Sorting & Despatch Process
HWDC is one of the most automated postal centres in Europe, and the site covers 100,000 square metres.
Automated conveyor systems transport trays of mail to automated mail processing equipment and manual or special handling workstations. The conveyors read the bar code labels on the trays and then transport them to the desired destination. When the mail is sorted on the automated mail sortation equipment, the letter destination image is lifted by high speed optical cameras. Both inbound and outbound mail is then automatically sorted into groups.
Mail which is departing by air transport is often conveyed by containers unique to airlines and/or fuselage shapes. Upon arrival, specialized floor conveyors manipulate awkwardly shaped containers to support their manual loading. Frequently used containers are stored on site in a specialized automated storage and retrieval system. The scheduling of container arrival, loading, and dispatch is sequenced with flight arrival and departures.
Read more about this topic: Heathrow World Distribution Centre
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