Administrative Practice and Procedure, Postal Service, 72395-72419 [E7-24528]
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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 244 / Thursday, December 20, 2007 / Notices
OPM 1496 and OPM 1496A were
needed for many years because there
was a major revision in the law effective
October 1, 1956; this affected the
general information provided with both
forms. However, we will no longer
maintain a clearance of the OPM 1496,
because the waning population affected
by this form is fewer than ten
respondents a year. We are requesting
clearance of the revised OPM 1496A.
Approximately 2,800 OPM Forms
1496A will be completed annually. We
estimate it takes approximately 1 hour
to complete this form. The annual
burden is 2,800 hours.
For copies of this proposal, contact
Mary Beth Smith-Toomey on (202) 606–
8358, FAX (202) 418–3251 or via E-mail
to MaryBeth.Smith-Toomey@opm.gov.
Please include a mailing address with
your request.
DATES: Comments on this proposal
should be received within 30 calendar
days from the date of this publication.
ADDRESSES: Send or deliver comments
to—
Ronald W. Melton, Deputy Assistant
Director, Retirement Services
Program, Center for Retirement and
Insurance Services, U.S. Office of
Personnel Management, 1900 E Street,
NW., Room 3305, Washington, DC
20415–3500; and
Brenda Aguilar, OPM Desk Officer,
Office of Information & Regulatory
Affairs, Office of Management and
Budget, New Executive Office
Building, NW., Room 10235,
Washington, DC 20503.
FOR INFORMATION REGARDING
ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATION—CONTACT:
Cyrus S. Benson, Team Leader,
Publications Team, RIS Support
Services/Support Group, (202) 606–
0623.
U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
Howard Weizmann,
Deputy Director.
[FR Doc. E7–24708 Filed 12–19–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325–38–P
announces that the Office of Personnel
Management (OPM) has submitted to
the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) a request for review of a revised
information collection. RI 92–19,
Application for Deferred or Postponed
Retirement: Federal Employees
Retirement System (FERS), is used by
separated employees to apply for either
a deferred or a postponed FERS annuity
benefit.
Approximately 1, 693 forms are
completed annually. We estimate it
takes approximately 60 minutes to
complete the form. The annual
estimated burden is 1,693 hours.
For copies of this proposal, contact
Mary Beth Smith-Toomey on (202) 606–
8358, FAX (202) 418–3251 or via E-mail
to MaryBeth.Smith-Toomey@opm.gov.
Please include a mailing address with
your request.
DATES: Comments on this proposal
should be received within 30 calendar
days from the date of this publication.
ADDRESSES: Send or deliver comments
to—
Ronald W. Melton, Deputy Assistant
Director, Retirement Services
Program, Center for Retirement and
Insurance Services, U.S. Office of
Personnel Management, 1900 E Street,
NW., Room 3305, Washington, DC
20415–3540;
and
Brenda Aguilar, OPM Desk Officer,
Office of Information & Regulatory
Affairs, Office of Management and
Budget, New Executive Office
Building, NW., Room 10235,
Washington, DC 20503.
FOR INFORMATION REGARDING
ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATION—CONTACT:
Cyrus S. Benson, Team Leader,
Publications Team, RIS Support
Services/Support Group, (202) 606–
0623.
U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
Howard Weizmann,
Deputy Director.
[FR Doc. E7–24712 Filed 12–19–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325–38–P
OFFICE OF PERSONNEL
MANAGEMENT
Office of Personnel
Management.
ACTION: Notice.
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AGENCY:
[Docket No. PI2008–1; Order Nos. 48 and
49]
Administrative Practice and Procedure,
Postal Service
Postal Regulatory Commission.
Notice.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
SUMMARY: In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub.
L. 104–13, May 22, 1995), this notice
20:08 Dec 19, 2007
measurement and reporting systems for
market dominant products. The
proposal responds to provisions in a law
enacted this year which require
consultation between the Commission
and the Postal Service on the
establishment of service standards. The
law also requires the use of an objective
external measurement, unless the
Commission approves an internal
measurement system. Comments will
assist the Commission in carrying out its
legal obligations. This document
identifies revised comment deadlines
and reflects minor changes,
reformatting, and footnote numbering.
DATES: Initial comments due January 18,
2008; reply comments due February 1,
2008.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments
electronically via the Commission’s
Filing Online system at https://
www.prc.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Stephen L. Sharfman, General Counsel,
202–789–6820 and
stephen.sharfman@prc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulatory
History, 72 FR 34424 (June 22, 2007).
I. Background
Section 301 of the Postal
Accountability and Enhancement Act
(PAEA), Public Law 109–435, 120 Stat.
3218, requires the Postal Service, in
consultation with the Postal Regulatory
Commission (Commission), to establish
by regulation a set of modern service
standards for market dominant products
by December 20, 2007.1 By statute, the
service standards must be measured by
an objective external performance
measurement system, unless the
Commission approves the use of an
internal measurement system. 39 U.S.C.
3691(b)(1)(D) and (b)(2).
The Commission and Postal Service
have held a series of meetings to discuss
service performance measurement
issues.2 In response to those meetings,
the Postal Service has submitted a
formal proposal to the Commission
setting forth several proposed systems
for measuring the service performance
of market dominant products.3 The
POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION
Submission for OMB Review;
Comment Request for Review of a
Revised Information Collection: RI 92–
19
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SUMMARY: This document informs the
public that the Commission is seeking
comments on proposed service standard
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1 Section 301 of the PAEA is codified at 39 U.S.C.
3691. The Postal Service published its proposed
service standards October 17, 2007. See 72 FR
58946.
2 During the course of developing service
standards, the Postal Service has also discussed
service performance measurement systems with
workgroups of the Mailers Technical Advisory
Committee.
3 See USPS Service Performance Measurement
Proposal, received November 29, 2007 (Proposal),
which is reproduced below. The Proposal is also
available on the Commission’s Web site, https://
www.prc.gov.
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Proposal describes the measurement
approaches the Postal Service seeks to
use to measure the service performance
of its various market dominant mail
products. These approaches include, for
example, the External First-Class (EXFC)
measurement system to measure singlepiece First-Class Mail, Delivery
Confirmation for parcel-shaped mail,
and a hybrid system for presort letters
and flats that relies on Intelligent Mail
Barcode (IMB) scans and independent,
third-party reporters. In addition, the
Proposal sets forth by product (or class
of mail) the manner in which and the
frequency with which the Postal Service
proposes to report the service
performance data. Lastly, because not
all the proposed service performance
measurement systems are fully
operational, the Postal Service provides
an adoption timeline and interim
measurement solutions pending
development and adoption of longer
term measures.
Measurements from existing systems,
e.g., EXFC and Delivery Confirmation,
will be utilized to report service
performance in FY 2008.4 Beginning in
January 2009, when the use of IMBs will
be a prerequisite for certain rate
discounts, the Postal Service anticipates
being able to report service performance
data for all products, except for Within
County Periodicals.
The Postal Service seeks approval to
move forward with the development of
the proposed measurement systems
‘‘with the understanding that the
approval is for the conceptual approach
[discussed in the Proposal] and is
subject to review of the implemented
systems.’’ Id. at 7. More specifically, it
requests that the Commission:
1. Approve the EXFC measurement
system for service performance
measurement of First-Class Mail singlepiece letters and flats, and as a proxy for
First-Class Mail presort flats. Id. at 7; see
also id. at 8, 17, and 22; 5
2. Approve Delivery Confirmation
service for service performance
measurement of parcel-shaped market
dominant mail. Id. at 7; see also id. at
22–23, 39, 52, and 53;
3. Approve a hybrid measurement
system based on IMB scans and
independent, third-party stop-the-clock
scans for service performance
measurement of presort letters and flats,
i.e., First-Class presort letters, Standard
Mail letters and flats, and Periodicals
4 In FY 2008, pilot programs involving IMBs may
yield performance measurements as well.
5 To measure First-Class presort flats, the Postal
Service proposes to use EXFC data for machineaddressed flats only. Id. at 22.
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letters and flats. Id. at 7; see also id. at
9, 20, 33, 35–36, and 43–44; 6
4. Approve the use of Red Tag and
DelTrak as interim service performance
measurements for Periodicals until
adoption of IMBs is sufficient to permit
use of a hybrid internal and external
measurement system. Id. at 7; see also
id. at 43–44;
5. Approve the International Mail
Measurement System (IMMS) for service
performance measurement of First-Class
Mail International letters, EXFC
measurement of domestic single-piece
First-Class Mail flats as a proxy for
single-piece First-Class Mail
International flats, and the measurement
of single-piece First-Class Mail parcels
as a proxy for First-Class Mail
International parcels. Id. at 6–7; see also
id. at 27–30;
6. Approve the use of internal data for
service performance measurement of
certain Special Services. Id. at 7; see
also id. at 56–59; and
7. Approve the various service
performance measurement reporting
proposals specified in the Proposal. Id.
at 7; see also id. at 25, 30, 40, 46, 54,
and 60.
