Patent ID: 7860602

Claim:
A mail processing system in which an estimated group of mail pieces is sorted in a mailroom area and delivered to a preset number of mail boxes, comprising: (a) a memory for storing information related to sorting and delivery, the sorting and delivery related information including (i) an estimate of a total quantity of mail pieces to be received at the mailroom, (ii) a sorting rate, (iii) an estimate of individual quantities of mail pieces to be delivered respectively to the preset number of mail boxes, (iv) a rate of placement of the mail pieces in the preset number of mail boxes, and (v) a time required to travel between the mailroom and the preset number of mail boxes; (b) a processor, said processor using the sorting and delivery related information to determine, (i) an amount of time required to sort the estimated group of mail pieces, and (ii) an amount of time required to deliver the estimated group of mail pieces to the mail boxes; and (c) wherein operation of the mailroom is evaluated by comparing a sum of the amount of time required to sort the estimated group of mail pieces and the amount of time required to deliver the estimated group of mail pieces to the preset number of mail boxes with an amount of time available for both sorting the estimated group of mail pieces and delivering the mail pieces to the preset number of mail boxes.