Simple Dual Operator Triple Cut Envelope Opener and Extractor

In the world of incoming mail there is what we call the good, the bad, and the ugly mail.  When Agissar first introduced extraction workstations for Tax & Claims operations in the early 2000’s we quickly realized that folded page processing was as ugly and slow as exception mail gets.

In order to overcome the slow nature of the work and overcome what would lend itself to a low utilization rate of a single operator extraction workstation we began delivering multi-operator configurations that allowed one machine to supply 2, 3 or 4 workstation positions.

By doing this, the automation was no longer cost prohibitive for these groups. Next we set out to create a self-managing environment that kept mail clerks in a production mode. This program we referred to as the expeditor program. The program was developed to remove all support tasks and distractions from mail clerks performing the extraction / prep process with the exception of batching.

The expeditors’ role included jogging mail, loading feeders, and taking completed batches away.  Further, they became the automation masters. The expeditor would clear any rough condition mail stoppages associated with the ugly nature of the mail so the mail clerks did not have to.

Errant envelope feeding, transfer jams, incomplete slicing, etc. was not uncommon. Nevertheless, we proved that one expeditor could comfortably sustain up to 12 operators with a constant flow of work. Tax, Fulfillment, & Claims processors nationwide embraced the expeditor program and watched their throughput rates soar. Typical installations boasted throughput rates of nearly twice that of their previously manual environment.

We were revolutionizing the way Orders, Tax & Claims were being processed.  However, Agissar wasn’t going to stop there.  As students of the industry, we sought out to develop the industries only product specifically crafted to handle this thick exception mail in a semi-automated environment. Our initial efforts challenged the imagination of users with direct knowledge of the nuances associated with heavy envelope processing.

As a result of a collective effort of Agissar users, Agissar service personnel, and Agissar engineers, at our custom solutions engineering facility in Stratford, CT, the heavy mail package was born. There is no other product in the world that handles heavy mail like this one.

By creating a work environment that allows mail clerks to focus on the production task Agissar has helped organizations like yours attain throughputs that were never possible in a manual environment.  We have met our CEO’s goal.

Today we remain the only vendor capable of doing a work flow study of any labor intensive manual process and delivering a product streamlined and customized to the end user’s specifications with built in scalability to expand from one to four operating workstations per customer requirement today or at a later date.

We remain the only vendor capable of providing textbook truth in reporting, metrics and machine utilization to both the managerial and supervisory personnel by providing real time feedback to production personnel via a dynamic production data collection tool (INFOPointe and INFOPoll) serving all three entities. The information is available to all users in the format required to allow instant interpretation of equipment use and labor input.

The clerks are driven by built in speedometers displaying a comparison of each individual’s actual hourly throughput rate to the expected hourly throughput rate. Color coded zones indicate whether the operator is below, at, or beyond the preset job standard.

Obviously this performance tool constantly drives the clerical personnel towards the preset standards given the display that jumps out at you coupled with the moving envelope conveyor built into the associated workstations.