The Commission’s role under section
3691 of title 39 is to consult with the
Postal Service concerning the
establishment of service standards for
market dominant products. The service
standards are required to be measured
by an objective external performance
measurement system, unless the
Commission approves the use of an
internal measurement system. Section
3691(b)(1)(D) and (b)(2). Given its
obligations under the PAEA and the
Postal Service’s Proposal, which
characterizes the various measurement
approaches as either external or
internal, the Commission is initiating
this docket to solicit public comment on
the Postal Service’s proposed service
performance measurement systems.
Interested persons are invited to
comment on any or all aspects of the
proposed service performance
measurement and reporting systems.
Comments are due January 18, 2008.7
Reply comments may be filed no later
than February 1, 2008.8 The
Commission intends to evaluate the
comments received and use those
suggestions to help carry out its
6 Presort Package Services flats will be measured
using the same approach as Presort Standard flats
and be reported on a consolidated basis. Id. at 6,
n.8, and 35. The Postal Service proposes not to
measure single-piece Package Services flats due to
the relatively small quantities of such mail. Id. at
6, n.9.
7 Changed from January 7, 2008 (per Order No.
48) by Order No. 49.
8 Changed from January 18, 2008 (per Order No.
48) by Order No. 49.
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performance measurement
responsibilities under the PAEA. All
comments will be available for review
on the Commission’s Web site, https://
www.prc.gov.
[II.] United States Postal Service
Service Performance Measurement
[A.] Notices
CONFIRM, Express Mail, FirstClass Mail, Intelligent Mail, Planet
Code, PostalOne!, Priority Mail,
Standard Mail, usps.com, U.S. Postal
Service, ZIP+4, Certified MailTM,
Delivery ConfirmationTM, Onecode
ACSTM, Post OfficeTM, Postal ServiceTM,
P.O. BoxTM, Signature ConfirmationTM,
and ZIP CodeTM are among the many
trademarks owned by the United States
Postal Service.9
[B.] Glossary of Terms
The description of the proposed
approach for service performance
measurement includes references to
certain postal terminology. For
clarification, the following brief
definitions and descriptions are
provided.
A service standard is defined as ‘‘a
stated goal for service achievement for
each mail class.’’ See Publication 32,
Glossary of Postal Terms (May 1997,
updated with Postal Bulletin revisions
through July 5, 2007). The service
standard for each market-dominant mail
service incorporates the days-to-deliver
for each 3-digit ZIP Code origindestination pair within the Postal
Service network. The standards serve as
the benchmark for measuring service
performance.
The critical entry time (CET) is the
latest time mail can be received at
designated induction points in the
postal network in order for it to be
processed and dispatched in time to
meet service standards.
The start-the-clock is the date/time
when the mail piece enters the
mailstream. If the Postal Service accepts
a mail piece before the posted CET for
that day, the day of entry is designated
as the ‘‘start-the-clock’’ date. If the mail
piece is accepted after the CET or
dropped at a collection box, business
mail chute, or Post Office location after
the last posted pickup time or on a day
when pickup does not occur, the mail
piece will have a ‘‘start-the-clock’’ date
of the following applicable processing
day.
The stop-the-clock is the date/time
when delivery occurs or is initially
attempted.
9 2007 United States Postal Service. All rights
reserved.
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The service performance is the
number of calendar days from the ‘‘startthe-clock’’ to the ‘‘stop-the-clock.’’
However, if the day of receipt occurs
after a non-delivery day (Sunday or a
holiday), then one day is subtracted for
each non-delivery day.
The Annual Compliance Report is the
national service performance report for
market-dominant mail service that is
subject to compliance review on a fiscal
year basis.
[C. Description of Proposal]
1. Introduction
Among many requirements, the Postal
Accountability and Enhancement Act
(PAEA) instructs the United States
Postal Service (Postal Service) to
establish modern service standards for
its market-dominant mail products by
December 20, 2007. These standards
should be designed with the intent of
providing a system of objective external
performance measurement. However,
the law allows for the implementation
of an internal measurement system
instead of an external one, with the
approval of the Postal Regulatory
Commission (PRC).10
The proposed service performance
measurement system is designed to
provide the Postal Service and its
customers with data sufficiently
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accurate and reliable for purposes of
assessing the quality of mail service in
a cost effective manner. The
measurement system is also intended to
provide the PRC with the ability to
perform its responsibilities under the
PAEA with a high degree of confidence.
The following table summarizes the
proposed measurement system. Each
‘‘start-the-clock’’ and ‘‘stop-the-clock’’
event is described in detail in later
sections.
TABLE 1.—MEASUREMENT APPROACH AT FULL ROLLOUT 1
Single-piece
Presort
Flats
Parcels
First-Class Mail ...........
EXFC .....
EXFC .....
Single-Piece FirstClass Mail International
Periodicals 6 .................
IMMS 3 ...
EXFC as
proxy 4.
N/A .........
N/A .........
Start: Delivery Confirmation delivery
scan.
Stop: Delivery Confirmation delivery
scan.
Single-Piece FirstClass Mail parcels
as proxy 5.
N/A ............................
Standard Mail ..............
N/A .........
N/A .........
N/A ............................
Package Services .......
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Letters
N/A .........
N/A 8 .......
Start: Delivery Confirmation delivery
scan.
Stop: Delivery Confirmation delivery
scan.
Letters
Flats
Start: Documented
EXFC as Proxy 2 ......
Arrival Time at Unit.
Stop: External reporting.
Parcels
Start: Documented
Arrival Time at
Unit.
Stop: Delivery Confirmation delivery
scan.
N/A.
N/A ............................
N/A ............................
Start: Documented
Arrival Time at Unit.
Stop: External reporting.
Start: Documented
Arrival Time at Unit.
Stop: External reporting.
Start: Documented
N/A.
Arrival Time at Unit.
Stop: External reporting..
Start: Documented
Start: Documented
Arrival Time at Unit.
Arrival Time at
Stop: External reportUnit.
ing 7.
Stop: Delivery Confirmation delivery
scan.
................................... Start: Documented
Arrival Time at
Unit.
Stop: Delivery Confirmation delivery
scan.
N/A ............................
1 Special Services are not included in Table 1 as they have different methods to ‘‘start-the-clock’’ and ‘‘stop-the-clock’’ from the market-dominant mail classes. The approach for measuring Special Services is explained in detail later in this document.
2 The Postal Service will use the External First-Class Mail Measurement System (EXFC) measurement for single-piece flats as a proxy for
Presort First-Class Mail flats due to small volumes. The external measurement contractor will create test mail pieces with characteristics of
Presort mail and seed them into the mailstream via retail.
3 The International Mail Measurement System (IMMS) is an external measurement system for which an independent measurement contractor
seeds mail into the mailstream with a wide range of mail characteristics representing international mail.
4 The EXFC measurement for domestic single-piece First-Class Mail flats will serve as a proxy for single-piece First-Class Mail International
flats due to the small volume in this category. After clearing customs, single-piece First-Class Mail International flats enter the domestic
mailstream and are handled with domestic single-piece First-Class Mail flats.
5 The Postal Service will use the measurement for domestic single-piece First-Class Mail parcels as a proxy for single-piece First-Class Mail
International inbound surface parcels due to the small volume in this category. After clearing customs, single-piece First-Class Mail International
inbound surface parcels enter the domestic mailstream and are handled the same way as domestic single-piece First-Class Mail parcels.
6 Two external systems, Red Tag and Time Inc.’s DelTrak, will be used for measurement during FY 2009, as the Postal Service transitions to a
statistically viable long-term solution.
7 Presort Package Services flats consist primarily of Bound Printed Matter, which has similar physical characteristics as Presort and can be
scanned by external reporters. Accordingly, Presort Package Services flats will be measured via the same approach as Presort Standard Mail
flats and reported together.
8 Single-piece Package Services flats make up less than 4% of all Package Services flats (excluding retail Media Mail, which was discontinued
as a result of PRC Docket No. R2006–1) and only 1% of the total Package Services mail base; therefore, the Postal Service does not propose a
single-piece Package Services flats measure. As a result, the Package Services measurement will be strictly parcel volume.
10 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act.
39 U.S.C. 3691(b)(1)(D) and 3691(b)(2). https://
www.prc.gov/notices/PL109–435PAEA.pdf.
