First to last mile: USPS technology expanding to an address near everyone

The Postal Service’s unparalleled capacity to pick up and deliver mail and packages at every address in America has long been one of its defining attributes.

Now, as USPS folds new technologies into its delivery network, it’s applying this strength in new ways to benefit everyone. “Our goal is to embrace technology and enhance the value of mail and packages for mail owners, mail providers and consumers — from the first to the last mile,” said Chief Information Officer Ellis Burgoyne.

Underlying the Postal Service’s embrace of technology is the Intelligent Mail barcode (IMb), capable of capturing more robust information than previous technologies as mail or packages progress through the mailstream. With the IMb, mailers can eliminate paperwork as their mail or packages enter the network, link tracking information into a constant data stream with scanning, and predict with more certainty when letters and parcels will reach their destinations.

With IMb technology, USPS has improved the speed and efficiency of mail processing; eInduction, for example, verifies business mail has been accepted at the right facility and confirms the correct postage has been paid. Similarly, The Passive Adaptive Scanning System delivers tracking improvements and revenue protection at high-volume delivery units.

Technology also creates efficiencies in last-mile delivery operations. Dynamic routing and real-time delivery scans result in improved deliveries, better response to last-minute pick-up requests, and expansion of service options.

North Florida District renamed Gulf Atlantic District

The North Florida District becomes the Gulf Atlantic District on June 29 to more accurately describe its territory which merged with the South Georgia District two years ago. 

A renamed Gulf Atlantic District encompasses a large portion of northern Florida, south and central Georgia, and a small portion of western South Carolina.

The Florida portion of the district has been known as the North Florida District for more than 20 years, but the name did not accurately reflect the district’s expanded geographical area.

Gulf Atlantic fits the territory as the Gulf Coastal plain encompasses portions of Georgia and Florida while the Atlantic Coastal name covers portions of South Carolina, southeastern Georgia and northeastern Florida.

The district includes these major cities: in Florida—Gainesville, Jacksonville, Panama City, Pensacola and Tallahassee; and in Georgia—Albany, Augusta, Columbus, Macon and Savannah.

The district includes ZIP Codes beginning with the following first three digits: Florida--320, 322, 323, 324, 325, 326 and 344; Georgia—304, 308, 309, 310, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316, 317, 318, 319 and 398; and  298 in South Carolina.

North Florida District holds congressional briefing

This year’s 2013 Congressional briefing was held at the North Florida District Office on Tuesday, June 18. 

Representatives from Senator Marco Rubio, Congresswoman Corrine Brown and Congressman Ander Crenshaw attended in person. 

Representatives from Senator Lindsey Graham, Congressman Jeff Miller, Congressman John Barrow, Congressman Paul Broun, Congressman Steve Southerland and Congressman Austin Scott attended via a Meeting Place webinar. 

Government Relations Specialist Lambros Kapoulas shared the state of the Postal Service from his Washington, DC office. 

District Manager Charley Miller provided Postal Service initiatives and accomplishments including being a top twenty performing district in overall year-to-date Customer Experience Measurement scores in Residential and Small/Medium Business. 

In a letter thanking those in attendance, Miller stated, “It is important to ensure Congressional Members are aware of our commitment to providing the best possible service despite the rapidly changing business world environment.”

Pictured left to right front: From Marco Rubio’s office - Mary Dudley Lee and Ashley Cook, from Corrine Brown’s office – Carolyn Chatman, from Ander Crenshaw’s office – Claire Dalo, from Corrine Brown’s office – Jackie Gray.  From left to right back: Marketing Manager Lucious Sumlar, Finance Manager Jim Dale, Human Resources Manager Sylvia Morris, Jax NDC Manager Dave McClelland, Postal Inspection Service Team Lead Jack Cowen, Manager Operations Programs Support Frank Stephens, Lead Plant Manager Art Rosenberg, District Manager Charley Miller, Consumer & Industry Contact Manager Tony Joy and Jax Postmaster Steve Hardin.

Perry GA achieves RCE perfection

 Pictured from L-R are Sales and Services Associates Mike Graham,
Saundra Whitcher, Charles Hill and Postmaster Larry Dykes.

Congratulations to the Perry, Georgia Post Office for achieving five perfect RCE shops in a row. 

Postmaster Larry Dykes said, “My TEAM is focused on customer satisfaction; they go the extra mile to insure our retail operation is the best it can be.”

The Retail Customer Experience gives the Postal Service an objective view of our retail locations.

It can be used as a real-time snapshot of a customer interaction. It is not just about the score.

It is even more important that the results drive changes in behavior that will result in improved customer satisfaction and increased retail revenue.

The attributes measured in the Mystery Shopper program should become so commonplace to our everyday performance that if the program were to end tomorrow, it would not change the customer's retail experience in any way.

