More Chips, Less Dip

BlueCrest Spotlights

National Postal Forum

Latvia Post visit to Danbury

by Marc Dunnard

Left to Right: Albie Pereira, JP Thorpe, Rick Becerra, Marcis Vilcans (Latvia Post CEO), Viesturs Kagis (RECK), Edmunds Cerins (RECK), David Chastain, Marc Dunnard.

HEROIC MOMENTS - Always be ready.

On the 21st of April, the CEO of Latvia Post and representatives from our Latvian partner RECK visited Danbury. Dennis and the senior leadership team all took time out to welcome the visitors, who devoted a full day of their schedule to spending time with us. There were very positive discussions on the current European mail marketplace and what is driving decision’s around future technology within the national posts. A highlight of the visit was a factory tour conducted by David Chastain, which left the visitors extremely impressed with our organization and our extensive capabilities. Latvia Post already has an installation of a BlueCrest TrueSort parcel sorter and we hope to work more with them in the coming years as they develop their future strategy. A huge thanks to all the Danbury team who supported and or took part in the visit, especially Kimberly Stokes for pulling everything together.

Last month, we experienced a medical emergency with one of our own at our Baltimore, MD office.

A member of our production factory team experienced an event that caused him to collapse and stop breathing on the factory floor. The team around him reacted swiftly and effectively to provide CPR to restore his breathing and immediately called for emergency services. He was kept stable until paramedics arrived, who eventually took him to a local emergency room for care. We’re happy to report that he has been treated and expects to make a full recovery.

The entire team worked together to provide correct care and took necessary actions that saved the life of a member of our BlueCrest team. We want to congratulate and thank the Baltimore team for ensuring that this did not have a dire end.

As we reflect on “what if’s”, it is important to always remember that emergency situations can occur at any time to family, friends, and strangers around us each day. We hope that when this occurs, those around that person know how to respond and are ready and prepared to act quickly when seconds matter.

We want to encourage everyone to set personal goals to participate in common sense periodic first aid and emergency preparedness training so that if an emergency arises, you can also be ready to help those in need.

- by Rob Stone

New Team Member Highlight

Nick Aiken Product Manager - Inserting

A brief history

Prior to joining BlueCrest, I worked at Fujifilm North America Corporation for 5 years in various positions, most recently as a Senior Product Manager where I led the product vision, strategy and execution of Fujifilm’s Personalized Photo Products Group in addition to the company’s suite of mobile and web products. Before Fujifilm, I worked at several different companies in product marketing, sales and account management roles.

What brought you to BlueCrest?

After meeting with several members of the organization and touring the Danbury facility, I was really impressed with BlueCrest’s products and technology as well as the strategic vision of the company. Through my conversations I could also tell that the employees here are really passionate about what they do and genuinely care about the company and one another.

What opportunities do you see on the horizon for BlueCrest?

BlueCrest has already had some early success in the card attaching space and I expect that to continue as the number of card attaching use cases continues to grow. The team has built a best-in-class solution and is continuing to expand our offering and capabilities to meet market and customer needs.

In your own words, how would you describe your experience at BlueCrest so far?

So far my experience has been very positive. I have really enjoyed working with and getting to know many different people within the organization.

Tell us one fun fact about yourself!

When I was a child I used to model various products for the Caldor catalog – items such as sleeping bags, 10-in-1 tables, etc. – before the retail chain went out of business.

