Smart Postman: Paperless delivery through smartphone

• Documentation through mobile; complete implementation in a few months

Mangaluru: The postmen of Karavali will soon become smart. Soon, they will be using smartphones provided by the postal department to collect the receiver’s signature during the delivery of registered, speed post, money order, parcel and other postal deliveries.

After introducing modern services like ATM, online banking, the Indian Post is now introducing this new change in Karavali.

Around 30 postmen are already using this facility and the remaining few postmen will also be soon using the facility within a couple of months. For this, they are being trained.

How will it function?

Currently, the postman delivers the registered post, speed post, money order or parcel to the mentioned address after which the sign of the receiver is taken on a printed sheet. After returning back to the post office, information regarding the delivery of all the items will be mentioned in the record book of the post office. However henceforth, after delivering the package, signature will be taken on the mobile and also the mobile number will be collected. Then the information regarding the goods, time and others will be uploaded into the mobile app through barcode scanning. The details are collected at the computer at the main post office. Because of this, quick postal service is possible. There is also the facility to give fingerprint for those who cannot sign.

GPS enabled

At some places, the postman calls the receiver to come to the place where the postman is at. Due to this reason, the app will also be GPS enabled in the future. Hence, the information on where the parcel has been delivered will be documented. This is a major change in the department, said a postman from Mangaluru who spoke with “Udayavani”.

3,000 postmen

Postal department has Mangaluru, Puttur and Udupi divisions in connection to the Dakshina Kannada and Udupi district. There are 540 post offices in Mangaluru and Puttur divisions including the main post office, sub division post office and rural post office, while Udupi ahs 263 post office. Hence there are altogether 803 post offices in the undivided district. Mangaluru division and Puttur division has almost 600 and 1,000 postmen giving their service respectively. There are around 1,500 postmen in Udupi limits. Altogether, around 3,000 postmen are giving their service in both the districts, inform sources form the department.

Technology based mobile service

“Mobile app service is being introduced to provide quick postal service to the customers and to get real-time information regarding the distribution of the posts. For now, 30 postmen are using this facility within Mangaluru limits and will be expanded completely in phases,” informed Vignesh Pai P, System Administrator, Main Post office, Mangaluru

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