Will “Sorting Machine Operator” be Automated?

Core Skills & Abilities

• Distribute incoming mail into the correct boxes or pigeonholes.

• Rewrap soiled or broken parcels.

• Direct items according to established routing schemes, using computer-controlled keyboards or voice-recognition equipment.

• Clear jams in sorting equipment.

• Search directories to find correct addresses for redirected mail.

• Sort odd-sized mail by hand, sort mail that other workers have been unable to sort, and segregate items requiring special handling.

• Cancel letter or parcel post stamps by hand.

• Move containers of mail, using equipment, such as forklifts and automated "trains".

• Bundle, label, and route sorted mail to designated areas, depending on destinations and according to established procedures and deadlines.

• Open and label mail containers.

• Check items to ensure that addresses are legible and correct, that sufficient postage has been paid or the appropriate documentation is attached, and that items are in a suitable condition for processing.

• Load and unload mail trucks, sometimes lifting containers of mail onto equipment that transports items to sorting stations.

• Train new workers.

• Operate various types of equipment, such as computer scanning equipment, addressographs, mimeographs, optical character readers, and bar-code sorters.