DSS is helping to strengthen the scanning rate at Post Offices across the nation.

More than 12,000 Post Offices are receiving new equipment this year to improve package scanning.

The Delivery Sortation System (DSS) allows offices and other delivery units to efficiently capture arrival at unit scans on packages, and it tells the operator which route the package belongs on.

DSS requires only a laptop computer, a headset and a scanner. When employees scan a package, they hear a beep in the headset and see a route on the computer screen that is assigned to the parcel.

USPS has deployed DSS to 8,700 Post Offices since February. Another 3,800 offices will receive the equipment by late September.

Since DSS arrived in Cleveland, GA, this year, the scanning rate has surged to almost 100 percent.

“Our scan rate went over the top with DSS,” said Cleveland Postmaster Louise Nix. “We’re not seeing anything that was scanned in error. It helps us do a better job for our customers.”

The Passive Adaptive Scanning System (PASS), which is being deployed to bigger postal facilities, serves a similar purpose. When packages arrive at facilities with PASS, employees use the technology to scan them; customers who are tracking the package at usps.com see the message “Arrival at Unit.” Once the package leaves the facility, customers see “Out for Delivery.”

By the end of the year, more than 4,000 PASS units will be deployed.

The Postal Service is focused on boosting its package business, including adjusting some shipping prices to attract more business customers. USPS is also streamlining its mail processing operations, which will allow the organization to invest in additional equipment upgrades.