

I ~i_Frequency

Cumulative %

_____

j$

/

/

0

1 1 1

o n n

aj

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 91011 More

NumberofDrops per_Trip

The

following

isthe statistical_summaryoftheWindsor dropspertrip:

Mean

(drops)

Median

(drops)

Mode

(drops)

Standard Deviation

(drops)

Range

(drops)

Minimum

(drops)

Maximum

(drops)

Count

(drops)

3.80 3 3 2.98 12 0 12 114

Incomparisonto thedatagathered

during

thisstudy,the

following

is a

summaryofdata fromprevious studiesasreportedatTransPack97

by

Mr. Stephen

Pierce 12

Stephen R.Pierce,TransPack 97 Instituteof_PackagingProfessionals,Herndon,VA.1997,p 130.

USPS,

SMALL

PARCEL,

LTL DROP HEIGHT DATA

SUMMARY,

HISTOGRAM,

STATISTICS

The

following

isthe_summaryof

USPS,

Small Parcel CarriersandLTL

drop

heightdata:

Drop

Height

Frequency

Cumulative %

(inches)

(drops)

2 42 4.32%

4 93 13.87%

6 152 29.50%

8 150 44.91%

10 113 56.53%

12 94 66.19%

14 73 73.69%

16 63 80.16%

18 42 84.48%

20 28 87.36%

22 33 90.75%

24 24 93.22%

26 26 95.89%

28 9 96.81%

30 4 97.23%

32 8 98.05%

34 2 98.25%

36 2 98.46%

38 2 98.66%

40 6 99.28%

42 1 99.38%

44 0 99.38%

46 1 99.49%

48 5 100.00%

More 0 100.00%

The

following

istheHistogramof

USPS,

Small Parcel

Carriers,

andLTL

drop

heightdata:

Histogramofthe

Drop

Heightsin Inches,

Measured for SMALL PARCEL, USPS and LTL Carriers

H I_Frequency

Cumulative %

I B. I

1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0

& _{& & &} jf* ^

Drop Heightsin Inches

The

following

isthestatistical _summaryofthe

USPS,

Small Parcel

Carriers,

andLTL

drop

heightdata:

Mean

(inches)

Median

(inches)

Mode

(inches)

Standard Deviation

(inches)

USPS,

SMALL

PARCEL,

LTL DROPHEIGHT DATA

SUMMARY,

HISTOGRAM,

STATISTICS

The

following

isthe_summaryof

USPS,

Small Parcel CarriersandLTL

drop

frequency

data:

)ps/Trip

Frequency

Cumulative %

(trips)

0 20 7.55%

1 55 28.30%

2 36 41.89%

3 49 60.38%

4 36 73.96%

5 19 81.13%

6 10 84.91%

7 5 86.79%

8 9 90.19%

9 2 90.94%

10 7 93.58%

11 4 95.09%

12 8 98.11%

13 2 98.87%

14 0 98.87%

15 0 98.87%

16 1 99.25%

17 1 99.62%

18 0 99.62%

19 0 99.62%

20 1 100.00%

More 0 100.00%

The

following

istheHistogramof

USPS,

Small Parcel

Carriers,

andLTL

drop

frequency

data:

HistogramofNumberofDrops per

Trip

SMALL

PARCEL,

USPSand LTLCarriers

0 . U_Li_U_i_l

1

Frequency

Cumulative %

nii

7 n 4 2

JJ

1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 a

Q <V t <b <b N<_.

^

^y N<b N% ,>

NumberofDrops per

Trip

The

following

isthestatistical _summaryofthe

USPS,

Small Parcel

Carriers,

andLTL

drop frequency

data:

Mean

(drops)

Median

(drops)

Mode

(drops)

RESULTS

Themean

drop

heightsand mean number ofdrops per

trip

fortheAtlantaand

Windsordestinationsarelistedbelow.

DESTINATION MEAN DROP HEIGHT MEAN NUMBER OF

DROPS

Atlanta 10.25 inches 3.73

Windsor 10.98 inches 3.80

Thequantilesoftheentiredistribution isasfollows:

50% 75% 90% 95% 99%

Drop

Height 9.69 13.06 17.50 23.94 30.45

NumberofDrops 3.0 5.0 9.5 11.0 12.0

Thequantilesofthe Atlanta distribution isasfollows:

50% 75% 90% 95% 99%

Drop

Height 8.60 13.31 18.09 24.49 31.38

NumberofDrops 3.0 5.0 9.5 11.0 12.0

ThequantilesoftheWindsor distribution isasfollows:

50% 75% 90% 95% 99%

Drop

Height 10.58 12.86 16.36 21.94 30.4:

NumberofDrops 3.0 5.0 9.5 11.0 12.0

Therewere significantdifferences inmean

drop

heightsandnumber ofdrops

per

trip

with regardtothedirection ofthe trip. Thosetripsfrom Rochestertothe

destinationweredesignated

"out"

andthose tripsfromthedestinationtoRochester

weredesignated "back".