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The Postal Service believes that the
proposed measurement and reporting
systems described in greater detail
below satisfy all legislative
requirements and provide the PRC with
sufficiently reliable data with which to
perform its service performance
accountability responsibilities. The
proposed system is cost effective,
statistically significant, sufficiently
granular in detail, and includes
numerous methods of auditability. The
Postal Service is asking for approval to
move forward with development of
these systems with the understanding
that the approval is for the conceptual
approach documented here and is
subject to review of the implemented
systems. In order to begin reporting
service performance metrics as quickly
as possible, the Postal Service requests
that the PRC do the following:
Approve continued use of EXFC for
service performance measurement of
First-Class Mail single-piece letters and
flats, and as a proxy for First-Class Mail
Presort flats;
Approve continued use of Delivery
Confirmation service for service
performance measurement of parcelshaped components of each domestic
market-dominant mail class;
Approve the use of an external
measurement system that supplements
externally collected delivery data with
Intelligent Mail scans for service
performance measurement of Presort
letters and flats;
Approve the use of data from external
measurement systems—Red Tag and
DelTrak—as an interim service
performance measurement for
Periodicals until adoption of IMBs is
sufficient to permit migration to the
external measurement provider;
Approve continued use of IMMS for
service performance measurement of
single-piece First-Class Mail
International letters, and the use of
domestic single-piece First-Class Mail
flat performance as a proxy for singlepiece First-Class Mail International flats;
Approve the use of internal data for
service performance measurement of
Special Services; and
Approve the reporting proposals
specified.
For letter- and flat-shaped Presort mail
within First-Class Mail, Periodicals, and
Standard Mail services, the Postal
Service has designed an external
measurement approach that
supplements mail scans available from
an internal Intelligent Mail system with
externally collected data. For parcelshaped mail within First-Class Mail,
Standard Mail, and Package Services,12
the Postal Service proposes to use an
internal solution based on Delivery
Confirmation scans obtained at
acceptance and delivery. Additionally,
the proposed performance measurement
of various domestic special services will
use an internal measurement approach.
The two critical elements for service
performance measurement of a mail
piece are the date/time when the mail
piece enters the mailstream, otherwise
known as the ‘‘start-the-clock,’’ and the
date/time when delivery occurs or is
attempted, otherwise known as the
‘‘stop-the-clock.’’ The mail piece service
performance can be viewed as the
difference between the ‘‘start-the-clock’’
and ‘‘stop-the-clock’’ dates compared to
the established service standard for the
mail category. When assessing mail
piece performance, the facility Critical
Entry Time (CET) must be taken into
account. The CET is the latest time mail
can be received at designated induction
points in the postal network in order for
it to be processed and dispatched in
time to meet service standards. If the
Postal Service accepts a mail piece
before the CET on a given processing
day, the mail piece will have a ‘‘startthe-clock’’ date of the current day. If the
mail piece is accepted after the CET, the
mail piece will have a ‘‘start-the-clock’’
date of the following applicable
processing day.
2.1 Presort Letter and Flat-Shaped
Mail
For Presort Standard Mail, First-Class
Mail and Periodical letters and Standard
and Periodical flats, the Postal Service
proposes a service performance
measurement system that uses the
induction event to ‘‘start-the-clock,’’ and
an external, third-party ‘‘stop-the-clock’’
performed by reporters with scanners in
their home. Additional data on mail
piece tracking from Intelligent Mail
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2. Measurement Approach
The Postal Service proposes
continued use of EXFC to measure
single-piece First-Class Mail letters and
flats and IMMS to measure single-piece
First-Class Mail International letters.11
11 The only major type of International Mail
classified as market-dominant is single-piece FirstClass Mail International. For single-piece First-Class
Mail International flats and parcels, the Postal
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Service will use the domestic flats and parcel
measurements as proxies, as explained in Section
4.
12 Package Services market-dominant products
include single-piece Parcel Post, Bound Printed
Matter, Library Mail, and Media Mail. For purposes
of service standard establishment and service
performance measurement, the market-dominant
products designated by 39 U.S.C. 3621(a) as singlepiece Parcel Post, Bound Printed Matter, Library
Mail, and Media Mail are grouped together as
Package Services due to the small volumes.
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Barcode (IMB) scans will also be used
to supplement the external data.
However, any data collected by the
Postal Service will be provided to an
independent, external contractor to
calculate service measurement and
compile the necessary reports.
To facilitate an accurate ‘‘start-theclock,’’ mailers will prepare mail with
IMBs and submit electronic mailing
information that describes the mail
profile. During mail induction, the
Postal Service will scan barcodes to
record mail arrival at sites that are
equipped with scanners. At other sites,
the ‘‘start-the-clock’’ will be the
documented arrival time at the Postal
Service unit. In all cases, mailings are
verified to ensure they meet acceptable
mail preparation requirements to qualify
for service performance measurement.
Mail arrival times and mail preparation
quality information will be made
available to mailers to ensure validity.
The proposed measurement system
will determine the service performance
by using data collected by the Postal
Service on the time taken from the
‘‘start-the-clock’’ through processing.
The external measurement contractor
will combine this data with data from
anonymous households and small
businesses that report directly to an
external service measurement
contractor. The reporters in anonymous
households will submit in-home
delivery information to the external
measurement contractor, and that
information will be used to determine
the ‘‘stop-the-clock’’ service day. The
end-to-end service measure will have
two parts, (1) how long mail pieces take
to get through processing, and (2) how
long mail takes from the last processing
scan to arrive in-home—the second
portion will be used as a delivery factor
differential to determine the percent of
mail not delivered on time even though
it made through processing timely. For
Presort letters and flats entered at
Delivery Units that do not receive
processing scans, postal delivery
personnel will scan IMBs to indicate
intention to deliver same-day. The
delivery factor differential for the
performance measurement between the
date of the last IMB scan and the date
reported in-home will be determined for
each mail category. This factor
represents last mile delivery
performance. With this measurement
approach, the core of the service
performance score would be based on
data provided by external reporters,
which would make it easily auditable,
and yet cost effective.
Using external reporters, barcoded
mail that falls out of automation, such
as non-machinable and not flat-
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machinable (NFM) mail, will be
included in service performance
measurement. To ensure that the
external service measurement contractor
is able to measure service performance
for properly prepared and addressed
mail pieces, the Postal Service will
provide the contractor with mail quality
information that it derives by scanning
IMBs.
The proposed approach leverages data
from internal systems to enhance
measurement for Presort letters and flatshaped mail has several key advantages:
greater representation of mail
characteristics; allows for richer
diagnostics; and provides opportunities
to reduce the cost of measurement.
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2.2
Requirements for Presort Mailers
Since the Postal Service measurement
system for letter and flat-shaped mail is
dependent on the IMB, the Postal
Service will require the use of IMBs to
qualify for automation discounts as of
January 2009. It is important to note that
the IMB alone does not provide enough
information for service performance
measurement. The mailer adoption rates
projected throughout this document
include both adoption of the IMB as
well as the adoption of electronic
mailing information. For service
performance measurement purposes,
mailers will need to:
Prepare mailings using the Intelligent
Mail series of barcodes to provide a
sufficient level of uniqueness and abide
by mail preparation requirements to
ensure that the mailings are automationcompatible; 13 and
Submit electronic mailing information
describing the mail contents and
Intelligent Mail barcodes used.
Service performance measurement
will depend on high-quality mail
presented to the Postal Service. The
Postal Service requires that mail meet
the required mail preparation criteria.
The quality of the mail will be verified
by either Seamless Acceptance, semiautomated verification such as MERLIN,
or manual verification processes. Under
the Seamless Acceptance verification
process, certain characteristics of mail
will be inspected while mail is
processed in the mailstream. Because
incorrectly addressed pieces and
improperly prepared mail make it
impossible in many cases to meet the
service standard, only mailings that
meet acceptable mail preparation
criteria will be included for service
measurement.
13 Domestic Mail Manual sections 200.3.1 through
200.3.14. Physical Standard Mails for Automation
Letters and Cards. Domestic Mail Manual sections
300.3.1 through 300.3.14.
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2.3 Parcels
For parcel-shaped mail within FirstClass Mail, Standard Mail, and Package
Services, the Postal Service will use an
internal solution based on Delivery
Confirmation scans obtained at
acceptance and delivery. The Postal
Service currently measures service
performance for Retail parcels via
Delivery Confirmation barcode scans.
The existing Delivery Confirmation
performance reports for mail originating
at postal retail units can be used in the
short-term to measure the service
performance of all Package Services
until service measurement can be
extended to Presort parcels. For
reporting purposes, First-Class Mail
parcels will be included with the FirstClass Mail aggregated performance
results, Standard Mail parcels will be
included with the Standard Mail
aggregated performance results, and the
Package Services aggregated
performance results will include only
parcel volume.
Parcel-shaped Retail mail will use the
Delivery Confirmation scan at the retail
counter as the ‘‘start-the-clock.’’ Parcelshaped Presort mail will use the
documented arrival time at the postal
unit as the ‘‘start-the-clock.’’ For Presort
parcels, validation similar to that for
letters and flats will be performed to
ensure that the proper parcels were
dropped at the correct postal facility.
The ‘‘stop-the-clock’’ is the Delivery
Confirmation scan performed by postal
delivery personnel at delivery.14 Since
postal personnel scan virtually every
piece with a Delivery Confirmation scan
at delivery, the measurement system is
truly an end-to-end performance system.
In addition, the sender has access to the
Delivery Confirmation ‘‘stop-the-clock’’
information from usps.com and, thus,
can independently verify the delivery
date.
More detail on parcels can be found
under the specific class descriptions
below.
