By Andy Rieger

Transcript Managing Editor

The U.S. Postal Service formally opened its third training center on the campus of the National Center for Employee Development on State Highway 9 in east Norman this past week.

NCED Manager Scott P. Morgan led dignitaries in cutting the ribbon on the 128,000-square-foot Northeast Learning Center. It will accommodate massive flat-mail processing equipment that is too large for NCED’s existing training buildings.

There are dozens of the machines placed around the country in mail processing centers and employees will come to Norman to train on operation and maintenance.

With the new addition, the NCED has nearly 500,000 square feet of office and training space in addition to the nearly 400,000-square-foot housing facility. More than 20,000 students are trained at the facility each year.

“This new learning center will further postal efforts to process flat mail,” Morgan said. “This new building is your building and we will be good stewards of it.”

Construction began in January. Gralla GH2 Architects designed the building which was built by Wynn Construction. NCED staff began moving flats equipment into the center and instructors offered the first classes on the Advanced Flat Sorting Machine 100 in October.

The new building also will eventually contain the Postal Service’s planned Flats Sequencing System. Two large spaces sit ready to accept the new machines which should arrive in May.

The FSS will sort flats into letter carriers’ route sequence like the Delivery Bar Code Sorters do for letter mail.

“We’re still sorting flat mail the same way Ben Franklin did,” Morgan said, showing how a carrier would shuffle pieces and arrange in delivery order. “The new equipment will take away the need to do that.”

Carriers now spend up to two hours each day sorting flat mail into delivery sequence before leaving on routes. “I can’t overemphasize how important this place is for the Postal Service,” Morgan said.

Don Wood, executive director of the Norman Economic Development Coalition, complimented the NCED on its community involvement and the new learning center.

“This means more people coming to our community and with that, more involvement,” he said. “It’s just been a great relationship. Norman is very proud of what you do out here.”