The functioning of the postal laboratory in Tomsk Oblast in 1983-1991

The social function of the post is to guarantee efficient communication between people by providing high-quality mail services. One of the quality service characteristics is the speed of sorting and delivery. However, at the end of the 1980s under the self-sufficiency and self-financing conditions of the communication sector the social function of the post became difficult to perform. In the USSR, postal laboratories were created in order to facilitate the work of postal employees and improve the quality of mail service. In Tomsk Oblast such a laboratory was established in 1893. One of the main functions of the laboratory was the mechanization and automation of postal operations. In the 1980s, the Tomsk production and technical office of communication had gradual labor mechanization, introduced and spread the six-digit zip-code system, essential for further automation of postal processes. As a result, the number of employees who did the operation manually reduced. However, only about 37.3 % of the total number of employees worked operating machinery or maintained it in Tomsk Oblast. So, in the middle of the 1980s and early 1990s, the development of modern mail sorting equipment was slow in Russia and in Tomsk Oblast, there was a scientific and technical lag from Western countries. Manual labor in mail sorting was mainly preserved. Among the functions of the postal laboratory was to increase the number of delivery areas served by motor transport. In the middle of the 1980s, Tomsk Oblast started the process of improving the mail delivery system. But the number of post-delivery stations, mail-boxes and motor vehicles remained insufficient. If in towns and regional centers the aim of turning to motor delivery was practically achieved, rural postmen's load remained the same. Thus, in 1983-1991, activities on the development of mail sorting and delivery systems were carried out in the USSR. The functioning of the laboratory improved the organization level of mail processing and reduced the difficulties of the work. However, the reformations of the social and economic sphere and focus on the post self-financing had a negative impact on the further development of the communication sector. The instability of the state system and the new postal finance policy emphasized the task of ensuring the post service work, and the development of the sorting equipment and buying of additional motor transport were postponed.

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