72399
reporters will transmit scan data back to
the external contractor and the scans
will be used as the ‘‘stop-the-clock’’ for
the mail pieces. Since there is
considerable set-up associated with this
type of system, the Postal Service will
begin reporting from this system in FY
2009.
External ‘‘stop-the-clock’’ scanning
offers many benefits to the Postal
Service, the PRC, and mailers
concerning the accuracy and
auditability of service performance
measurement:
Last-mile sampling data will be used
to provide the granularity required for
the district level reporting;
Association of the reporter scan data
to the final Mail Processing Equipment
scan will be used to assess and correct
any last mile failures;
Mail pieces used will have no
distinguishing features; and
The volume of mail going to a reporter
will remain unchanged.
The Postal Service plans to continue
collecting performance data for parcels
within each domestic market-dominant
mail class as it does today based on
Delivery Confirmation acceptance and
delivery scans. The Postal Service will
send performance data for First-Class
Mail parcels and Standard Mail parcels
to the external service performance
contractor for consolidated reporting
into each mail class’ reporting
measurement. Service Performance for
Package Services parcels and Special
Services will be reported by the Postal
Service. Quarterly reports will include
data on the percentage of mail delivered
on time as well as the percentage of mail
delivered within 1-day, 2-days, and 3days of the standard being measured.
Annual compliance reports will include
the annual goal and the annual
percentage of mail for each class
delivered on time or the percentage of
special services provided on time by
service.
2.4 Reporting
The Postal Service will use an
independent, external contractor to
prepare service performance reports for
domestic First-Class Mail, Periodicals,
Standard Mail, and single-piece FirstClass Mail International letters. For the
letter- and flat-shaped components of its
market-dominant mail classes, the
Postal Service’s external contractor will
employ reporters equipped with
handheld scanners who, each day, will
scan the IMB on live mail pieces
received at their delivery addresses. The
2.5 Timeline
The Postal Service will use a phased
rollout of the service performance
measurement system, which will
correspond with Presort-mailer
adoption of the IMBs and other needed
electronic mailing information. A
significant adoption of IMBs by presort
mailers is expected by FY 2009. This
will provide sufficient representative
volume to provide statistically valid
judgment.15
Some components of the proposed
measurement system are already in
place. The Postal Service will continue
14 Carriers en-route and clerks at post office
boxes.
15 Excludes Periodicals Mail, which will cutover
in 2009.
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to use EXFC to measure single-piece
First-Class Mail letters and flats, as well
as IMMS to measure single-piece FirstClass Mail International letters. EXFC
and IMMS are specifically designed to
be representative of those mailstreams
and already provide an external,
statistically valid performance
measurement. Measurement is also
becoming available for Package Services
parcels entered at retail.16 The existing
Delivery Confirmation performance
reports for mail originating at postal
retail units can be used in the short-term
to measure the service performance of
all Package Services until service
measurement can be extended to Presort
parcels.
Although use of the IMB will not be
required until January 2009, several
Presort mailers have already adopted
the IMB and submit electronic mailing
information. Pilot programs are
currently underway for measurement of
Presort First-Class Mail and Standard
Mail. Mailer adoption rates are expected
to continue growing.
Toward the end of 2008, external
reporters will be trained to use a new
scanning device for in-home delivery
reporting of all mail received that
contains an IMB. Beginning in 2009,
IMB and electronic mailing information
adoption will occur in sufficient
quantity that measurement based on
scans generated by external reporters
will provide statistically valid
measurements for service performance
of Presort First-Class Mail letters and
Standard Mail.
For Periodicals mailers, adoption of
IMBs and electronic mailing
information is projected to be slower.
Measurements from DelTrak and Red
Tag, which are two external
measurement systems, will be used for
measurement during a portion of FY
2009 as the Postal Service transitions to
a statistically viable long-term solution
using the same methodology explained
above.
TABLE 2.—MEASUREMENT IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINE
January 2008
FY 2009
First-Class Mail Single-Piece Letters
and Flats.
First-Class Mail Presort Flats and Single-Piece International Mail Flats.
Single-Piece First-Class Mail International Letters.
First-Class Mail Presort Letters ...........
EXFC .............................
EXFC .................................................
EXFC.
EXFC as Proxy ..............
EXFC as Proxy ..................................
EXFC as Proxy.
IMMS .............................
IMMS .................................................
IMMS.
Intelligent Mail Pilot .......
First-Class Mail Parcels1 and International Mail Parcels.
Standard Mail Letters and Flats 2 ........
System Setup and Development.
Intelligent Mail Pilot .......
Standard Mail Parcels 3 .......................
System Setup and Development.
Red Tag/DelTrak System Review.
Reporter + IMB/Electronic Mailing Information (25–50% of system).
Retail and Presort Delivery Confirmation Sample (5–10% system).
Reporter + IMB/Electronic Mailing Information (25–50% of system).
Delivery Confirmation Sample (5–
10% of system).
Red Tag/DelTrak Reporter + IMB 4 ...
Reporter + IMB/Electronic Mailing Information (50–75% of system).
Retail and Presort Delivery Confirmation Sample (5–10% system).
Reporter + IMB/Electronic Mailing Information (50–75% of system).
Delivery Confirmation Sample (10–
25% of system).
Reporter + IMB/Electronic mailing information 5 (25–75% of system).
Periodicals Letters and Flats ...............
Periodicals: Within County 6 ................
Package Services Parcels (includes
Bound Printed Matter, Library Mail,
Media Mail and Parcel Post).
Special Services ..................................
FY 2010
Retail Only (15% Retail)
Red Tag.
Retail and Presort Delivery Confirmation Sample (5–10% system).
System Setup and Development.
Internal Measurement .......................
Retail and Presort Delivery Confirmation Sample (10–25% system).
Internal Measurement.
1 First-Class
Mail parcels will be rolled into the First-Class Mail measurement based on percent of mail.
Package Services flats are included with Standard Mail flats.
Mail parcels will be rolled into the Standard Mail measurement based on percent of mail.
4 Once a threshold is met for IMB statistical validity, which the Postal Service expects to occur in 2009, the Postal Service plans to cutover to
reporting via IMB scanning. Red Tag and DelTrak will be used for reporting in 2009 until the cutover occurs; however, the long-term measurement approach for Periodicals is planned for 2010, subject to the considerations expressed above in fn. 16.
5 The Postal Service may elect to have its external provider use data from DelTrak or Red Tag even in future years if it proves to increase the
overall robustness of the data and the statistical validity.
6 The Postal Service is still attempting to determine how an accurate measurement system for In-County Periodicals could be developed. In the
interim, the Postal Service is hopeful that existing systems like Red Tag could be expanded to provide data in the short-term and that mailer
adoption of IMBs will provide additional granularity in the long-term.
2 Presort
3 Standard
First-Class Mail pieces represented
46.0% of the overall mail volume in FY
2006,17 with nearly 98 billion pieces. Of
First-Class Mail, 42.5% are single-piece
letters or flats, 0.36% are single-piece
parcels, 55.9% are Presort letters, 1.0%
are Presort flats, and 0.194% are Presort
parcels. The Postal Service plans to
measure each of these different
segments and report a weighted average
measurement. Below Table 3—First-
Class Mail Volume illustrates the makeup of First-Class Mail by entry volume
and shape. The table also illustrates the
percentage that the First-Class Mail
segments represent within the overall
mailstream.
16 Under Order No. 43, the PRC has classified all
inbound single-piece surface parcels tendered at
Universal Postal Union inward land rates in the
market-dominant category. This mail includes
surface parcels, which enter the United States via
surface transportation at the New Jersey
International Bulk Mail Center, as well as surface
airlift parcels, which enter at the five International
Service Centers in Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles,
New York JFK, and San Francisco. Once surface
parcels clear customs, they are transferred from the
acceptance facility to a Bulk Mail Center (BMC).
Once entered into the BMC network, inbound
parcels undergo the same processing as domestic
single-piece Package Services parcels. Because the
volume of the inbound surface parcels is small in
proportion to other market-dominant categories,
creating a separate measurement system for these
parcels is not cost-justified. Given that inbound
surface parcels are handled through the domestic
BMC network, the Postal Service submits that the
service performance measurement statistics for
corresponding domestic surface parcels serves as a
reasonable proxy for International Mail inbound
surface parcels.
17 https://www.usps.com/financials/_pdf/
Fy2006_RPWsummaryreport.pdf.
3. First-Class Mail
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3.1
Background
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TABLE 3.—FIRST-CLASS MAIL VOLUME
Single-piece
Letters
(percent)
First-Class Mail ........................................
Overall Mailstream ...................................
39.06
18.0
3.2 First-Class Mail Single-Piece
Letters and Flats
Collection boxes and office building
chutes are the primary methods for
entering First-Class Mail single-piece
letters and flats. Combined, this mail
represents 19.6% of the total
mailstream. Service performance is
currently measured though EXFC and,
subject to PRC approval, the Postal
Service plans to continue to use EXFC
for this purpose.
