OCR System Recognizes
the Pincode and Address for Taking Sorting Decision
Sh Kapil Sibal, the
Union Minister for Communication and Information Technology, dedicated
Automated Mail Processing Centre (AMPC) Delhi to the nation here this morning.
Speaking on the occasion Shri Sibal said that Department of Posts has to gear
up to the challenges of 21st century in a comprehensive manner. These efforts
will go a long way in making DoP a more efficient, reliable and trustworthy
organization.
AMPC Delhi is an
important milestone for the Department of Posts in its attempt to provide a
reliable, efficient, safe and cost effective postal service to the nation. AMPC
Delhi has been set up with the aim of modernizing mail processing in India
Post. A Letter Sorting machine (LSM) and one Mixed Mail Sorter (MMS) has been
installed at AMPC Delhi at a cost of about Rs 42 crores. These sorting machines
utilize state-of-the-art Optical Character Recognition (OCR)- Video Coding
System (VCS) that can read the address written on the mail pieces and sort them
to the correct destination. The LSM has a sorting speed of 35,000 letters per
hour and MMS can process 20,000 ordinary as well as Registered and Speed Post
letters, packets and small parcels per hour.
The LSM can sort
letters/postcards/Inland letter Cards from 3 gms to 20 gms. As the letter
enters into the LSM, a very high speed camera takes a picture of the address
written on it and sends it to the OCR server for digitization and recognition.
The OCR system recognizes the pincode as well as the address elements in the
written address and takes a sorting decision on the basis of inputs received
from the written address and the address database which has been created for
the sorting systems. In case the OCR is not able to take a sorting decision
then the image is sent to the Video coder who just sees the image on his/her
computer screen and then types the pincode or the city/town name to sort the
article to the correct destination. This entire process takes few seconds to
get completed while the letter is still moving inside the LSM.
The MMS is an open
conveyor based system which can sort any kind of letter, flat, packet or small
parcels (from 5 gms to 5 kgs) and utilizes the same OCR-VCS system for sorting.
Both the machines share the common OCR-VCS servers. MMS has the ability to the
read the tracking barcode pasted/printed on the article and generate a manifest
along with a unique bag label for the sorted mail so that track and trace for
each individual article processed on the MMS is available on the internet.
As compared to the old
style mail centres, setting up of AMPC has enabled the Department to consolidate
the mail operations in a big city like Delhi. The entire first class and speed
post mail of Delhi which was earlier handled at more than 12 smaller mail
sorting centres is now consolidated at AMPC because of its ability to process
almost 1 million mail pieces per day. Mail operations at AMPC not only enhance
the speed of mail processing but also lead to a better efficiency and improved
quality. State-of-the-art facilities have also been provided to the staff
working at AMPC Delhi in order to improve their efficiency and motivation
level. The LSM requires only 7 Clerks (SA) and 5 Multi-Skilled Staff (MTS) per
shift (8 hours) to operate and produces an output of over 3 lakh mail pieces;
the same work requires at least 30 clerks and 10 MTS. Similarly, the MMS
requires almost 10 clerks (SA) and 18 MTS per shift to process almost 1 lakh
speed post articles; the same work would require 25 clerks and 30 MTS in a
manual environment.
The maximum advantage of
using the machines is in the area of quality control as missort rate can be
brought considerably down in good address quality mail. In case of MMS,
multiple handling is also reduced as the tracking barcode of the speed post
articles are automatically scanned by the machines while they are being sorted.
Also, the entire mail gets sorted in one run as the number of sorting
selections in LSM (304 selections) and MMS (152 selections) are enough to sort
all the mail pieces in one sort program. This is in contrast to the manual
sorting where the sorting cases have only 48 or 72 pigeon holes and some
destinations have to be sorted in the second stage.
At AMPC there is a
separate area for processing mail pieces which are not of machinable standards.
The work flow of AMPC Delhi has been designed like an assembly line where-in
the un-processed mail enters the facility from one end and gets dispatched from
the other end after getting processed manually or on the automated systems.
The AMPC building has
been constructed by DIAL in lieu of the old AMPC building which was acquired
for laying the metro line. The construction started in October 2010 and was
completed in October 2011. The building has been built on a plot of almost
10,000 sq mts size and the built up area is about 7000 sq mts on ground and
first floor. The building has a 24 hour power back-up and a security system
with state-of-the-art IP camera based CCTV system. Almost 500 staff, including
about 60 ladies are working in AMPC in three shifts.
A similar facility has
also been set up in Kolkata which shall also be inaugurated in a few weeks
time. The sorting machines of AMPC Delhi are the new generation machines as
compared to the Letter Sorting Machines installed at AMPC Mumbai in 1993 and at
AMPC Chennai in 1996 which did not have the automatic address reading ability
and were dependent on the coders to code all the mail pieces for sending them
to their destinations.
Senior officers of the
Department of Posts and the MLA of the area were also present on the occasion.
BK/AT
(Release ID: 86370) (PIB)
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