I stage my route into three tote bins by stairwell and floor at 6:15 before we dispatch, and it’s shaving about 8–10 minutes off a 40-stop building. Anyone using scanner filters or color tags to speed the sort even more, or got a better system for high-rises?
I started writing a quick two-letter prefix on each label at 6:15 (like “A5” for Stairwell A, 5th) and then using the scanner’s search to batch A vs B; it keeps the “three tote bins” clean and shaved about 10 minutes off a 40-stop for me too. Small caveat: if access changes mid-day, that prefix can mislead, so I cross it out when I reroute — @OP does your scanner support saved searches so you can flip between stairwells with one tap?
At 6:15 I stick small color dots on each label — one color per stairwell and the floor number on the dot — so the ‘three tote bins’ toss is just a glance-and-go. Do your labels show the floor or only the suite? If not, I keep a saved scanner search for 5xx/6xx by batch, which isn’t perfect but still trims a couple minutes on a 40-stop.
LIFO stacking per stairwell saved me more than tags — highest floors at the bottom so I’m pulling top‑down as I climb; the rummaging used to kill me, … When I do the sort at 6:15, I keep each set banded so it stays in order, and if the app allows, I pin a ‘scanner filters’ saved search per stairwell to swipe between. Does your scanner let you pin multiple searches?
Cheap win: stick narrow page‑flag tabs on the label edge with the floor number; when the stack is loaded, the tabs line up like a little ladder so you can pull in order without digging — blue for the north core, orange for south, and place the highest floors at the bottom. @lisa_mendez45, does your scanner allow a saved search on the note field so you can toggle cores with one tap?
I quit messing with tags and just re-sequence the handheld at “6:15”: as I stage the three totes, I scan each piece in the exact pull order so the next-stop screen mirrors the stack. On a 40‑stop tower it cuts the rummage, but if your app can’t do scan‑to‑sequence, do you at least have a drag-sort view you can save per building?
I use a tiny pre‑inked stamp: at “6:15” I mark the top‑right of each label with A/B/C and the floor, then load the three tote bins with the stamps facing up so grabs in the stairs are automatic. @OP do you have a dry counter by dispatch to stamp cleanly? It’s been faster for me than color tags and the stamp was about $10.