EXFC currently has approximately
13,000 reporters and measures 2.7
million mail pieces each year. EXFC
continuously measures 463 3-digit ZIP
Code service areas selected based on
geography and volume density.
Approximately 90% of First-Class Mail
volume originates and 80% destinates
in these EXFC measurement areas.
EXFC mail pieces are designed to
resemble the rest of the mailstream;
pieces are hand- or machine-addressed,
stamped or metered, and are of different
colors, sizes, and weights. The Postal
Service intends to expand the use of
EXFC in FY 2009 to cover nearly all 3digit ZIP Code areas.
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3.2.1 Statistical Validity
Each EXFC postal administrative
reporting district currently receives
approximately 5,000 EXFC mail pieces
with an overnight service standard,
1,500 pieces with a two-day standard,
and 1,500 pieces with a three-day
standard each quarter. The original
EXFC system used a precision level of
+/-3% to produce statistically valid
results at the postal administrative
district level over an entire postal
quarter. To reach this level of statistical
validity, a certain number of pieces
must be mailed during a given test
period. Over the years, the Postal
Service has increased the original
sample size, which has driven the
precision level to a much narrower
variance and enhanced the system’s
accuracy. Precision levels at the district
level for the annual results are now
typically under +/-1% for each service
standard. To ensure the integrity of the
measurement, the Postal Service does
not know where EXFC mail is being
dropped or received.
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Flats
(percent)
Presort
Parcels
(percent)
3.49
1.6
Letters
(percent)
0.36
0.17
At the national level, the current
system has a precision level of +/-0.05%
across all three days in the current FirstClass Mail service standard range
(overnight, two-day, three-day) over an
entire fiscal year.
The EXFC system has been in place
since 1990 and provides accurate,
independent, and externally generated
service performance results. Quality
reviews are conducted for droppers and
reporters, and data are reviewed on a
daily, weekly, cross-weekly, monthly,
and quarterly basis.
3.2.2
‘‘Start-the-Clock’’
The date/time that the mail piece is
dropped into the collection box,
business mail chute, or at a Post Office
location is the ‘‘start-the-clock.’’ Mail
piece droppers report the ‘‘start-theclock’’ directly to the external service
measurement contractor. If a mail piece
is dropped at a collection box, business
mail chute, or Post Office location after
the last posted pickup time or on a day
when pickup does not occur, the next
pickup day will be used as the ‘‘startthe-clock.’’
The induction points for the ‘‘startthe-clock’’ are determined before the
start of each quarter. Droppers are
provided with a listing of collection
boxes that they are allowed to use for
their assigned inductions in a given 3digit ZIP Code service area. Enough
locations are chosen to ensure a certain
amount of overage, to accommodate any
unforeseen issues that may arise with
the selected induction points. The
collection boxes are chosen in a random
selection process with replacement,
meaning that the same induction
location may be chosen multiple times.
The induction points are weighted going
into the selection process, so that
locations in 5-digit ZIP Code areas with
a larger number of collection boxes have
a greater chance of being selected than
locations in ZIP Codes areas with a
smaller number of collection boxes. The
external contractor monitors drop
compliance continuously throughout
the quarter to ensure proper
diversification of mail locations.
EXFC origin-destination mail flows
are based on estimated 3-digit ZIP Code
origin-destination pair volume flows for
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55.9
25.7
Flats
(percent)
Parcels
(percent)
1.0
0.47
Total
(percent)
0.19
0.09
100
46.0
corresponding 3-digit ZIP Code pairs
over the past three fiscal years. The
number of pieces entered from each
district is proportionate to the origindestination volumes by service
standard. The measurement system will
be expanded to nearly all 3-digit ZIP
Codes in FY 2009.
3.2.3 ‘‘Stop-the-Clock’’
The date/time that the mail piece is
received at a household, small business,
or Post Office Box is reported as the
‘‘stop-the-clock’’ directly by the reporter
to the external contractor for EXFC
reporting purposes. The service
performance is the number of calendar
days from the ‘‘start-the-clock’’ to the
‘‘stop-the-clock.’’ However, if the day of
receipt occurs after a non-delivery day
(Sunday or a holiday), then one day is
subtracted for each non-delivery day.
3.3
First-Class Mail Presort Letters
The primary induction method for
Presort letters is bulk entry at postal
mail processing plants and Business
Mail Entry Units (BMEUs) across the
United States. Presort First-Class Mail
letters represent 25.7% of the total
mailstream. The measurement approach
proposed by the Postal Service uses
externally generated scans of mail
pieces containing IMBs by reporters to
record in-home delivery dates. In
combination with Intelligent Mail scan
data collected by the Postal Service, this
approach enables the granular level of
reporting being sought by the mailing
industry.
3.3.1
Adoption Rates
Participation in the Intelligent Mail
pilot, the benefits of the IMB for special
services, and the expectation that the
Postal Service will require IMBs on mail
subject to automation discounts are
factors that, in combination, are
expected to generate 13.6 billion Presort
letters with IMBs and the other needed
electronic mail information by January
2009. This volume will satisfy the
conditions for performance
measurement in FY 2009. With required
use by January 2009, the minimum
estimates for mailer adoption are:
January 2009: 25% of First-Class Mail
Presort letters; and
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January 2010: 50% of First-Class Mail
Presort letters.
3.3.2
Statistical Validity
We plan to use the last mile estimate
based on combined data from presorted
First-Class letters with IMBs and the
EXFC pieces with IMBs. Assuming that
confidence interval would be +/-0.5% at
the district level on average. Current
EXFC data indicates that district last
mile factors vary over time and
geography, but generally fall in the 2–
3% range. The Postal Service anticipates
a precision between +/-0.5% and +/0.6% as illustrated in the table below.
25% of presorted First-Class mail will
have an IMB and be measurable, the
average district will have approximately
6,775 pieces per quarter upon which to
base the last mile estimates when
presorted First-Class mail is combined
with available data from EXFC. The last
mile factor estimate with a 95%
TABLE 4.—PRECISION FOR FIRST-CLASS MAIL PRESORT LETTERS
Confidence
interval
(percent)
First-Class Mail Presort Letters .......................................................................
Presort Letters .................................................................................................
It should also be noted that the last
mile factor is one piece of the overall
service performance estimate, with the
performance of the acceptance to final
processing scan being the other. The
availability of billions of data records to
sample from to form these estimates
means that the Postal Service can
economically take large samples for
individual report cells (e.g. Baltimore
SCF-entry Standard Mail, Chicago 3-day
First-Class Presorted Mail). The
estimated precision levels will be
shared with the PRC during the
development process.
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3.3.3 ‘‘Start-the-Clock’’
Mailers are required to prepare mail
with IMBs and submit electronic
mailing information listing the IMBs
used. Mail is verified to ensure it meets
mail preparation criteria. Mail that does
not meet mail preparation standards
will be excluded from service
performance in order to ensure that the
system produces a valid, reliable
measurement score. The ‘‘start-theclock’’ will be the documented arrival
time at the Postal Service unit. Mail
arrival times and mail preparation
quality information will be made
available to mailers.
3.3.4 ‘‘Stop-the-Clock’’
External reporters will be equipped
with handheld scanners capable of
scanning IMBs and reporters will scan
all mail they receive that contains an
IMB. These scan data will be
transmitted to the external reporting
system and will be the ‘‘stop-the-clock’’
for the individually scanned mail
pieces. By comparing the date of the
final Postal Service scan with the actual
receipt date for these pieces, the
external measurement contractor will
calculate a factor for the actual service
performance of the last mile for FirstClass Mail Presort letters. This factor
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Last mile
factor estimate
(percent)
95
95
will be combined with the Intelligent
Mail data to report the end-to-end
service performance measurement.
The use of external reporters will
allow for measurement of manually
processed mail and mail that falls out of
automation to be included in service
performance measurement. The external
reporters will provide the actual ‘‘stopthe-clock’’ and the external provider
will calculate the service performance
for those pieces.
3.4
First-Class Mail Presort Flats
Presort First-Class Mail flats represent
only 0.47% of the total mailstream,
producing one of the smallest mail
categories. This low volume makes
creating a statistically valid
measurement system difficult. Since
there are four times as many singlepiece First-Class Mail flats as there are
Presort flats, and the single-piece and
Presort flats mailstreams are combined
in operations, the Postal Service will
use the EXFC measurement of singlepiece First-Class Mail flats as a proxy for
Presort flats. In order to determine a
more accurate estimate for First-Class
Mail Presort flats, the portion of EXFC
that reflects this mail category, i.e.,
machine-addressed flats, rather than
hand-addressed, will be used.
2
3
Coverage of
IMB + electronic mailing
information
(percent)
25
25
Precision
(percent)
+/-0.5
+/-0.6
under 0.4% of all First-Class Mail and
less than 0.2% of the total mailstream.
3.5.1 Statistical Validity
In 2006, just over 14 million FirstClass Mail Retail parcels included
Delivery Confirmation service,
representing 4% of these parcels. While
this represents low usage of the Delivery
Confirmation service, it is still
representative of the population and,
hence, provides an acceptable basis for
service performance measurement. The
Postal Service will continue to use
Delivery Confirmation scans as long as
they continue to provide accurate,
auditable data for service performance
measurement.