BlueCrest Spotlights

Above: TrueSort Advanced being built in Danbury Lower left: The TrueSort Advanced compared to the Saturn V Rocket

Above: Dave Berger, Brian Bowers and Austin Horsley Below: Dave Bush, BlueCrest, Bill Boyce and Mike Smith from UBM, and Michelle Zalewski from ALG

TrueSort Advanced

Sorting out New Innovation for eCommerce and Parcels

by David Chastain

If you have not heard, Danbury Engineering and Product Management teams have been working on a new project called TrueSort Advanced. TrueSort Advanced will address the ever-changing worldwide market requirements for fast, deployable automation solutions for parcels & eCommerce. You may be familiar with the name TrueSort as this is our general term for our Parcels and Ecommerce product solutions. Over the last five years, we have learned a lot through both large and small projects in Croatia, Latvia, Bulgaria, Italy, and other parts of the World. One reoccurring theme was the desire for more control of the hardware we configure and sell into the market. Our answer is TrueSort Advanced! TrueSort Advanced is built on the solid foundation that began with BlueCrest WATCH and SortEngine 360 software applications. This product will be available in standard configurations, much like our main product lines. The TrueSort Advanced design is based around the flexible linear cross-belt technology and will provide one of the widest material spectrums including items that weigh up to 20kg and down to as little as 50g. Our first-class service team will appreciate the simplicity of the mechanics and the robustness of BlueCrest controls and SortEngine 360 software.

The TrueSort Advanced will have many options such as sorting into bags, carts, and sliding chutes; or a combination of all three. It will support reading multiple barcodes and will use our BlueCrest Sabre OCR in applications requiring address reading. The first two systems will be built in Danbury this summer and have already been sold to the Isle of Man Post and Oman Post. Isle of Man will be supported out the UK Service team and Oman Post will be supported by our dealer Emerdis.

Once fully released in D365, Presales will be able to configure and provide our Sales team and dealers pricing for many standard applications. This will be a welcome shift from

“ The TrueSort Advanced will be the largest product assembled in the Danbury facility. The Saturn V rocket is 111 meters long and our TrueSort Advanced System for Isle of Man is about less than half at 49.8meters.“ David Chastain – VP, Engineering

the 100% custom parcels systems we have configured in the past and enable BlueCrest to address a wider market with greater agility. If you are in Danbury this summer, you will not be able to miss the systems being built on the main production floor. If you aren’t in the Danbury area, don’t worry, there will be professional marketing videos produced to show our many future clients what we can do as a team when the power of BlueCrest is unleashed. Fun Facts about the True Sort Advanced

1. A construction team had to increase the height of the shipping dock doors to fit this product. 2. Saturn V rocket is 111 meters long and the Isle of Man system is less than half at 49.8meters.

3. The TrueSort Advanced will be the largest product assembled in the Danbury facility. 4. When we ship the Isle of Man system, it will require four- 40’ shipping containers.

5. As large as the Isle of Man system is, it is only 1/8 the size of the Croatia parcel system we previously installed. 6. TrueSort Advanced is equipped with one of the most powerful engines in the market; SortEngine 360

Service Team Highlight

Utah / Idaho BBQ Squad

by Scott Brown

I am the area Supervisor for the Utah/Idaho area. As a team, we have been very short handed. The whole team has had to make many sacrifices in trying to keep an important “Work-Life Balance” for all. My team often fills in for each other as we all struggle to enjoy time away with our families. Recently, a team member volunteered to work a Saturday so that I could attend a large family BBQ Competition. This picture is of myself and my boys posing for our first place win. Time away with family is sometimes hard to get, and this was a great day for us, made possible by the hard working BlueCrest team in the Utah/Idaho area! I enjoy working for BlueCrest, the team here is amazing always showing their willingness to help anyway they can!

A vice president of one of our largest clients recently took the time to recognize John in writing, pointing out "what a difference an individual can make", and commending John on his attention to detail, his precision, and the "amazing effort" he puts in to get it right every time.

One sentence best sums up the value John provides to the client, as well as to Bluecrest...

""I can honestly say that John is a key factor in our partnership with Bluecrest, and most certainly a large percentage of the reason why we own 15 inserters and counting."" Cliff has always been a valuable asset to the company. He installed a new system at one of our largest clients that was delivered in December for 2021 revenue. He went above and beyond what is normally expected.