Atlanta,

GA

Windsor,

CO

Drop

Height

Out Back

11.0 9.91

11.48** _10.27

NumberofDrops

Out Back

2.33 5.20* 4.47*** _3.27

*_=Atlanta

mean number ofdropsperback

trip

>Atlantanumberofdropsper

trip

out.

**=_Windsormean

drop

height_perout

trip

>Atlantamean

drop

heightper

back trip, Windsormean

drop

heightperback

trip

and"Atlantamean

drop

heightper outtrip.

*** =_{Windsormean number of}dropsper

trip

out

trip

>Atlantamean number

ofdropsperouttrip.

Themean

drop

heights andmean number ofdropsper

trip

forthedatacompiledfrom

thecarriersare listed below.

DESTINATION MEAN DROP HEIGHT MEAN NUMBER OF

DROPS

LTL 13.77 inches 6.73

USPS 10.62 inches 3.77

SMALL PARCEL 10.18 inches 2.58

The quantilesof_{distribution forall carriers are asfollows:}

50% 75% 90% 95% 99%

Drop

Height 9.0 15.0 22.0 26.0 40.0

NumberofDrops 3.0 5.0 8.0 11.0 16.0

The quantilesoftheLTLdistributionare as follows:

50% 75% 90% 95% 99%

Height 11.0 19.0 26.0 32.0 47.0

:>er ofDrops 6.0 10.0 12.0 13.0 17.0

Thequantiles oftheUSPS distributionare asfollows:

50% 75% 90% 95% 99%

Drop

Height 9.69 13.06 17.50 23.94 30.45

NumberofDrops 3.0 5.0 9.5 11.0 12.0

Thequantiles oftheSmall Parcel Carrier distributionare as follows:

50% 75% 90% 95% 99%

Drop

Height 8.0 13.0 18.0 22.0 26.0

NumberofDrops 2.0 3.0 5.0 6.0 16.0

4.0

CONCLUSIONS:

FortheAtlantaandWindsor_trips,therewere no significantdifferences in

mean

drop

heightsor number ofdropspertrip.

However,

when_goingto

Windsor,

therewas a greater chance of

dropping

a packagethanwhen_goingtoAtlanta. There

was also a greater chance of

dropping

a package when_{coming from Atlanta}to

Rochester,

than_{going from Rochester}toAtlanta.

Windsor had_{significantly}greater mean

drop

heightsonthe_wayout,compared

toboth destination backtrips, as well asAtlantaonthe_wayout. This may indicatea

differencein

handling

procedures when_sendingpackagesto

Windsor,

as opposedto

Atlanta.

Intheanalysis ofthe_{data comparing}theUnitedStates Postal

Service,

Small

Parcel CarriersandLessthanTruck Load distribution methods,thedata hasshown

that Small Parcel Carriers droppedthe testpackagesfewertimeson averagethan

eitherLTLortheUSPS. The United States Postal Service droppedpackagesfewer

timesthanLTL. USPSandSmall Parcel

Carriers,

both droppedpackages ashorter

averagedistancethanLTL.

According

tothedata inthis study,Small Parcel Carriers havethe_shipping

systemwiththefewestnumberofdropsand shortest

drop

height. The United States

Postal Service has abetter shippingsystemwith regardtonumberofdropsper

trip

thanLTL. Both Small Parcel Carriers andtheUSPS haveabetter shipping system

with regardto

drop

height,

thanLTL.

In_{conclusion, theshipping}environmentoftheUnited States Postal

Service,

with regardto

frequency

andheightofdrops iscomparableto thatfound inother

small parcel carriers.

5.0REFERENCES

1. United StatesPostal Service Homepage:

http

://www.usps.gov/history

2.

Tierney,

John

T.,

Postal Reorganization:

Managing

thePublics

Business, (Boston,

MA. AuburnHouse

Publishing

Company) 1981,

p. 138.

3.

Adie, Douglas,

K., Monopoly

Mail:

Privatizing

theU. S. Postal

Service,

(New

Brunswick, USA,

Transaction

Publishers, 1989,

p.54.

4.

Tierney,

John

T.,

PostalReorganization:

Managing

thePublics

Business, (Boston,

MA. Auburn House

Publishing Company)

1981,

p. 59.

5. United States Postal Service Homepage: http://www.usps.gov/history/arirpt98/

6. United States Postal Service Homepage: http://www.usps.gov/cpim/ftp/pubs/pub32.pdf

7.

Anonymous,

Pittsburgh Bulk Mail Centerpublication, 1999.

8. Daniel

Curtin,

USPS,

personal conversation

9.

Anonymous,

Pittsburgh Bulk Mail Centerpublication, 1999.

10. Instruction Manualforthe

SAVER,

Dallas

Instruments,

A Landsmont

Company,

Version

1,

1995

11. Daniel P.

Curtin,

USPS,

personalconversation.

12. Stephen R.

Pierce,

TransPack 97 Instituteof

Packaging

Professionals, Herndon,

VA.

1997,

_{p 130.}