Mystery shoppers record how long they spent in line, how the retail unit looked, how courteous the retail associates were, and other details about their visit.

Archer FL Post Office hosts Flags of our Fallen Warriors

The Archer FL Post Office hosted its Annual Flags of our Fallen Warriors event May 26, the day before the federal observance of Memorial Day at the old Archer fire station one block south of the Archer Post Office.
The Native Nation Museum set the scene with flags representing every branch of our military, the American flag as well as the MIA flag representing our missing in action soldiers.

Former Postmaster James H.Waldrop assigned Rural Carrier Janet Mitchell-Silverhawk the task of keeping the Post Office a vital part of the community which led to this annual event and is carried on with the support of current Postmaster Michael A.Richardson.

The event was kicked off by emcee Frank Silverhawk who welcomed two special elder veterans of World War II -- Stephen Lawrence, a Tuskegee Airman , and Bob Gaushe, an Iwo Jima survivor.

Curious children and solemn adults contemplated the significance of the day as they remembered their own family members, now gone after serving in WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.
 

As the ceremony began it was explained that the “burning of the flag” was the only proper was to dispose of a flag retired from its purpose.

The ceremony became more moving as Native Americans escorted the many veterans present to carry a flag to its final resting place.

Jacksonville Post Offices, stations achieving Business Connect goal

Congratulations to Postmaster Steve Hardin’s Team for reaching their Business Connect target goal of 24 activities for Fiscal Year 2013.

Leading the way are the Atlantic Beach and Monument stations with 31 business activities year-to-date.  Murray Hill Station is close behind with 30 acitivites for the time period.

Business Connect is one of the Employee Engagement Programs specifically for Postmasters, Stations/Branches Managers and Supervisors to prompt discussion with customers about USPS products and services.

The program is designed to engage Postmasters in generating revenue and strengthening customer relations.

Key employees for the program in the photo are (left to right):Acting  Manager Customer Service Operations (MCSO) Bill Spangler, Supervisor Customer Service Ron Render, Sales & Service Associate (SSA) Marilyn Fears, Sales & Service Distribution Associate Tabitha Herring, Postmaster Stephen Hardin, SSA Renee Hill,  and MCSO Paul Birge.

Postal employees participate in Jacksonville school vehicle fair

The North Florida District Vehicle Maintenance group recently attended a vehicle fair at Hogan Springs Glen Elementary School in Jacksonville which attended by about 300 students.

The fair included vehicles that serve the local community including fire, police and rescue trucks and cars.  A special treat was the landing of the local rescue helicopter which landed at the fair.

"Students asked questions about why the steering wheel was on the right side of the truck and how far the postal truck travels," said Supervisor Vehicle Supplies Tory Negron.  "The children enjoyed the activity books that were provided by the Postal Service so they could color in the stamps celebrating our 50 states."

This is the second year for the VMF to participate in this event and at the World of Nations celebration in downtown Jacksonville.

Negron was assisted at the vehicle fair by Auto Technician Dan Camacho.

USPS issues policy for medications found loose, damaged in the mail

USPS now is using the following procedures for the handling of medications found damaged or loose in the mail:

•    Loose in the mail medications. Never attempt matching loose medications with their packaging. Send all loose medications to the Atlanta Mail Recovery Center where they will be handled using procedures that protect consumer privacy.

•    Damaged mail containing medications. Damaged mail, where the contents have been potentially compromised, will either be disposed of or returned to sender based on mail class and ancillary service endorsements.

•    Damaged Merchandise Return Service (MRS) packages containing medications. MRS is used to mail medications that have expired or are no longer needed by the customer. These pieces should be delivered, even when damaged, to the destination address on the preprinted MRS label.

To protect customer safety and privacy, employees should verify the destination addresses of all packages containing medications at their delivery points to make sure each delivery is accurate.
For all mailpieces containing medications, employees also must perform the appropriate barcode scans to provide tracking and visibility for customers.

Letter carriers and customers vulnerable to dog bites

 
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), nearly 5,900 letter carriers were attacked by dogs in 2012. More than 4.7 million Americans annually are bitten by dogs — half of whom are children.
To help carriers avoid dog attacks, USPS offers the following tips:

• Observe the area. Take a quick glance at common places a dog may be. Check underneath parked cars, hedges or porches.
• Don’t startle a dog. If it’s asleep, make a non-startling noise, such as soft whistling. Call its name if you know it. Do this before you are close to the dog, while you still have time and space for an escape.
• Never reach out and pet a dog.
• Never assume a dog won’t bite. Familiarity with a dog is no guarantee it won’t bite.
• Protect yourself; don’t assume it’s friendly today because it has been in the past.
• Keep your eyes on dogs. They are more likely to bite when you’re not looking.
• Stand your ground. If a dog comes toward you, turn and face it. Hold something in front of you if available and back slowly away.
• Never turn and run.
• Have at least one full can of dog repellent spray with you.
• Use warning letters as needed to let owners know there’s a possibility of mail delivery suspension if their dogs aren’t restrained.

