Sorting 2.5 million parcels per night at UPS Worldport
UPS built the world’s largest Airhub in Louisville, USA, putting the new phase II facility into operation in 2010. The ‘Worldport’ centre receives, sorts and despatches from 1 to 2.6 million parcels a day. Transportation takes place by air, with 80 to 120 flights per day, and by road.
The parcels are sorted by over 500 sorting units consisting of a combination of VERTISORTERS and POSISORTERS.
Incoming parcels are sorted in three stages:- Preliminary sorting by VERTISORTERS and POSISORTERS
- Primary sorting in one of five matrices by POSISORTERS in the core building
- Final sorting by POSISORTERS in the wings
Parcels are recorded by a camera at every stage of the sorting process. They are also automatically weighed, measured and registered. The camera reads machine-readable labels, with incomplete data images either sent for remote human operators to complete (video coding) or manual parcel processing and re-labelling in a dedicated area. Import and export parcels are sorted to a dedicated area for special inspection. All exceptional parcels return to the matrices to be sorted to their final destinations.
To enable the sortation of all parcels, the system is fully controlled and monitored every day. Real-time information on every parcel and its position allows on-the-fly rerouting to meet scheduled departure times. The system status is visualised by a unique SCADA system. Maintenance information is streamlined to maximise uptime of the system.As a result, no parcels are ever left behind.
Customer benefits:
- Throughput 209,000 parcels per hour
- On-the-fly rerouting allows maximum flexibility
- Shortest possible aircraft turnround times
- Full redundancy and highest system availability
- Accurate sorting and high flexibility
Contact the Parcel & Postal team for more information.
