by Heidi Ernst

By 7 a.m., more than 1 million New York Times subscribers—or 1.6 million on Sundays—have their newspaper waiting outside their door. Well, most of them. As with any newspaper, some copies or sections just don't make it into the hands of some subscribers. At the Times, that number averages anywhere from about 800 to 10,000 a day, with Sundays being the curve-buster.

In the New York metropolitan area, 3,400 Times drivers deliver papers, and another 120 are assigned to redelivery—getting another copy to customers whose first paper was wet, missing or delivered to the wrong place. Recovery drivers once had to drive back to a depot or find a pay phone to get updates on redeliveries. A number of problems resulted, including wasted time and lack of communication with customer- service reps, who needed status reports.

Many newspapers have solved this problem with two-way radios, cellular phones or pagers with digital readouts. The Advanced Technological Solutions group of the Times' Systems and Technology department examined each of those solutions but went one step further. Since the end of 1998, drivers have been using AT&T's wireless PocketNet service with cellular digital-packet-data technology. PocketNet's handheld computer not only has a text-based browser that displays HDML, the wireless-data device language, but also functions as a cellular phone. Java powers the platform, and Crossplex provides a World Wide Web interface to the back-end mainframe.

This tiny computer allows redelivery drivers to see messages on a screen, about four lines of text at a time, telling them where to make their stops or get more copies of the paper. Drivers can also use a "dial" feature, which calls a subscriber automatically to report the redelivery, and a "report" feature, which initiates questions whose answers travel back through the Web server to the Times' customer-service reps.

The wireless-communications system cost the Times about $180,000, including hardware, but the paper expects to save $750,000 in the first year alone. Savings come via fewer copy credits, fewer phone complaints on a toll-free line paid for by the paper, simplified record keeping, reduced staff time, and increased subscriber retention.

Ernst is a Flushing, N.Y., free-lance writer. E-mail, heidi_ernst@time-inc.com; phone, (212) 522-7437.

A record number of attendees visited El Paso, Texas, for the 11th annual GMA Users Group conference April 22. Some 160 delegates from 65 properties exchanged information and developed ways to improve their packaging and distribution operations. Sixteen GMA Inc. staffers and 15 representatives from other post-press vendors also attended the conference, hosted by the El Paso Times.

Hug Fest The Seattle Times hosted the 17th annual Heidelberg Post-Press Users Group Conference. Seventy-six newspapers sent a total of 186 representatives to this year's event, held April 26-27. Nine new newspapers joined this year, bringing total membership to 146. Management sessions centered on industry standards, hiring and retaining new employees in a booming economy, maintaining a bias-free workplace, and new technology, as well as employee standards and performance reviews. The technical portion of the conference included hands-on workshops and focused on hopper-loader setup, acceptance-testing standards for new equipment, feed aids, customer service, and hopper timing. A Prima lab was a new feature this year. Next year's HUG conference will be hosted by The Times-Picayune in New Orleans. For more information, visit HUG's Internet site, www.heidelbergusers.com.

The users group also launched subcommittees in areas ranging from Web-site and newsletter development to standards and benchmarking. For more information, visit their Internet site, www.gmausers.org.

by Wayne Bean

At Tucson Newspapers, we developed a system using a light curtain to pre- vent machine operators from injuring their hands while operating stacking equipment.

Also known as a safety-light barrier, the area sensor was installed on our stackers to shut the machine down if someone puts his or her hand into the table area while the machine is cycling. All functions shut down and a dump gate opens ahead of the unit to prevent papers from going into the stacker and jamming it.

We are still in a testing mode, but so far it works. Even without using an Occupational Safety & Health Adminis-tration-approved

	Light sensors tested in Tucson shut down stacker functions when triggered during cycling.

machine primary control element (MPCE) relay for the test, the stacker shut down immediately when the sensor beams were interrupted. The sensor used for this test was manufactured by Sunx, but numerous brands are available.

An obvious problem that Tucson Newspapers maintenance technicians solved was how to deactivate the sensor while bundles are being ejected. Following modifications, the stacker was successfully run in conjunction with our Heidelberg 1472 inserter and bundles ejected through the light curtain without stopping the stacker.

A word of caution: OSHA-approved sensors and relays must be used on a production mailroom stacker. Any maintenance or production department considering such an installation should read all applicable OSHA requirements.

Wayne Bean is vice president of operations with Tucson Newspapers. E-mail, wbean@azstarnet.com; phone, (520) 573-4450; fax, (520) 573-4688.

TechNews Volume 5, Number 3: May/June 1999

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