The plan is to locate the new sorting machines in Oulu and Helsinki. Delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the installations will begin in Helsinki. The cooperation negotiations pertaining to the arrival of the new machines will commence on June 9th.

The three new machines are so-called MSM sorting machines that are suited for diverse letter and publication sorting as well as sorting other addressed items.  The installations of the new machines will start according to plan at the Helsinki postal center, which will receive two of the new machines. The Oulu postal center will receive one machine. According to the current estimate, all of the machines will be installed by the first quarter of 2021 at the latest. Down the line, printed mail will also be mechanically sorted in Tampere and Kuopio, in addition to Helsinki and Oulu.

“With automation, publishers, for instance, can better track the progress of their mailing batch in our network. Automation also helps us direct addressed items to address clarification quickly, if necessary. For our personnel, the machines are an important tool. The sorting machine quickly sorts items into the delivery order, which means that the deliverer doesn’t have to sort the items according to the mail recipient’s address to the same degree as today,” says Sami Reponen, Production Director, Postal Services.

The new machines will complement the network that currently already includes six similar machines. The existing and coming machines can cover the entire sorting need of Finland and operate as efficiently as possible also in exceptional circumstances.

“For our customers, increased automation means increased speed, additional services and the possibility to track mailing batches. At the same time, our personnel will have at their disposal more modern sorting machines that will sort items quickly in to the delivery order, reducing the amount of manual sorting work in delivery. We will carefully discuss the effect of the new machines during the negotiations,” says Sami Reponen.

When it comes to the effects of the new MSM machines, the target group of the cooperation negotiations includes the basic delivery and sorting personnel of Pirkanmaa and Satakunta, in total 1012 employees, as well as the basic delivery and sorting personnel in the north of Finland, in total 405 employees.

The planned changes may affect the personnel. The need for personnel changes will be specified during the negotiations. According to the current estimate, the changes would be implemented in the fall and during the rest of 2020 as well as the first quarter of 2021.

The concentration of sorting supervisory work to the Tampere postal center is also under review in the Pirkanmaa–Satakunta region

The aim is also to review the plan to concentrate sorting supervisory work to the Tampere postal center in the Pirkanmaa–Satakunta region. The potential effects thereof on the personnel will be specified during the negotiations.

“Concentration of the supervisory work would translate into more work for the Tampere postal center. On the other hand, it would mean less work for sorting because carrying out supervisory work mechanically in the postal center would mean delivery-ready bundles for mail delivery persons,” explains Timo Honkasalo, Area Manager.

The changes would be visible to the customers as potential route changes and different delivery times within one day of the completion of the negotiations. They would be separately communicated closer to the time.

Spurce: Posti Group