By NATIONAL CENTER FOR EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT

(Norman, OK) The ground was still muddy from melting snow when a groundbreaking ceremony was held January 24 for a third, on-campus training facility at the Postal Service’s National Center for Employee Development (NCED) on Highway 9.

The new building was approved as a 117,768 sq. ft. structure. The Postal Service awarded a contract to build it to Wynn Construction of Oklahoma City in December, and dirt work began then. But icy weather delayed the ceremonial groundbreaking.

Manager Scott Morgan will oversee the training that NCED’s new Northeast Learning Center will accommodate.

“The new building will primarily support training for Postal Service systems that will further automate processing of flats-mail such as magazines and large envelopes,” Morgan said. “The Postal Service sorts and delivers 212 billion pieces of mail a year – to more people over more distance than in any other country.”

The postal center draws nearly 20,000 postal employees a year to Norman; and delivers advanced technology, business education, and management development courses for both postal employees and public groups. Programs range from one-day to five weeks long, and cover computer network technology, building systems, and fleet maintenance; plus maintenance training on high-technology equipment for sorting, tracking, and routing mail. The Center also brings thousands more to Oklahoma as a host site for business and postal conferences

“This building’s design will accommodate massive flats-processing equipment that is too large for NCED’s existing training buildings,” Morgan said.

“That will include an existing flat sorting system being moved to NCED from a vendor facility in Baltimore, and the new Flat Sequencing System (FSS) recently approved by the Postal Board of Governors. The FSS will sort flats mail into mail carriers’ route sequence, like letter mail is processed now by smaller-footprint systems.”

The facility is targeted for completion in August 2007.