System upgrade: RAF Lakenheath Post Office delivers

Published July 10, 2007
By Airman 1st Class Kristopher Levasseur
48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England -- The RAF Lakenheath Post Office upgraded its package filing system May 25 as part of a U.S. Air Forces in Europe initiative to increase the efficiency of the delivery of incoming packages.

The new A-to-B System is an electronic filing system that sorts packages by name, box number and shelf location.

The post office sorted packages manually prior to upgrading to the A-to-B System.

"With the new system, we no longer have to write down every detail and record it on a PS form 3907," said Staff Sgt. Efren Molinar, 48th Communications Squadron military postal clerk. "We document the box number, attach the label and the rest is done by scanning barcodes on the delivery slip and the package."

The new system not only aids customers in retrieving their packages, it saves the post office 80 man hours a week.

"The new system works great," said Senior Airman Jemetrick Bankston. "It makes our job easier and saves a lot of time."

In addition to saving time, the new system increased the efficiency of package delivery.

"The A-to-B System reduces the number of misplaced packages because the new system stores all the data electronically," said Sergeant Molinar. "We can find your package even if you lose your slip."

The new notification slips may not seem lika a significant upgrade to post office customers, however timely package delivery and fewer lost packages is the end result.