Brick-piling Mail

Important Updates
for January 2010

Customers should ensure they are using the most current version of the Mail Preparation and Presortation Guide, including all amendments and other applicable documents, which are posted on the Canada Post website. See in particular, canadapost.ca/postalservices for key documents.

Customers should ensure they are using the most current version of the Mail Preparation and Presortation Guide and other applicable documents, which are posted on the Canada Post website.
See in particular, canadapost.ca/postalservices for key documents.

It is the Customer’s obligation to meet all the requirements outlined in the Agreement.

Notice for Developers of Presortation Software: If there is any discrepancy between this Guide and the Presortation Technical Specifications (PTS), the PTS takes precedence.

Table of Contents

1

Overview

1.1	Who Should Use This Guide?

This Guide has been designed to explain how to brick-pile mail on pallets or in monotainers.

Requirements may vary for the following groups of services:

1. Brick-piling Oversize (O/S) Addressed Admail™ and Publications Mail™ for LCP and NDG Presort Mailings.
2. Brick-piling mail for Oversize (O/S) Incentive Lettermail™ (annual/financial reports only) and Unaddressed Admail™ (Standard and Oversize).

1.1.1

What is Brick-piling?

Brick-piling is a method used to secure mail items onto a pallet (as shown in Figure 1) or in a monotainer (as shown in Figure 2). Pallets and monotainers can be used for transportation (as a single unit) of mail items from the Customer’s location to an approved Canada Post facility where the mail will be deposited.

1.1.2

Brick-piling Oversize (O/S) Addressed Admail and Publications Mail

Brick-piling can be used to transport the following services:

• Oversize (O/S) Addressed Admail presorted (LCP and NDG)
• Oversize (O/S) Publications Mail presorted (LCP and NDG)

1.1.3

Brick-piling Oversize (O/S) Incentive Lettermail and Unaddressed Admail (Standard and O/S)

Brick-piling can be used to transport the following services:

• Incentive Lettermail: applicable to this service only [Oversize (O/S) annual/financial reports may be brick-piled]. Incentive Lettermail can be prepared using the machineable option.
• Unaddressed Admail (Standard and O/S): brick-piling can only be used to transport items directly to an Urban Delivery Facility or to a Rural Delivery Facility (NPS Level 1).

Figure 1: Brick-piling on Pallets

Figure 2: Brick-piling in a Monotainer

1.2	Brick-piling Requirements

Before brick-piling mail, the mail items must meet all requirements specified in the Agreement with Canada Post, as well as the appropriate service requirements and mail preparation option, such as presort grouping, size and weight. Consult the appropriate Customer Guide (see section 1.3 “Information Sources”).

The pallets must meet Canada Post specifications (as shown in Table 1). Monotainers and reusable plastic pallets may be obtained from Canada Post. The supply of Canada Post equipment is dependent on conditions and availability.

1.2.1

Canada Post Reusable Plastic Pallets

Reusable plastic pallets have economic, environmental, health and safety, as well as handling advantages over wooden pallets.

Canada Post offers reusable plastic pallets to be used as a shipping unit for brick-piled Publications Mail, Addressed Admail and Unaddressed Admail free of charge (based on availability).

There is a minimum order requirement of 40 pallets and Customers must have an active Canada Post Agreement (for any service).

1.2.2

Access Levels for Brick-piling Mailings on Pallets

1.3	Information Sources

This Mail Preparation and Presortation Guide forms part of the Agreement, and all references to the Agreement shall be deemed to include the documents referenced in section 13 “Entire Agreement and Alterations” of the General Terms and Conditions.

2

What You Need to Know Before You Start

2.1	Steps for Brick-piling Pallets

Complete the following steps:

1. Prepare the Bundles (Step 1) – Ensure the content of the bundles has already been sorted according to the appropriate service requirements and mail preparation option.
2. Place the Bundles on the Pallet or Monotainer (Step 2) – Cardboard liners help to stabilize the loads.
3. Secure the Pallet and, if Possible, Double-stack Pallets or Monotainers (Step 3) – Canada Post may refuse deposit of improperly secured pallets.
4. Label the Brick-piled Pallet or Monotainer (Step 4) – Correct labelling ensures that mail items are directed to the appropriate work centre within a Canada Post facility and/or to a downstream plant. All pallets and monotainers must be labelled.
5. Deposit the Mailing (Step 5) – The mail must be deposited at an approved site accompanied by properly completed documentation.

3

Prepare the Bundles (Step 1)

Bundle preparation may differ between service options: Customers must ensure the bundles are prepared according to Canada Post Specifications.

3.1	Oversize (O/S) Addressed Admail and Publications Mail Presort (LCP & NDG)

For further presort specifications, refer to the NDG and LCP Mail Preparation and Presortation Guides found at canadapost.ca/mailpreparation

3.2	Oversize (O/S) Incentive Lettermail and Unaddressed Admail

4

Place the Bundles on the Pallet or Monotainer (Step 2)

4.1	Preparing Pallets and Monotainers

Place a pallet right side up and line the bottom of the pallet with a suitable cardboard liner (as shown in Figure 3) to cover the holes.