First-Class Mail Retail Parcels
3.5.2 ‘‘Start-the-Clock’’
Primarily, the ‘‘start-the-clock’’ occurs
at the retail counter when customers
purchase Delivery Confirmation for
parcels they intend to mail. When postal
retail clerks apply Delivery
Confirmation forms to these parcels,
they scan the Delivery Confirmation
barcodes on the forms. The scan is
captured via either a Point-of-Sale (POS)
terminal at the retail counter or an
Intelligent Mail handheld scanning
device. Since the customer is present at
the ‘‘start-the-clock’’ event and receives
a time-stamped receipt with purchase,
there are several validation points.
The Postal Service currently measures
service performance for retail parcels
via Delivery Confirmation barcode
scans. This approach for measuring
performance is working well, so the
Postal Service will continue using this
measurement approach for this mail
shape. For reporting purposes,
performance results will be sent to the
external measurement contractor for
inclusion into the First-Class Mail
aggregated performance results. FirstClass Mail Retail parcels represent
3.5.3 ‘‘Stop-the-Clock’’
At delivery, the carrier will scan the
Delivery Confirmation barcode to
denote delivery or that delivery was
attempted, either of which will serve to
‘‘stop-the-clock’’ for service
performance measurement.
Retail parcel reporting for service
performance measurement will use the
date of the ‘‘start-the-clock’’ event and
count the days between the ‘‘start-theclock’’ and the ‘‘stop-the-clock’’ to
determine delivery performance. A
3.5
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comparison is then made to the relevant
service standard to determine if the
parcel received on-time service
performance.
3.6
First-Class Mail Presort Parcels
One differentiating characteristic of
First-Class Mail Presort parcels is the
propensity of mailers to apply Delivery
Confirmation. First-Class Mail Presort
parcels with Delivery Confirmation
service comprise almost half of the mail
category. This demonstrates that there
are ample parcels that can be included
in service performance measurement of
this mail category. Using Delivery
Confirmation scan data, performance
results will be calculated by the Postal
Service and then sent to the external
measurement contractor for inclusion
into the First-Class Mail service
aggregated performance results.
3.6.1
Adoption Rates
Many mailers already meet the
electronic mailing information
requirements necessary for performance
measurement; however, the Postal
Service plans to expand internal
Delivery Confirmation sampling
processes that verify shipment contents
and the accuracy of the electronic
mailing information. As verification
becomes more prevalent, the volume of
parcels that are measured will increase.
3.6.2 Statistical Validity
With the selected approach, the
performance of an estimated 4.5 million
parcels will be sampled for service
measurement in FY 2009. Since half of
the mail category contains Delivery
Confirmation service, concerns about
the representativeness of the sample
used to measure service performance are
minimal.
3.6.3 ‘‘Start-the-Clock’’
For service performance
measurement, mailers are required to
prepare mail with the Delivery
Confirmation barcode and submit
electronic mailing information listing
the Delivery Confirmation barcodes
used. Mail is verified to ensure it meets
mail preparation criteria. Mail that does
not meet mail preparation standards
will be excluded from service
performance in order to ensure that the
system produces a valid, reliable
measurement score. The ‘‘start-theclock’’ will be the documented arrival
time at the Postal Service unit. Mail
arrival times and mail preparation
quality information will be made
available to mailers.
3.6.4 ‘‘Stop-the-Clock’’
Postal delivery personnel scan the
Delivery Confirmation barcode upon
delivery and can denote the delivery or
attempted delivery, either of which will
serve to ‘‘stop-the-clock’’ for service
performance measurement.
3.7
Reporting for First-Class Mail
3.7.1
Quarterly Reporting
The Postal Service proposes to
continue reporting single-piece FirstClass Mail performance as it does today,
with the addition of single-piece FirstClass Mail parcels.
For Presort First-Class Mail pieces,
the Postal Service proposes quarterly
reporting that will measure service
performance separately by day, i.e.,
overnight, 2-day, and 3-day/4-day, for
each district. This greatly expands the
number of performance measures
reported, yet is consistent with the way
EXFC currently reports single-piece
First-Class Mail service. The use of data
from the final Intelligent Mail scans
allows reporting at a higher degree of
granularity. The quarterly reports will
provide on-time performance for letter,
flat, and parcel-shaped Presort FirstClass Mail pieces. The Postal Service
will send performance data for FirstClass Mail parcels to the external
service performance contractor for
consolidated reporting purposes.
The proposed quarterly report format
for on-time performance of Presort FirstClass Mail is as follows:
TABLE 4–A1.—QUARTERLY SERVICE PERFORMANCE FOR PRESORT FIRST-CLASS MAIL; SAMPLE QUARTERLY REPORT
FORMAT FOR PRESORT FIRST-CLASS MAIL
District
Overnight
on-time
(percent)
Two-day
on-time
(percent)
Three-day/
four-day
on-time
(percent)
CAPITAL METRO AREA .............................................................................................................
Baltimore District ..........................................................................................................................
Capital District ..............................................................................................................................
South Carolina District .................................................................................................................
Greensboro District ......................................................................................................................
Mid-Carolinas District ...................................................................................................................
No. Virginia District ......................................................................................................................
Richmond District .........................................................................................................................
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
1 For
purposes of publication, the reference to Figure 1 in the Proposal has been changed to Table 4–A.
The mail variance for Presort FirstClass Mail pieces will be reported
separately with the percentage of mail
that is delivered within one-day, twodays, and three-days of the applicable
standard. The proposed quarterly report
format with mail variance for Presort
First-Class Mail is as follows:
TABLE 4–B1.—QUARTERLY SERVICE PERFORMANCE FOR PRESORT FIRST-CLASS MAIL—MAIL VARIANCE; SAMPLE
QUARTERLY REPORT FORMAT WITH MAIL VARIANCE FOR PRESORT FIRST-CLASS MAIL
Overnight
Two-day
Three-day/four-day
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
District
Within
+1-day
(percent)
Within
+2-day
(percent)
Within
+3-day
(percent)
Within
+1-day
(percent)
Within
+2-day
(percent)
Within
+3-day
(percent)
Within
+1-day
(percent)
Within
+1-day
(percent)
Within
+2-day
(percent)
CAPITAL METRO AREA ............................
Baltimore District .........................................
Capital District .............................................
South Carolina District ................................
Greensboro District .....................................
XX
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XX
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XX
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XX
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TABLE 4–B1.—QUARTERLY SERVICE PERFORMANCE FOR PRESORT FIRST-CLASS MAIL—MAIL VARIANCE; SAMPLE
QUARTERLY REPORT FORMAT WITH MAIL VARIANCE FOR PRESORT FIRST-CLASS MAIL—Continued
Overnight
Two-day
Three-day/four-day
District
Within
+1-day
(percent)
Within
+2-day
(percent)
Within
+3-day
(percent)
Within
+1-day
(percent)
Within
+2-day
(percent)
Within
+3-day
(percent)
Within
+1-day
(percent)
Within
+1-day
(percent)
Within
+2-day
(percent)
Mid-Carolinas District ..................................
No. Virginia District .....................................
Richmond District ........................................
XX
XX
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1 For
purposes of publication, the reference to Figure 2 in the Proposal has been changed to Table 4–B.
3.7.2
Annual Reporting
Separate national measures will be
compiled for each First-Class Mail
grouping (single-piece and Presort) and
by service standard (one-day, two-day,
and three-day/four-day) for letter, flat,
and parcel-shaped First-Class Mail.
Annual performance consists of a
weighted average for each First-Class
Mail segment that allots weight based
on the volume of mail in each district.
If the segments are not representatively
distributed, the weighting will ensure
that each district counts for its fair share
in the national aggregate.
The proposed report format for FirstClass Mail Annual Compliance Report is
as follows:
TABLE 4–C 1.—ANNUAL COMPLIANCE REPORT FORMAT FOR FIRST-CLASS MAIL SAMPLE ANNUAL REPORT FORMAT FOR
FIRST-CLASS MAIL
Mail class
Goal
(percent)
On-time
(percent)
First-Class Mail:
Single-Piece Overnight .....................................................................................................................................
Single-Piece Two-Day ......................................................................................................................................
Single-Piece Three-Day/Four-Day ...................................................................................................................
Presort Overnight .............................................................................................................................................
Presort Two-Day ...............................................................................................................................................
Presort Three-Day/Four-Day ............................................................................................................................
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
1 For
purposes of publication, the reference to Figure 3 in the Proposal has been changed to Table 4–C.