Augusta Main Post Office celebrates retirements

Pictured are:  Postmaster, Paul Steele; Bill Graham, Joseph Wade, Sheila Nelson, and Acting Manager, James Lloyd.

 The Augusta Main Post Office celebrated the retirement of three employees on 5/17/2013. 

Sheila Nelson, Supervisor, Customer Service retired with more than 34 years of service. 

City Carrier Bill Graham retired with 25 years of service and City Carrier, Joseph Wade, retired with 22 years of service.

Georgia communities met food drive challenge

The U.S. Postal Service and the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) conducted the nation’s largest single-day food drive on Saturday, May 11.

Communities all across the North Florida District participated in this annual event which provides food to local food banks and pantries that rely heavily on donations.

With more than 50 million Americans living at risk of hunger, food banks across the country continue to experience record demand for emergency food assistance.

Local letter carriers along with nation’s 175,000 letter carriers collected food donations left at the mailboxes of generous Americans in more than 10,000 communities and delivered them to food banks and other hunger relief organizations, such as pantries, soup kitchens and shelters.

Now in its 21st year, the Stamp Out Hunger food drive is the nation’s largest single-day food drive, having collected more than one billion pounds of food since its inception in 1993. In 2012, generous Americans donated more than 70 million pounds of food, which marked the ninth consecutive year that at least 70 million pounds were collected.

Here are some of the outstanding efforts in local communities:

Louisville GA 1,135 lbs of food

Ocilla GA 1,565 lbs of food

Finance department honors employees' Postal service

North Florida Finance Manager recently honored department employees who have reached service achievements.

USPS recognizes career employees with service award pins at the 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45 years of creditable government service. 

These awards are not to be taken lightly as many of our employees retire or leave military service prior to beginning work with the USPS.    

All of the employees recognized have built their careers in different areas, yet they have demonstrated their abilities to remain committed.  

Annie Scott, TACS Clerk – 30 yrs

Greg Conger, TACS Clerk – 30 yrs

Janet Peterson-Steen, Data Collection Tech – 30 yrs

 Dorothy Bess, Data Collection Tech – 25 yrs

Glen St. Mary FL Post Office hosts local 2nd grade students

The employees from the Glen Saint Mary FL Post Office recently hosted 2nd grade students from the Westside Elementary School.

Students were shown a right hand drive rural vehicle and learned how to safely check their mailbox at home.

Postal employees Nathan King, Lisa Prescott and Missy Whitehead were honored to host a tour of their facility.

Each student addressed, mailed and postmarked a letter of postcard to their family or a friend.

 It was a great day for a field trip and these students learned a lot about our Post Office and how the Postal Service operates .

VMF helps Jacksonville students celebrate Transportation Week

The North Florida District Jacksonville Vehicle Maintenance Facility held its fourth annual Vehicle Fair recently, this year at Jacksonville's Love Grove Elementary School. 

The district was acknowledging National Defense Transportation Week (May 12-18) as proclaimed by President Obama.

The President called upon all Americans to recognize the importance of our nation's transportation infrastructure and to recognize the contributions of those who build, operate, and maintain it.

Vehicle Auto Mechanic Dan Camacho spoke with Love Grove students about how he keeps the mail moving by servicing the Postal fleet.

“It is important for the kids to know that transportation gets them to and from school. It also allows them to see a different area of Postal Service and how it plays an important role to keep the mail moving," said Camacho.

Camacho was well prepared with a vehicle tour of an LLV and USPS gifts for the students.

Ocala Main and Ocala Paddock lead district with PEG Success

In recent PEG Safety audits, Ocala Main Post Office and Ocala Paddock Station each received a North Florida District high 97% on their evaluations.

The Safety and Health Program Evaluation Guide (PEG) includes criteria on contractor compliance with OSHA regulations. These are derived from OSHA guidance, an anticipated OSHA standard on safety and health programs, and OSHA's published citation policy on multi-employer worksites. The PEG - including standards, tests, and measurement criteria - is used to evaluate facility safety and health programs as required in the ELM. The evaluations focus on facility-level programs.

The PEG safety program covers everything from employee involvement to building hazards and inspections. In addition to the record breaking PEG score, Ocala Paddock is also a VPP site, recognized for outstanding performance and attention to safety by OSHA.

According to Officer-In-Charge Ron Jarrell, “The key to Ocala’s success is the commitment and importance all employees place on safety in the workplace. Craft and management work together to identify and correct hazards so everyone can go home after a day’s work uninjured and well.”