He not only worked very long days during the week, but also stayed and worked on Saturday to ensure the client was happy with the latest purchase. He then spent the rest of his Saturday on a long drive back home. Cliff does this with a great attitude and without any expectation of special recognition even though it is definitely deserved Craig has developed a set of utilities that allow the diagnostic monitoring of a clients production network. These utilities have made it possible to rapidly and easily visualize network issues that were traditionally very difficult to capture, document and resolve.

It is Craig’s enthusiasm for the subject that has allowed him to develop the skill sets needed to be able to produce these and similar utilities. He has been very generous with the knowledge he has gained and uses it to support his colleagues at every opportunity. This has been to the benefit of both BlueCrest and our clients. Mark was our hero. During a complex software installation our new system was down on Monday.

Our site was completely down and in panic. Mark was able to help resolve, figure out what went wrong and make sure there were processes in place so it doesn’t happen again. Mark has been resourceful and a true guide for our clients as they embark on new system. On our daily call today, Huntington told me I should bake him cookies and were over the moon thankful to him.

Thank you John! Thank you Cliff! Thank you Craig! Thank you Mark!

Congratulations to our ICARE Applause Winners from Q2 2022! They were drawn from the ICARE High-Five winners. Who will be next? Recognize a peer now!

We appreciate the way he proactively works to make sure our machines are up and running smoothly. I’ve heard comments from operators, Leads and Team Leads saying Tom is easy to work with and talk to. Not only does Tom listen and react, but he is quick to escalate if he sees there is a need, to minimize impact to production. Today is a great example with three machines down at the same time and the potential for some frustration. Tom’s demeanor and willingness to just work and get things done is so great to see. Tom, we really appreciate all you do for our team, and we think you are awesome! We wanted to give Marcin a high five for transferring our codes from PVCS to GIT. It allowed transferring the comfort of introducing changes and version control from the 80s to the standards of the 21st century. There have been times when it took longer to make changes to a PVCS than to find and fix a problem! Now it’s a real pleasure to make changes to the OM code. All the developers had their workplace improved by such change. Thanks to Marcin we are able to work more efficiently. Thanks to Marcin’s attitude and approach, Bluecrest’s Polish Software Office became a better place to work! Kayla exemplifies resourcefulness, working to understand the business issue and collaborating to achieve resolution. She has established new workflows to address issues brought to her, making the process easier to maintain moving forward. She responds quickly: when critical she works to immediately resolve and doesn’t redirect even when the issue may not be within her realm of control. When a longer term solution is needed she remains engaged throughout until the ultimate solution is realized. She leverages her knowledge of the organization to bring in the right person at the right time to keep us on track.

Thank you Tom! Thank you Marcin! Thank you Kayla!!

Product Updates

Have you booked a Virtual Demo?

Originally started as a workaround for Covid measures, virtual demos offer us a convenient way to demonstrate BlueCrest capabilities to remote clients.

That said, we have begun to accept in-person VIPs into the Danbury HQ for live demos, as well. Both options are now available to you and your clients!

These personalized, interactive, demonstrations allow clients to get up close with the equipment, ask questions, and receive a recording to share with extended team members. Recordings of demos highlighting our key solutions will be available for sales on-demand. Using product demonstration as part of the sales process can help us better engage clients, accelerate pipeline, and show our technology virtually. These have become very popular!

Request a Virtual Demo Here

Check out the most recent Industry Corner Podcast by BCC Software.

Episode 56 - 6/17/2022

On this podcast, Chris recaps the National Postal Forum, a recent Postcom Study Day meeting, and how the industry is bracing for uncomfortable price increases. Episode 55 - 5/18/2022 Listen here

Chris talks this year’s National Postal Forum, USPS market competitive price increases, and we now have a fully seated USPS Board of Governors. Listen here

Ask the Experts Organizational Announcements

As our company continues to evolve and grow, so do our team members. Please take a moment to read these recent organizational announcements.

> Organizational Announcement

Finance

May 31, 2022

Ask the Experts is a regular online webinar and Q&A where BlueCrest gurus share the latest news and information on our products and services.

