[Federal Register: September 2, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 170)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 53666-53668]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr02se04-27]
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POSTAL SERVICE
39 CFR Part 111
Address Visibility on Bundles of Flat-Size and Irregular Parcel
Mail
AGENCY: Postal Service.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Postal Service is seeking comments on a proposal that adds
additional standards for the visibility of address elements and presort
designation (i.e., optional endorsement lines, barcoded pressure
sensitive package labels, or facing slips) on bundles of flat-size and
irregular parcel mailpieces. The proposed new standards apply only to
bundles that are candidates for processing on automated bundle sorting
equipment. The standards would require that all elements in the
delivery address and the presort designation on the top piece of
carrier route and presort bundles containing flat-size or irregular
parcel mailpieces, either prepared in sacks or placed directly on
pallets, be completely visible and readable without the need to
manipulate the banding or shrinkwrap.
DATES: Submit comments on or before October 18, 2004.
ADDRESSES: Mail or deliver comments to the Manager, Mailing Standards,
U.S. Postal Service, 475 L'Enfant Plaza SW. Rm 3436, Washington, DC
20260-3436. Copies of all written comments will be available for
inspection and photocopying between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through
Friday, at the Postal Service Headquarters Library, 11th Floor North,
475 L'Enfant Plaza SW., Washington, DC.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barry Walsh, Operational Requirements
and Integration, U.S. Postal Service, (202) 268-7595; or Vicki Bosch,
Mailing Standards, U.S. Postal Service, (202) 268-7277.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: To help control mail processing costs, the
Postal Service uses automated equipment whenever available to process
mail. Automation reduces manual processing costs and helps maintain
stable postage rates. The Postal Service has experienced significant
savings through the use of automated equipment to sort letter-size and
flat-size mailpieces.
To further reduce processing costs, the Postal Service started
deployment of new automated package processing system (APPS) equipment
to process parcels and bundles. The new APPS equipment will replace
many of the small parcel and bundle sorters (SPBSs) now used in major
Postal Service processing facilities. The APPS equipment has optical
character recognition (OCR) capability that can read the delivery
information on bundles of mail and subsequently process mail more
efficiently.
Bundle address visibility and the visibility of the presort
designation are essential for automated processing of presort bundles
with APPS equipment. Banding, shrinkwrap, labels, or facing slips that
obscure all or part of the delivery address or presort designation on
the top piece of bundles lower the processing efficiency of the APPS
equipment. The APPS equipment reads the address on small parcels and
presort bundles by scanning the address and presort designation on the
top piece, and then directing the parcels or presort bundles to the
appropriate sort bin.
During automated induction, there is no opportunity for a postal
employee to move strapping, flatten shrinkwrap, or otherwise manipulate
bundles to assist the OCR. Bundles or parcels that cannot be read
successfully on the first pass must be routed to a semiautomatic
induction station, where a postal employee has a limited ability to
move strapping away from the address block before re-inducting the
bundle into the machine. If address recognition fails again, APPS will
reject the bundle or parcel and it will have to be handled manually.
Address Visibility
Except as explained below, presort bundles prepared in sacks or on
pallets must have the delivery address information visible and readable
to the naked eye, including any barcoded pressure-sensitive bundle
label or optional endorsement line (OEL). When plastic bands, string,
or rubber bands are used to secure bundles, the mailpiece can typically
be divided into four areas formed by the crossing of the banding.
Placing the delivery address in one of these four areas will ensure
that no part of the address is obscured by the banding material. If the
address cannot be placed within an area of the mailpiece not covered by
banding, then mailers may secure their bundles using clear plastic
banding or clear shrinkwrap, or use an optional bundle label (OBL).
These standards do not apply to bundles of letter-size mail;
bundles of First-Class flat-size mail; Customized Market Mail (CMM);
bundles placed in 5-digit or 5-digit scheme (L001) sacks or pallets,
carrier route or 5-digit carrier routes sacks; carrier route bundles
entered at the Destination Delivery Unit (DDU); flats prepared in
letter trays under DMM M033; or bundles containing an OBL.
Clear Strapping and Shrinkwrap
If plastic strapping intrudes on any element of the address or
presort designation, the strapping must be clear to the degree that the
address and presort designation remains visible and readable to the
naked eye. The Postal Service recommends that the strapping be clear,
meeting manufacturing standards of less than 70 percent haze in
accordance with ASTM D1003, and not contain stripes, bands, seams, or
texture marks that could obscure address characters despite a level of
haze that is less than 70 percent overall. If a strap crossing intrudes
on any portion of the address, the haze is measured through both
straps.
