Palming Off Single-Copy Tasks

by Pete Wetmore

Using the World Wide Web, handheld computers, bar codes and home-grown applications, the Atlanta Journal and Constitution is on the verge of managing its single-copy sales as never before.

"Nothing is captured at the outlet level unless we go through a lot of pain," says Gary Brockman, the papers’ circulation- technology director. But relief is coming in the shape of handheld devices from Symbol Technologies Inc. of Holtsville, N.Y., which run the PalmOS operating system.

A circulation team of five is building on the AJC’s experience last year creating software to dispatch salespeople in search of new subscribers–its first foray into PalmOS-based tools. That project led to another to refine delivery of a "select-market coverage" product, distributed to more than 100,000 households each Thursday–and to a TechNews Best Practices Award (see p. 13).

But single-copy sales pose new challenges. There are 15,000 outlets to monitor, 800 distributors to direct and many efficiencies to be gained. The system relies on circulation data stored in Discus, a circulation-management system from Neasi-Weber International of Northridge, Calif.; the Oracle 8i Web server from Oracle Corp. of Redwood Shores, Calif.; a garden-variety Web browser; and those handheld computers from Symbol.

Each night, the computers are placed in ethernet-connected cradles in a secure room Brockman calls "the nursery." Folks out in the field surf in on the Web, using a secure ID protocol. The system detects where each device is, then downloads the appropriate route and draw information.

The next step is what sets the Atlanta concept apart from others, Brockman stresses: A route manager can open up the file for a given route and rearrange the list of drop points "to sequence his route in whatever order he wants to do that particular day," he says.

The "industrial strength" handhelds that distributors will use are equipped with bar-code readers to expedite the counting of returns in the field. A special two-dimensional bar code that looks like "a bunch of dots," as Brockman puts it, will be automatically placed on the front page of each edition once the AJC’s production system is updated to provide that functionality.

At each outlet, the distributor will get a digital signature from a store employee confirming the return count. Back at the AJC, the paperless process will let circulation execs begin sending invoices to outlets, freeing distributors from the arduous task of collecting.

Each step is time-stamped, Brockman says, so when sales rise or fall, it will be easy to detect whether delivery times were a factor.

Next up: handheld home-delivery routes. Brockman anticipates that one day, AJC may have 2,000 Palm-OS devices in the field. And that could ultimately lead to address-specific delivery of more than just the paper. "We could deliver potato chips," he jokes.

Wetmore is an Urbana, Ill., free-lancer. E-mail, pete@net-haven.net.

Hand-Inserting Ergonomics

by Mark Toner

Mailroom supervisors, the U.S. Occupational Health & Safety Administration feels your pain. Or, more accurately, your workers’ pain.

Prior to the release of its ergonomics rule (see p. 32), OSHA added recommendations for hand inserting in newspaper mailrooms to its collection of online resources. Allen Cooley, NAA industrial hygienist, suspects that OSHA inspectors observed inserting operations at a large metro daily that brings in casual laborers for Sunday packaging.

Not part of OSHA’s final rule, the recommendations are intended "solely to serve as a source of technical guidance and information," officials write.

During hand inserting, workers "perform highly repetitive finger exertions with the wrist in a deviated posture, repetitive torso flexions, and the job entails long periods of standing holding the shoulders in an elevated posture," the report states. While acknowledging that it’s difficult to determine how long such movements can be repeated without injury, OSHA concludes that "there appears to be sufficient frequencies of stressors...to cause musculoskeletal injuries unless adequate engineering and/or administrative controls are implemented."

As a result, OSHA recommends enforcing breaks of at least 15 minutes every two hours. It also argues that faster hand-inserting employees should be encouraged to slow down–especially if they show any symptoms of repetitive-motion injuries. Likewise, workers who have other job responsibilities should have their schedules adjusted to provide greater work variety and recuperation time.

Because workers flex their torsos while picking up and dropping papers on conveyors–placing them at risk for lower-back injuries–they should be trained to reduce torso twisting, and encouraged to push and slide heavy loads to closer positions to minimize reaching and lifting.

Typical hand-inserting work stations can force workers to move their wrists and shoulders while inserting, risking injuries to their arms, backs and nerve endings. Workers should be able to perform all tasks with their elbows bent at a 90-degree angle and wrists straight. Since most table tops are at an acceptable height before inserting begins, OSHA suggests breaking down inserting stacks from their typical 12-to-18-inch height so the "functional work height is lower," the report states.

And finally, the report notes that workers typically stand for extended periods of time during hand-inserting operations, placing them at risk for everything from repetitive-motion injuries to varicose veins. To counter this, newspapers could provide anti-fatigue floor mats, well-cushioned work shoes or foot rests located four-to-six inches above the floor so workers can rest one leg while standing.

To read the full inserting excerpt, visit www.osha-slc.gov/SLTC/ergonomics/ergonomicreports_pub/ct950303.html.

Toner is TechNews editor. E-mail, tonem@naa.org.

Collating Comes Together

by Mike Tartar

The Sunday newspaper offers readers something different–a chance to relax, pore over its pages and scope out upcoming sales.

The Chicago Tribune also sees the Sunday paper as something distinct. That’s why it’s taking an uncommon approach to deal with the rising tide of inserts.

As part of a larger expansion of its Freedom Center facility that will move Sunday inserting to a new 115,000-square-foot building (see p. 5), the Tribune will switch to collating equipment for Sunday operations. Daily inserts will continue to be handled by traditional inserting equipment.

The new Sunday system (pictured above) will feature three 60-to-80-head collating machines that will assemble up to 1,000 different zoned packages. The packages will then be bagged, palletized and sent to the field, where they will be combined with the mainsheet.

The Tribune chose the collating approach for a number of reasons, says spokesperson Jeff Bierig. "While there traditionally has been merit in using the same equipment for daily and Sunday," he says, "years ago we found that the productivity loss in changing over and back again far overshadowed the potential gains in using idle machine time."

The paper considered inserters for Sunday operations, but opt-ed for collating largely due to quality concerns. "We decided it would be difficult to have very large packages in an inserted jacket while maintaining integrity," Bierig says.

One of collating’s biggest advantages is that, unlike inserting, it allows for a one-pass Sunday product. It also offers increased efficiency and system accountability.

The Tribune plans to take full advantage of automation. The new Sunday facility will include an automated storage and retrieval system for pallets, floor racks to store pallets next to each collator, an inventory-management system and three palletizers.

While the paper is firm on its decision to go with collating equipment, it is still selecting vendors. The facility should be up and running by the second half of 2002.

Tartar is a Manchester, Conn., free-lancer. E-mail, mtartar527@aol.com.