4. Single-Piece First-Class Mail
International
4.1
Background
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
Outbound single-piece First-Class
Mail International pieces are accepted
by the United States Postal Service for
processing and transfer to foreign postal
administrations for delivery in other
countries. The service standard for the
outbound domestic transit of this mail
is the same as for First-Class Mail pieces
from the domestic 3-digit ZIP Code of
origin to the domestic 3-digit ZIP Code
area in which the Postal Service
International Service Center (ISC)
designated for that origin is located. 18
Inbound single-piece First-Class Mail
International originates from other
countries and is destined for delivery to
18 The postal mail processing network includes a
handful of ISCs each of which serves a region of the
postal network and is responsible for conducting
the initial international processing for outbound
international mail or the final international
processing for inbound international mail. For
outbound mail, the ISC for a postal network region
may be the gateway facility from which mail is
transported from the postal network to the custody
of a foreign postal administration. In a small
percentage of cases, outbound mail may be
transported from its designated ISC to another ISC
for the outbound gateway processing that precedes
its exit from the postal network.
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addresses in 3-digit ZIP Code areas of
the United States. The service standard
for the inbound domestic transit of this
mail is the same as for First-Class Mail
that originates from the 3-digit ZIP Code
in which the ISC is located to the 3-digit
ZIP Code area of the delivery address.
Service performance for the domestic
transit of both inbound and outbound
single-piece First-Class Mail
International is currently measured
through the International Mail
Measurement System (IMMS), which is
operated by an external service
performance measurement contractor.
The Postal Service plans to continue to
use IMMS for this purpose.
IMMS utilizes only letter-shaped mail
pieces, which is the predominant shape
of both outbound and inbound singlepiece First-Class Mail International. The
processing of single-piece First-Class
Mail International—during either
outbound transit from domestic origin
to the designated ISC or inbound transit
from the designated ISC to the domestic
delivery address—is the same as for
domestic single-piece First-Class Mail
flats and parcels, which are discussed
above in Sections 3.2 and 3.5,
respectively. The domestic transit
service standards are the same.
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Accordingly, the Postal Service
proposes that the data (EXFC for flats,
Delivery Confirmation for parcels)
utilized to report for domestic singlepiece First-Class Mail flats and parcels
be used to serve as a proxy for
estimating the service performance for
outbound and inbound single-piece
First-Class Mail International flats and
parcels.
4.1.1
Statistical Validity
The purpose of IMMS is to provide
independently gathered, accurate, and
reliable information on the transport
time for the domestic leg of transit for
letters. IMMS is designed as an arealevel measurement, as International
Mail volume varies substantially by
postal administrative district. The
volume of outbound IMMS test mail is
based on estimated international origindestination pair volumes. The import
distributions are based on the mail
profiles obtained from the System of
International Revenue and VolumeInbound. A minimum volume of 1,025
pieces within each postal administrative
area, per quarter, is used to deliver
measurement results that have a
precision of +/¥3% at a 95%
confidence level.
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4.1.2 ‘‘Start-the-Clock’’
To test outbound single-piece FirstClass Mail International letters, sample
international pieces are combined with
the bundles created for the domestic
EXFC testing program, which is
described above in Section 3.2. The
date/time that the test bundle is
dropped into the collection box or
business mail chute is the ‘‘start-theclock’’ and is reported directly to the
independent contractor.
To test inbound single-piece FirstClass Mail International letter service
performance, sample letters addressed
to reporters in the United States
employed by the contractor are mailed
from foreign countries by droppers
employed by the contractor. The IMMS
service performance measurement
contractor has worldwide operations. To
maintain the confidentiality of the
program, the identities and addresses of
the reporters and droppers (as well as
the participating foreign countries of the
droppers) are known only to the
contractor. The inbound ‘‘start-theclock’’ tracking begins with the first
scan of the PLANET Code series on a
piece at the ISC designated for the
region of the USPS network that
includes the delivery address.
4.1.3 ‘‘Stop-the-Clock’’
As an outbound international mail
letter travels through the domestic
processing system, the PLANET Code 19
information is captured and used to
measure its progress. When the letter is
sorted at the designated ISC, it receives
a PLANET Code scan. The ‘‘stop-theclock’’ date for an outbound mail piece
is the date of the last scan at this facility,
unless the scan is after 8 p.m. For
example, if the last PLANET Code scan
for a piece occurs at 11:30 p.m. on
Thursday, July 26, 2007, then the ‘‘stopthe-clock’’ date is Friday, July 27, 2007.
The number of transit days for outbound
mail is the difference between the
induction date and the last PLANET
Code read at the designated ISC.
Because the ‘‘stop-the-clock’’ event
takes place at an ISC, as opposed to a
delivery point, the transit days
calculation includes Sundays and
holidays.
An inbound international mail letter
flows through the USPS network from
the ISC to the delivery addresses. The
‘‘stop-the-clock’’ data for inbound mail
is the date the mailpiece is delivered to
a reporter employed by the service
measurement contractor. The reporter is
part of the EXFC survey group and is
responsible for receiving the mail and
reporting the date of delivery. The
number of transit days for inbound test
mail is the difference between the
delivery date and the date of the first
PLANET Code read or ID tag at the
designated ISC. Sundays and holidays
are not included in the transit days
calculation for import mailpieces.
Because the service standards for both
outbound and inbound single-piece
First-Class Mail International flats and
parcels are based on the domestic transit
of such mail, on-time performance is
measured against the same set of origindestination 3-digit ZIP Code area service
standards as domestic First-Class Mail.
To determine if a mailpiece is on time,
the number of transit days is compared
to the service standard for the
applicable origin-destination 3-digit ZIP
Code pair.
4.2 Reporting Single-Piece First-Class
Mail International Letters
4.2.1
Quarterly Reporting
Since not all postal administrative
districts have sufficient volumes for
reporting, the Postal Service proposes
reporting quarterly service performance
at a postal administrative area level.
Each measurement will include the
percent delivered on time for outbound
and for inbound single-piece First-Class
Mail International letters. All scores are
weighted at the area level using
proportions derived from a rolling
average of estimated volumes for 12
fiscal quarters.
The proposed quarterly report format
for single-piece First-Class Mail
International letters is as follows:
TABLE 4–D1.—QUARTERLY SERVICE PERFORMANCE FOR SINGLE-PIECE FIRST-CLASS MAIL INTERNATIONAL; SAMPLE
QUARTERLY REPORT FORMAT FOR SINGLE-PIECE FIRST-CLASS MAIL INTERNATIONAL LETTERS
Outbound/Inbound ontime
(percent)
Area
Northeast Area .........................................................................................................................................................................
New York Metro Area ..............................................................................................................................................................
Eastern Area ............................................................................................................................................................................
Capital Metro Area ...................................................................................................................................................................
Southeast Area ........................................................................................................................................................................
Great Lakes Area ....................................................................................................................................................................
Western Area ...........................................................................................................................................................................
Southwest Area .......................................................................................................................................................................
Pacific Area ..............................................................................................................................................................................
NATIONAL ...............................................................................................................................................................................
1
For purposes of publication, the reference to Figure 4 in the Proposal has been changed to Table 4–D.
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
The mail variance for single-piece
First-Class Mail International letters will
be reported separately with the
percentage of mail that is delivered
within one-day, two-days, and threedays of the applicable standard. The
proposed quarterly report format is as
follows:
19 The PLANET Code is a barcode printed on mail
pieces by mailers participating in the CONFIRM
program. CONFIRM enables mailers to receive
detailed scan information about the pieces they
mail in order to track mail through the postal
network.
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TABLE 4–E 1—QUARTERLY SERVICE PERFORMANCE FOR SINGLE-PIECE FIRST-CLASS MAIL INTERNATIONAL MAIL VARIANCE; SAMPLE QUARTERLY REPORT FORMAT WITH THE MAIL VARIANCE FOR SINGLE-PIECE FIRST-CLASS MAIL INTERNATIONAL LETTERS
Area
Within + 1-day
(percent)
Within +
2-days
(percent)
Within +
3-days
(percent)
Northeast Area .............................................................................................................................
New York Metro Area ..................................................................................................................
Eastern Area ................................................................................................................................
Capital Metro Area .......................................................................................................................
Southeast Area ............................................................................................................................
Great Lakes Area ........................................................................................................................
Western Area ...............................................................................................................................
Southwest Area ...........................................................................................................................
Pacific Area ..................................................................................................................................
NATIONAL ...................................................................................................................................
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1 For
4.2.2
purposes of publication, the reference to Figure 5 in the Proposal has been changed to Table 4–E.
Annual Reporting
The Postal Service proposes reporting
national measures for the percentage of
single-piece First-Class Mail
International letters delivered on time.
Annual performance consists of a
weighted average that allots weight
based on the volume of mail in every
area. If the data are not representatively
distributed, the weighting will ensure
that each area counts for the correct
portion of the national aggregate.
The proposed report format for the
single-piece First-Class Mail
International Annual Compliance
Report is as follows:
TABLE 4–F. 1—ANNUAL COMPLIANCE REPORT; SAMPLE ANNUAL REPORT FORMAT FOR SINGLE-PIECE FIRST-CLASS MAIL
INTERNATIONAL LETTERS
Mail class
Goal
(percent)
On-time
(percent)
Single-Piece International First-Class Mail ..............................................................................................................