The Postal Service recommends any shrinkwrap used to secure bundles
show less than 70 percent haze, as defined in ASTM D1003, after
[[Page 53667]]
shrinkage. Any seam in the shrinkwrap (including any excess layers of
the shrinkwrap) must not be located over any part of the address. There
cannot be any blister, bloom, pimple, weld-mark, wrinkle, or other
protrusion that would obscure any character in the address block.
The Postal Service also recommends that any bundle consisting of
multiple layers of packaging materials show less than 70 percent haze
through all layers combined.
Optional Bundle Label
Consultation with industry representatives indicated it may be
difficult to ensure address visibility on some existing packaging lines
that use shrinkwrap or strapping. In these cases, mailers may use
optional bundle labels (OBLs) to ensure machine readability. OBLs must
include the correct optional endorsement line for the bundle, the words
``OPTIONAL BUNDLE LABEL,'' and the city, state, and ZIP Code of any
mailpiece that could properly be in the bundle. To illustrate, if the
OEL designates a 3-digit bundle, then any city, state, and ZIP Code
combination within that 3-digit area will serve equally well to
designate the 3-digit bundle destination. The OBL may be a permanent
label or a removable label affixed to the bundle. Any removable label
must remain securely attached during normal mail processing. The label
cannot cover any portion of the delivery address unless it is attached
to the outer shrinkwrap of the bundle. OBLs must not be affixed to the
smallest surface of the bundle.
Bundle Height
The APPS equipment has cameras with OCR capability to read the
address information on four sides of the bundle or parcel. These
cameras are focused on only the top, bottom, left, and right sides of
the bundle or parcel, and not on the leading end or trailing end of the
bundle or parcel as it proceeds through the machine. The bundles or
parcels are automatically inducted and routed through the machine, with
the smallest surface of the bundle or parcel entering first, and will
not be read by a camera if the address block of the top mailpiece is on
that side. This process makes the dimension of the bundle or parcel and
the location of the delivery address critical for processing on the
APPS.
Currently, parcels must have the delivery address located on one of
the larger sides of the parcel. Since APPS inducts the mailpiece with
the smallest surface first, it is important that the addresses on
bundles of flats and irregular parcels also be located on one of the
larger surfaces of the bundle or have an OBL affixed to one of those
larger surfaces of the bundle. Some packages of small, thick flats or
irregular parcels placed in bundles of 10 or more pieces contain the
delivery address on the smallest surface of the bundle. To ensure that
bundles of thick flats or irregular parcels can be processed on APPS,
the height of the bundle must be at least 1 inch less than the longest
dimension of the individual mailpiece, unless an OBL is affixed to one
of the larger surfaces of the bundle. For example, a mailpiece
measuring 7 inches long, 5 inches high, and \1/2\ inch thick must be
placed in bundles less than 6 inches high unless an OBL is used.
Bundle Integrity
The above restriction on bundle height is expected to improve
bundle integrity. Nevertheless, bundle integrity remains critical for
carrier route and presort bundles processed on the new high-speed APPS.
Bundles breaking apart can create serious operational disruptions, and
the debris from broken bundles, such as banding or shrinkwrap material,
may block the optics or other mechanisms on the equipment and require
manual intervention to clear the debris before resuming machine
operation.
Presort bundles must be able to withstand normal transit and
handling without breakage or injury to employees. Even though string,
twine, and rubber bands continue to be permitted at this time as an
option to secure bundles, plastic strapping and shrinkwrap are the
preferred methods for ensuring the integrity of bundles of irregular
parcels and flat-size pieces. With today's standards, banding tension
must be sufficient to tighten and depress the edges of the bundle so
that banding does not shift and obstruct address information, as well
as ensuring that mailpieces in the bundle do not slip out of the
banding during transit and processing. As a rule of thumb, a bundle
should withstand normal handling if it can be dropped on a corner of
the bundle from a height of approximately 4 feet without breaking or
becoming so deformed that pieces are likely to escape from the bundle.
If the bundle breaks or the deformed bundle would cause the pieces to
escape during processing, additional measures should be taken to
maintain the bundle integrity.
Proposed Implementation
Recognizing that the mailing industry may have to change some
procedures to ensure address visibility, the proposed implementation of
these standards is April 1, 2005. Deployment of APPS began in August
2004 and will continue through October 2005.
Although exempt from the notice and comment requirements of the
Administrative Procedure Act [5 U.S.C. of 553(b), (c)] regarding
proposed rulemaking by 39 U.S.C. 410(a), the Postal Service invites
public comment on the following proposed revisions to the Domestic Mail
Manual (DMM), incorporated by reference in the Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR). See 39 CFR 111.1.
List of Subjects in 39 CFR Part 111
Postal Service.