Figure 3: Pallet Showing Bottom Lined with a Cardboard Liner

4.2	Building Rows

1. In the first row, place bundles of mail lengthwise along the length of the pallet or monotainer. The entire pallet must be covered by bundles of mail. The centre of the pallet must not be left empty. In the second row, place bundles of mail lengthwise along the width of the container (as shown in Figure 4). Continue alternating the direction of the bundles in each row to ensure that the bundles maintain an even surface and to ensure the load remains stable during handling.
2. For Addressed Admail and Publications Mail, keep adding rows of bundles until they reach at least 150 mm (Local) or 300 mm (Forward), not including the pallet.
3. For Unaddressed Admail, keep adding rows of bundles until they reach at least 150 mm (delivery facility), not including the pallet.
4. For Incentive Lettermail, keep adding rows of bundles until they reach at least 500 mm, not including the pallet.
5. Pallets with loads that exceed 500 mm in height must have a cardboard liner at the halfway mark (as shown in Figure 4) to prevent load separation when the pallet is transported. If a load is only 500 mm, it should be stable enough that a halfway liner is not necessary. When a cardboard liner is used, face the bundles above and below the cardboard liner the same way (as shown in Figure 4) instead of opposite length/width-wise.
6. To ensure a stable load for all brick-piled Machineable Mail (which cannot be strapped or shrink-wrapped), a cardboard liner is required for each new row.

Figure 4: Pallet Showing Placement of Cardboard Liner and Bundles

7. To ensure a stable load for mail with spines, a cardboard liner is required for each new row, whether pallets or monotainers are being used. Alternate the facing of spines for each row (as shown in Figure 5); that is, turn the books 180 degrees instead of 90 degrees as with other types of mail.

Figure 5: Alternating the Facing of Spines for Each Row

8. Keep adding rows until they reach the maximum height or the maximum weight, whichever comes first. For a pallet load, the maximum height including base and pallet cap (as shown in Figure 6) is 1.5 m. A pallet cap should be made of wood (sturdy paper or cardboard is also acceptable).

5

Secure the Pallet and, if Possible, Double-stack Pallets or Monotainers (Step 3)

5.1	Secure the Pallet

The design of monotainers makes it unnecessary to further secure the contents if the bundles have been brick-piled properly. However, completed pallets are to be capped on top of the load (as shown in Figure 6).

Figure 6: Capped Pallet

Apply three (3) layers of stretch wrap around both the pallet cap and bottom pallet (as shown in Figure 7) to ensure that both are firmly secured by the stretch wrap and to prevent any movement of the mail bundles on the pallets.

Figure 7: Stretch-wrapping applied three times around the pallet, the pallet cap and the base

When the mail items are irregularly shaped or have a glossy finish and may slide around, four (4) cross straps must be applied encompassing both the pallet cap and bottom (as shown in Figure 7) to ensure the load is secure. For all other mailings, the four (4) cross straps are optional, but highly recommended for additional security of all loads.

5.2	Stacking Pallets

Multiple pallets going to the same destination (as per the National Presortation Schematic [NPS]) may be stacked on top of each other as long as they are secured together with straps (as shown in Figure 8). The stacked pallets cannot exceed 1.5 m in height or 900 kg in weight. Stacking during storage and transportation uses warehouse space more efficiently. For example, where there are two (2) pallets – one (1) going to Vanier Station and one (1) going to Merivale depot – these two (2) pallets may be strapped together and identified to Ottawa (City Consolidation). These two (2) pallets strapped together still must not exceed the 900 kg weight limitation and/or the 1.5 m height limitation.

Figure 8: Stacked Pallets

5.3	Double-stacking Monotainers

Monotainers are designed to be double-stacked. Unlike double-stacked pallets, each of the double-stacked monotainers must not exceed the maximum weight of 900 kg, so their combined weight can reach 1800 kg. Double-stacking loads during storage and transportation uses warehouse space more efficiently. For example, where there are two (2) monotainers – one (1) going to Vanier Station and one (1) going to Merivale depot – these two (2) monotainers may be double-stacked and identified to Ottawa (City Consolidation).

Figure 9: Double-stacked Monotainers

6

Label the Brick-piled Pallet or Monotainer (Step 4)

Labelling all of the presorted pallets or monotainers ensures that mail is directed to the appropriate work centre within a Canada Post facility and/or to a downstream plant. All pallets and monotainers must be labelled on two (2) sides.

Each label must be 216 mm x 279 mm (8.5” x 11”), be white with black lettering and must include the following information (as shown in Figure 10):

• Service Name [e.g., Oversize (O/S) Addressed Admail]
• Service Option (e.g., NDG).

• National Presortation Schematic (NPS) routing information:

• facility Postal Code^OM (e.g., K7L 1X0)
• facility name (e.g., Kingston)
• province abbreviation (e.g., ON)
• routing designation (e.g., STN MAIN).

The font size should be large enough to fill the entire label, be visibly predominant and in bold type (as shown in Figure 10).

For customers wishing to include other internal directives on the shipping containers, a label colour different than white is recommended.

Figure 10: Pallet or Monotainer Label

Two (2) sides of the pallet or monotainer must be labelled (as shown in Figure 11).

Figure 11: Labels attached to monotainers and pallets

7

Deposit the Mailing (Step 5)

7.1	Oversize (O/S) Addressed Admail and Publications Mail

Only certain types of Canada Post facilities can accept deposits for specific types of services that have been brick-piled. See Table 4 for more information.

NPS = National Presortation Schematic
DCF = Distribution Centre Facility
FCP = Forward Consolidation Point

7.2	Oversize (O/S) Incentive Lettermail and Unaddressed Admail

Only certain types of Canada Post facilities can accept deposits for specific types of services that have been brick-piled. See Table 5 for more information.

NPS = National Presortation Schematic
DCF = Distribution Centre Facility
FCP = Forward Consolidation Point

---

		Postal Guide		Prices		Mail Preparation & Presortation Guides
		International Destination Listing		Customer Guides		Postal Indicia
		General Terms and Conditions		Container Labels		ABCs of Mailing
		Glossary		Postal Standards