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How did the British postal code system make machine sorting faster?
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postal system
A United States Postal Service worker retrieving mail from a mailbox in Manheim, Pennsylvania.
In Great Britain, the postal code system was essential to the mechanization of mail handling, which began in the mid-1960s.1
The system facilitates faster sorting through the following process:
- Machine-Readable Translation: Coding equipment translates the alphanumeric postal code into a specific pattern of dots.1
- Automated Processing: These dot patterns allow sorting machines to read and route mail automatically at every stage of handling, including down to the individual carrierās delivery route.1
- Increased Efficiency: By removing the need for manual sorting and memorization of sorting plans, this technology enables machines to process mail at eight times the speed of manual sorting.12
This transition allowed for the replacement of hundreds of manual offices with a smaller number of mechanized facilities, significantly increasing the efficiency of the national postal system.1