The Facility Safety Coordinators at Ocala Main and Paddock, Monique Foster and Toni Eckert put together the PEG and ensure the checklists and plans are followed in each office. Also assisting with the PEG success in each office was Maintenance employee Shawana Pinellas and Paddock Manager Bob Henriques.

Two Georgia rural carriers reach 1 million safe miles

Two more Georgia letter carriers were recently honored for achieving one million miles of safe driving.

Lizella, GA Rural carrier Marisa Mitchell has been employed with the Postal Service for 30 years, all in Lizella.

She was an RCA for 13 years and the remaining 17 years served as a regular carrier. She is pictured with Lizella Postmaster Dion Corbin.

Monticello GA Rural Carrier Thomas Loyd Burrell received both the million mile award and a 35 year service award recently.

He entered on duty as an RCA in1978 and became a regular carrier in1986.
He has spent his entire career in Monticello, GA.  Pictured are Mr. Burrell and Monticello OIC Bob Jordan.

The Million Mile Club is the National Safety Council’s highest safety honor among professional drivers and recognizes drivers who have driven more than one million miles or more than 30 years without a preventable accident.

The United States Postal Service and the National Safety Council have teamed up to promote and ensure the safety and health of the USPS workforce nationwide.

As a long-standing member of the National Safety Council, the United States Postal Service has established an agreement with the Council that entitles all facilities to take advantage of member benefits in an effort to prevent unintentional injury and illness.

Eligible postal employee participants of the Safe Driver Award Program include those who have a normal daily assignment that involves the driving of a motor vehicle for official business use, and who have not had their driving privilege revoked or suspended.

Panhandle PCC explains IMb to Pensacola mailers

The Panhandle Postal Customer Council in Pensacola FL held its annual general membership meeting and free Spring breakfast seminar earlier this month with 45 local business mailers.

Speakers included District Manager Charley Miller who discussed the State of the Postal Service and Marketing Manager Lucious Sumlar.

The featured speaker was Jermaine Person, Mailpiece Design Analyst, from Macon GA, who provided step-by-step instructions to help us prepare for Implementation of Full Service IMb.

Attendees learned about what IMb is, why it is important to their business and to the Postal Service.

Person also explained the nuts and bolts of IMb--how it works, what is costs, software/hardware needs and the benefits for mailers and customers.

 

Jermaine Person

 

Pensacola Postmaster Stanley Walker

Mark Sullivan reaches 40 years of service

District Manager Charley Miller congratulates Mark Sullivan, Labor Relations Specialist by recognizing his completion of more than 40 years of dedicated service.

Mark’s career includes assignments as a Distribution Window Clerk in Milford, CT; General Supervisor Delivery and Collection in Whitter, California; Postmaster, Rogue River, OR; and Manager, Customer Service Medford, OR. 

He then accepted a position in the Labor Relations office. His contribution to the Labor Relations function has been immediate and is greatly appreciated.

Mary Esther FL retail team achieves 10th perfect score

 

The Mary Esther FL Post Office was honored recently for achieving their 10th RCE perfect score in a row. 

The award was presented by Post Office Operations Manager Keith Pierle to Postmaster Carol Smith, and clerks Leanna Davis, Carolann Davis, Martha Lambert, Trina Brown, and James Buchanan.

The Retail Customer Experience gives the Postal Service an objective view of our retail locations.

It can be used as a real-time snapshot of a customer interaction. It is not just about the score.

It is even more important that the results drive changes in behavior that will result in improved customer satisfaction and increased retail revenue.

The attributes measured in the Mystery Shopper program should become so commonplace to our everyday performance that if the program were to end tomorrow, it would not change the customer's retail experience in any way.

Mystery shoppers record how long they spent in line, how the retail unit looked, how courteous the retail associates were, and other details about their visit.

Keystone Heights FL Post Office focus 'fits' younger customers

SSA Ted Stanley, of the Keystone Heights Post Office, helps a young customer mail a package to her aunt in a priority box.  She purchased Ready Post bubble wrapping material as well. 

Keystone Heights FL Postmaster Steve Marcus knows a good slogan when he sees one.  Remember "If it fits, it ships."

"I love seing younger people (under 30 years old) coming to the Post Office to mail packages," said Marcus.  "They usual have a deer in the headlights look about them."

So Marcus worked with his staff to focus on younger customers to treat them extra special since it may be the first time they have visited the Post Office.

"I want them to feel comfortable so that they will come back," he said.

It must be working since a young man recently to the Post Office knowing only one thing about mailing a package:  "If it fits, it ships!"

And Marcus assessment of the slogan: "This is the most successful campaign we ever had."  The proof is in the customer feedback.