Postal Bulletin 22099 - April 3, 2003 - USPS.com

POSTAL BULLETIN 22099 (4-3-03)
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USPSNEWS@WORK
95% EXFC! USPS employees deliver record-breaking service performance
You did it! You delivered record-breaking performance
for overnight First-Class Mail service, achieving a nationwide
service score of 95% — a first — during quarter 2.
“This record-breaking service is remarkable in its own
right,” said David Fineman, Chairman of the Board of
Governors, “but this exceptional level of service also was
realized during one of the worst winters in recent memory.”
The record performance came as the Postal Service
was reporting that for the first time in its history, the number
of addresses it delivers to in the U.S. has surpassed 140
million.
The 95% on-time delivery service score occurred between
Nov. 30, 2002 and Feb. 21, 2003. This is the fourth
consecutive quarter First-Class Mail delivery has reached
94% and above.
The San Jose Performance Cluster (PC) led the nation
with a score of 97%, while 13 other PCs achieved on-time
delivery performance scores of 96%.
First-Class Mail service delivery performance is measured
by IBM’s Business Consulting Services unit, using
the External First-Class measurement system, or EXFC.
It provides an independent assessment of the time it
takes a piece of First-Class Mail, once it’s deposited into a
collection box, to be delivered.
EXFC service performance scores are measured by
testing 463 ZIP Code areas selected on the basis of geography
and volume density, from which 90% of First-Class
Mail volume originates and 80% destinates.
Spirit of innovation: Technology and
automation drive service performance
Beneath the Postal Service’s warm and fuzzy exterior
beats a high-tech heart, said PMG Jack Potter in an interview
with Office Solutions magazine.
Last year USPS collected, processed and delivered
nearly 203 billion pieces of mail — more than 40% of
the world’s mail volume. “That’s 675 million pieces on
an average day,” Potter said. “Laid end to end, that
would circle the globe four times. We couldn’t keep
up with that volume without automation.”
The Postal Service entered the automation age in the
early 1980s. So far, USPS has deployed 15,000
pieces of automation equipment.
“This equipment has replaced labor-intensive manual
sorting operations where productivity is typically 500
pieces per hour or less,” Potter said.
In comparison, barcoded letter mail can be sorted at
speeds up to 34,650 letters per hour, and nonbarcoded
letter mail up to 31,500.
Potter said read rates on handwritten mail have increased
dramatically from 2% in 1997 to 80% today.
The Postal Service has long embraced technology
and innovation, said Potter. He cited development of
CONFIRM as an example of adding value to our core
services. “CONFIRM is a new product that helps customers
track mailpieces sent by First-Class Mail or
Standard Mail service. This service is designed for
larger mailers,” Potter said.
Office Solutions concludes the article with this
observation: “The Postal Service couldn’t do what it
does every day if it hadn’t adopted automation and
technology at every level.”
And we couldn’t do it without the 740,000 employees
who make it happen every day.
Congress thanked for CSRS support:
PMG Potter testifies before House
subcommittee
Postmaster General Jack Potter has thanked members
of Congress for supporting legislation to change the way
the Postal Service funds its Civil Service Retirement System
(CSRS) obligation.
If such legislation is enacted, it would allow USPS to
“significantly pay down our current debt and enable
us to hold rates steady until 2006,” said Potter in
testimony before the House of Representatives Subcommittee
on Transportation, Treasury and Independent
Agencies.
“In these times of uncertainty, this stability would also
give the entire mailing industry a booster shot to
speed recovery from a sluggish economy,” he said.
Separate audits conducted by the Office of Personnel
Management and General Accounting Office both
concluded that the Postal Service was on track to
overpay its CSRS obligation, the PMG said.