Title: Simulating the impact of parcel size and bar code quality on the productivity of parcel sorting machines

Authors: Adenekan (Nick) Dedeke, Kuo-Ting Hung

Addresses: College of Business Administration, IOA Group, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115-5000, USA. ' Sawyer Business School, Suffolk University, Boston, MA 02108, USA

Abstract: The United States Postal Service (USPS) often has to upgrade legacy parcel sorting machines that have not yet outlived their economic lives. At the time of this study, the USPS was considering equipping small parcel and bundles sorting machines with bar code scanners. We used a simulation approach to estimate the potential impact of diverse parcel sizes and of uneven barcode quality on the productivity of bar code enabled sorting machines. We found that the level of bar code quality of mailing labels and the sizes of parcels would significantly impact the productivity of bar code enabled sorting systems.

Keywords: discrete event simulation; DES; facilities equipment planning; postal services; parcels; bar codes; barcodes; parcel sorting machines; United States Postal Service; USPS; USA; scanners; quality control; productivity; systems engineering.

DOI: 10.1504/IJISE.2010.029764

International Journal of Industrial and Systems Engineering, 2010 Vol.5 No.1, pp.110 - 128

Published online: 02 Dec 2009 *

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