USPS Test 4
5 min40 WPM required287 words
Click on the passage and start typing to begin.
Mail processing facilities, known as Sectional Center Facilities and Distribution Centers, within the postal network collectively sort billions of pieces of mail and packages annually using sophisticated combinations of automated equipment, mechanised conveyor systems, and skilled human labour for items that cannot be processed through automated channels. Mail collected from street collection boxes, blue collection boxes, business mail centres, and carrier pick-ups during the day is transported by truck to the serving Sectional Center Facility where it enters a complex automated processing flow. Letter mail passes through optical character recognition machines that photograph the envelope, read the delivery address, and print a bar code representing the destination delivery point on the envelope at speeds of thousands of letters per minute, with the bar-coded letters then sorted by bar code sorter machines into delivery sequence for the individual carrier routes of the destination delivery unit. Mail that cannot be read by the optical character recognition machines due to handwriting, printing quality issues, or unusual formats is rejected and transmitted electronically to the Remote Bar Coding System or Remote Encoding System where human operators view images of the mail pieces on computer screens and key in the zip codes, enabling bar codes to be remotely applied so that the pieces can re-enter automated sorting. Flat mail including magazines, catalogues, large greeting cards, and large envelopes is processed through Automated Flat Sorting Machine and Delivery Bar Code Sorter equipment that handles these larger and more flexible pieces separately from rigid letter mail, sorting them into the proper carrier route sequence for efficient delivery. The postal processing network operates essentially continuously around the clock to meet the next-day and two-day delivery commitments made to Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express customers.