PART 111--[AMENDED]
1. The authority citation for 39 CFR part 111 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552(a); 39 U.S.C. 101, 401, 403, 404, 414,
416, 3001-3011, 3201-3219, 3403-3406, 3621, 3626, 5001.
2. Amend the following sections of the Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)
as set forth below:
M Mail Preparation and Sortation
M000 General Preparation Standards
M010 Mailpieces
* * * * *
M013 Optional Endorsement Lines
* * * * *
[Add new 4.0 to read as follows:]
4.0 OPTIONAL BUNDLE LABEL
4.1 Definition and Use
An optional bundle label (OBL) is an adhesive label that provides
presort destination information. When used, the label must be affixed
to any surface other than the smallest surface of a presorted bundle.
4.2 Label Characteristics
The bundle label must be at least 1\1/4\ inches high by 3\1/2\
inches long. The label must be created with permanent adhesive or
removable adhesive. Removable adhesive must not seep beyond the label
and must be sufficient to keep the label affixed to the bundle without
curling or peeling during normal mail processing. Labels must be white
with printed information in black ink. The single-spaced lines of
printed information must be in a non-narrow variant of Arial or
Helvetica, in a range of 10- to 12-point type regardless of the font
used in the delivery address on the mailpiece. The information must
maintain a clearance of at least \1/25\ inch from the top and bottom of
the label and \1/8\ inch from the left and right sides of the label.
[[Page 53668]]
4.3 Required Information on Labels
The OBL must show the following three lines:
Line 1: Optional endorsement line (OEL), without ACS, following the
formats in 2.0 and Exhibit 1.1.
Line 2: ``OPTIONAL BUNDLE LABEL.''
Line 3: City, state, and 5-digit ZIP Code of any mailpiece that
could properly be in the bundle.
4.4 Placement
The label must be placed parallel to an edge of the bundle without
covering the address of the top mailpiece unless affixed over
shrinkwrap securing the bundle. The label must not be placed on the
smallest surface of the bundle or obscured by any material.
* * * * *
M020 Bundles
1.0 BASIC STANDARDS
1.1 Facing
[Revise 1.1 to read as follows:]
Except as noted in 1.3, all pieces in a bundle must be ``faced''
(i.e., arranged with the addresses in the same read direction), with an
address visible on the top piece.
[Renumber current 1.2 through 1.9 as new 1.3 through 1.10. Add new
1.2 to read as follows:]
1.2 Address Visibility
Effective April 1, 2005, presort bundles prepared in sacks or on
pallets must have the delivery address information visible and readable
to the naked eye, including any barcoded pressure-sensitive bundle
label or optional endorsement line. These standards do not apply to
bundles of letter-size mail; bundles of First-Class flat-size mail;
Customized Market Mail (CMM); bundles placed in 5-digit or 5-digit
scheme (L001) sacks or pallets, or carrier route or 5-digit carrier
routes sacks; carrier route bundles entered at the Destination Delivery
Unit (DDU); bundles prepared in letter trays under M033 and all bundles
containing an optional bundle label under M013.4.0. Except as provided
in 1.5g, bundles of flats or irregular parcels with the delivery
address on the smallest surface of the bundle must have an optional
bundle label (OBL) affixed to a larger surface. Banding, shrinkwrap,
barcoded pressure-sensitive package labels, or facing slips must not
obscure any part of the delivery address on bundles covered by this
standard.
* * * * *
1.4 Labeling
[Revise the fourth sentence in 1.4 to clarify that the delivery
address must not be obscured by the presort bundle label, to read as
follows:]
* * * Bundle labels must not obscure the delivery address and must
not be obscured by banding or shrinkwrap. * * *
* * * * *
1.5 Securing Bundles--General
* * * * *
[Add new item g to read as follows:]
g. The height of a bundle of flats or irregular parcels must be at
least 1 inch less than the longest dimension of the addressed side of
any individual mailpiece in the bundle unless an optional bundle label
(OBL) is affixed to a larger surface of the bundle.
* * * * *
1.8 Bundle Size--Other Mail Classes
[Revise the introductory sentence to replace ``either'' with
``any'' and add new item c to read as follows:]
Except for Bound Printed Matter, an individual package may be
prepared with fewer than the minimum number of pieces required by the
standards for the rate claimed without loss of rate eligibility under
any of these conditions:
* * * * *
c. The height of the bundle would not be at least 1 inch less than
the longest dimension under 1.5g.
* * * * *
We will publish an appropriate amendment to 39 CFR part 111 to
reflect these changes if the proposal is adopted.
Neva R. Watson,
Attorney, Legislative.
[FR Doc. 04-19992 Filed 9-1-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710-12-P