LinkedIn Social Media Training

Download Deck Download Recording Postal Industry Update

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Software Packages

Download Deck Download Recording Government Contract Vehicles

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BlueCrest News

BlueCrest Featured in PPTI Read how an automation specialist liked BlueCrest can help operators caluclate how to handle E-Commerce volumes more efficiently.

Read now.

Articles

Seamless Acceptance: Finding and Resolving Undocumented Errors

by Lisa Leslie, Window Book

Whether you’re already in USPS Full Seamless or are currently in the Automated Verification phase of Seamless Acceptance, it’s important to know:

•What are undocumented errors?

•How are undocumented errors assigned? •What is the assessment threshold, and how is it calculated?

•How much will I be assessed for undocumented errors?

•What is the best way to research, dispute, and avoid undocumented assessments?

What Are Undocumented Errors?

In the simplest terms, an undocumented error occurs when a barcode gathered during sampling is not able to be linked to any eDoc submitted within the last 45 days. How Are Undocumented Errors Assigned? So, if they’re ‘undocumented’, how are these errors assigned? The USPS uses a process called “bookending” to find and reassign the undocumented pieces to the responsible Customer Registration ID (CRID) using undocumented categories.

Read more

Retirement of Mike Broad

A Farewell To All

“After 43 years of working for PB & BC, it is time for me to retire. I can vividly remember my first day of work, on December 5, 1979, when I started here in Danbury as a material handler bringing parts to the copier assembly line, where we produced about 150 copier machines a day.“

I was in my early twenties, just married, and earning a whopping $4.35/hour…Can’t even buy a gallon of gas with that today. Was less than 70 cents in 1979.

Back then, the majority of our machine parts came from the “Main Plant” where PB had a huge machining facility and was one of the top employers in Stamford. That was a time when PB was very much into machining and parts manufacturing… even had a plastics injection molding division, right next door.

I worked in Danbury for about 2½ years, until PB decided to exit the copier manufacturing business and bring in a new product called ELSAG, which PB contracted with the USPS to build. These were large scale sortation systems the USPS ordered for their mail sorting operations. Being kind of new to the business, I was not considered to be a resource needed to support that program. As a result, I was able to transfer

BlueCrest News

to Stamford (Progress Drive) where I took a position as an electronics bench tech, repairing PC boards for our shipping and weighing systems. I did that job for about 2 – 3 years until the ELSAG program concluded and the inserter division moved from Barry Place in Stamford up to Danbury. I was given the opportunity transfer back to Danbury to be an inserter tech working in the product modification shop. From that job, I moved into QA as a product inspector for the inserter products. I then moved to TSS as a Product Support Engineer, which was a travel job that required visiting client sites to help field service with new product launches and diagnosing and repairing inserter systems. After several years in that role, I moved into my first leadership role as a Team Leader, for the Systems Integration and Test team. That was a bit of a shocker, as finding myself in a leadership role was a much different job, than what I expected. But working with a bunch of great people and learning how to focus on common goals, communicate, and drive for results turned out to become a very rewarding experience…and oh…I forgot to mention, quite a learning experience too.

After 10 or so years in that role, I moved to Product Management, where I assumed responsibility for leading our custom quoting process, and supporting new product launches. This is the current role I am in and will be retiring from.

It really has been a fantastic career, with so many opportunities to meet and become friends with people from all over the globe. Very rewarding and it is with true heartfelt feelings that I say farewell to all the great people I’ve met over the years and wish you all well in your futures…

Kathy and I have a busy summer ahead, with packing our house and relocating to our new home in Edenton, North Carolina. We will still be back and forth to CT for most of this summer, as we plan to enjoy one more summer on the Long Island Sound, with our boat. So we’ll be around for a few more months.

I plan and hope to stay in touch with as many folks as I can and will always have an open and welcoming door in North Carolina, should you be passing through some day.

Enjoy everything that life has to offer and know that there is more time to enjoy what’s offered, when retired. - Mike