Pardon us for stating the obvious, but your mailroom isn’t getting any bigger. Many mailroom managers are cramped for space as they sit in older buildings, surrounded by departments that need the space too. That usually causes problems, especially during periods of high activity when your staff is tripping over one another as they navigate aisles crowded with inbound or outbound mail that accumulates in stacks on the floor.
Toughing it out and trying to get by might work in the short term, but doing nothing has a cost. Eventually, you’ll see backlogs expand, sorting errors increase, and overtime hours swell, just to deal with the work that passes through the mailroom.
Three areas affect the floor space problem: layout, vertical space, and how much you automate. You don’t necessarily need more square footage.
Finding the right solution for your space problem starts with a bit of analysis. You’ll be better prepared to investigate your options once you have a handle on the scope of the situation.
You can’t recover space you haven’t measured. Define the problem by finding the bottlenecks before you start looking for solutions.
A linear workflow keeps people from crossing paths as they carry materials from one place to another. A straight line from receiving, sorting, storage, and distribution works best, but you’ll have to work around the space you have. Make signs to label each work zone and train your staff so the work in progress travels consistently through your shop. Items that sit around take up space. Adjust courier schedules, job production timetables, or customer pickup times to shorten the time work remains in your shop, effectively gaining room.
If space for holding mail until recipients pick it up is an issue, smart lockers might be a consideration. Unlike dedicated PO boxes or cubbies, smart lockers can serve your population with less space because the lockers are assigned on demand.
Map out the new layout, then take a slow day to rearrange things and test it out. Make adjustments as necessary.
If you can’t expand outward, you might be able to go up. In a non-automated environment, wall-mounted organizers or stacking trays may gain you some floor space.
Vertical space applies to the automated part of your mailroom too. Tritek’s Multi-Level Sorter uses a two-tier design for high-speed processing in limited space. The equipment handles mixed mail formats, eliminating the need for separate devices.
The Oasis by Tritek combines a feeder, duplex imaging, and collection bins in one compact frame. It processes up to 10,000 pieces per hour with modular add-ons such as an opener, labeler, and doubles detection. The unique design of the Oasis makes it a perfect space-saver by combining both sorting and scanning operations in a single device. Watch a demonstration video to see how it works.
The Tritek Compact runs up to 15,000 pieces per hour in a footprint starting at 12 by 4 feet, with any number of sort bins. Duplex imaging makes this multi-function device perfect for applications like digital mail delivery or returned mail processing, while also handling physical mail sorting.
Meet growing demands with no need for extra space by automating your mailroom operations wherever you can.
When manual sort racks can’t keep up, compact and multi-level equipment gives you a way to upgrade while remaining in the room you already have. The team at Tritek can help you with a footprint assessment for your space. We’ll also assist with investment payback calculations and computing the ROI, which includes counting the space you avoid adding as a saving, alongside labor savings and error reduction.
Contact us. We’re ready to help.