XX
XX
1 For
purposes of publication, the reference to Figure 6 in the Proposal has been changed to Table 4–F.
5. Standard Mail
5.1
Background
Standard Mail pieces represented
48.25% of the overall mail volume in
FY 2006.20 At over 100 billion mail
pieces per year, it is the largest class of
mail. Of Standard Mail, 60.48% are
letters, 38.95% are flats, and 0.56% are
parcels. Table 5—Standard Mail Volume
below illustrates the make-up of
Standard Mail. The table also illustrates
the percentage that Standard Mail
letters, flats, and parcels represent in
relation to the overall mailstream.
Because the categories of Standard Mail
have different requirements for mailers
and thus are measured differently, this
section has been separated into the
following sub-sections: non-carrier route
letters, non-carrier route flats, saturation
letters and carrier route flats, and
saturation flats.
TABLE 5.—STANDARD MAIL VOLUME
Presort
Flats1
Letters
Standard Mail ...................................................................................................................
Overall Mailstream ...........................................................................................................
1 Service
38.95
18.79
0.56
0.27
Total
(percent)
100
48.25
performance measurement results for Standard Mail flats will include Package Services flats.
5.2 Standard Mail Non-Carrier Route
Letters
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60.48
29.18
Parcels
mail induction, and in-home IMB scan
data provided by external reporters.
The primary induction method for
non-saturation Standard Mail letters is
bulk entry. Standard Mail letters
represent 24.68% of the total
mailstream. The Postal Service will base
service performance measurement on
5.2.1
Adoption Rates
Participation in the Intelligent Mail
pilot, the benefits of the IMB for special
services, and the upcoming requirement
to use the IMB for automation discounts
are expected to generate over 13 billion
Standard Mail non-carrier route letters
with IMBs and electronic mail
information by January 2009. This
volume will satisfy the conditions for
performance measurement in FY 2009.
The estimates for mailer adoption of the
IMB and electronic mailing information
are:
20 https://www.usps.com/financials/_pdf/
Fy2006_RPWsummaryreport.pdf.
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January 2009: 25% of Standard Mail
non-carrier route letters; and
January 2010: 50% of Standard Mail
non-carrier route letters.
5.2.2 ‘‘Start-the-Clock’’
Mailers are required to prepare mail
with IMBs and submit electronic
mailing information listing the IMBs
used. Mail is verified to ensure it meets
preparation requirements. Mail that
does not meet mail preparation
requirements will be excluded from
service performance in order to ensure
that the system produces a valid,
reliable measurement score. Drop
shipment mailers create appointments
for Standard Mail non-carrier route
letters in the Facility Access and
Shipment Tracking (FAST) system at
designated facilities, which provide
electronic advance notification of the
mail profile including arrival times. At
sites that are equipped with scanners,
containers with Intelligent Mail
Container barcodes will be scanned to
record arrival times. At other sites, the
‘‘start-the-clock’’ will be the
documented arrival time at the Postal
Service unit. Mail arrival times and mail
preparation quality information will be
made available to mailers.
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
5.2.3 ‘‘Stop-the-Clock’’
External reporters will be equipped
with handheld scanners capable of
scanning the IMB and will scan all mail
they receive containing an IMB. These
data will be sent to the external
reporting system and will be the ‘‘stopthe-clock’’ for the individually scanned
mail pieces. By comparing the date of
the final Postal Service scan with the
actual receipt date for these pieces, the
external service performance
measurement contractor will calculate a
factor for the actual service performance
of the last mile for Standard Mail letters.
This factor will be combined with the
Intelligent Mail data to form the end-toend service performance.
The use of external reporters will
allow for mail that is not exposed to or
that falls out of automation to be
included in service performance
measurement. The external reporters
will provide the actual ‘‘stop-the-clock’’
on such pieces, and the external
measurement contractor will calculate
the service performance for those pieces
that go to the external reporters.
5.3 Standard Mail Non-Carrier Route
Flats
The primary induction method for
Presort non-carrier route flats is bulk
entry. Presort flats represent 6.51% of
the total mailstream and, when
combined with Standard Mail carrier
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route flats, are the third largest mail
segment behind Presort First-Class Mail
letters and Standard Mail letters. Since
Package Services flats are operationally
handled in the same manner as
Standard Mail non-carrier route flats,
the Postal Service plans to include the
measurement of Package Services flats
in the Standard Mail performance
results.
5.3.1 Adoption Rates
Participation in the Intelligent Mail
pilot, the benefits of the IMB for special
services, and the upcoming requirement
to use the IMB for automation discounts
are expected to generate over 3.4 billion
Standard Mail non-carrier route flats
with IMBs and electronic mail
information by January 2009. This
volume will satisfy the conditions for
performance measurement in FY 2009.
The estimates for mailer adoption of the
IMB and electronic mailing information
are:
January 2009: 25% of Standard Mail
non-carrier route flats; and
January 2010: 50% of Standard Mail
non-carrier route flats.
5.3.2 ‘‘Start-the-Clock’’
Mailers are required to prepare mail
with IMBs and submit electronic
mailing information listing the IMBs
used. Mail is verified to ensure it meets
mail preparation criteria. Mail that does
not meet mail preparation standards
will be excluded from service
performance in order to ensure that the
system produces a valid, reliable
measurement score. Drop shipment
mailers create appointments for
Standard Mail flats in FAST at
designated facilities providing advance
notification of the mail profile including
arrival times. At sites that are equipped
with scanners, containers with
Intelligent Container barcodes will be
scanned to record arrival times. At other
sites, the ‘‘start-the-clock’’ will be the
documented arrival time at the Postal
Service unit. Mail arrival times and mail
preparation quality information will be
made available to mailers.
5.3.3 ‘‘Stop-the-Clock’’
External reporters will be equipped
with handheld IMB scanners and will
scan all mail they receive that bears an
IMB. The scan data will be sent to the
external reporting system and will be
the ‘‘stop-the-clock’’ for the individually
scanned mail pieces. By comparing the
date of the final postal mail processing
scan with the actual receipt date for
these pieces, the external service
measurement contractor can calculate a
factor for the actual service performance
of the last mile for Standard Mail flats.
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This factor will be combined with the
Intelligent Mail data to form end-to-end
service performance estimates.
5.4 Standard Mail Carrier Route Flats
and Saturation Letters
For carrier route flats and saturation
letters, the primary induction method is
Sectional Center Facility or Delivery
Unit dropped bundles and saturation
trays. Carrier route flats represented
12.29% of the total mailstream in FY
2006. Due to the distinct characteristics
of carrier route flats and saturation
letters, the Postal Service is proposing a
measurement approach specific to these
mail types.
5.4.1 Adoption Rules
In order to be included in service
performance measurement, Presort
saturation letter mailers must provide
electronic mailing information and use
the Intelligent Mail series of barcodes.
Currently, mailers are not required to
print a barcode on carrier route flats.
Starting in January 2009, mailer use of
IMBs will be required for automation
discounts and mailer adoption is
expected to rise substantially during the
weeks immediately prior to the effective
date. Furthermore, as described in the
previous section, non-saturation carrier
route flats will migrate to automated
processing, and mailers will be required
to pre-apply IMBs to facilitate
automated sequencing. Over 6.5 billion
Standard Mail carrier route flats are
expected to have IMBs by January 2009.
This growth in IMB and electronic
mailing information adoption will
provide sufficient volume and
representation of the mail category to
enable external measurement. The
estimates for mailer adoption of the IMB
and electronic mailing information are
January 25% of Standard Mail carrier
route flats and saturation letters; and
January 50% of Standard Mail carrier
route flats and saturation letters.
5.4.2 ‘‘Start-the-Clock’’
Mailers are required to prepare mail
with IMBs and submit electronic
mailing information listing the IMBs
used. Mail is verified to ensure it meets
mail preparation criteria. Mail that does
not meet mail preparation standards
will be excluded from service
performance in order to ensure that the
system produces a valid, reliable
measurement score. Drop shipment
mailers create appointments for
Standard Mail in FAST at designated
facilities providing advance notification
of the mail profile including arrival
times. At sites that are equipped with
scanners, containers with Intelligent
Container barcodes will be scanned to
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record arrival times. At other sites, the
‘‘start-the-clock’’ will be the
documented arrival time at the Postal
Service unit. Mail arrival times and mail
preparation quality information will be
made available to mailers.
5.4.3
‘‘Stop-the-Clock’’
As with non-carrier route Standard
Mail flats, carrier route flats with IMBs
will be scanned by external reporters to
‘‘stop-the-clock.’’ However, unique
barcodes are not required on carrier
route or saturation flats. Though the
Postal Service expects an increased
adoption of IMBs on these pieces as
automation of current carrier route flat
mail base increases, there will likely be
a portion without unique barcodes on
each piece. The Postal Service is
exploring methods for external reporters
to capture the ‘‘stop-the-clock,’’ such as
encouraging mailer adoption of the
IMBs for this mail category or through
the application of alternate barcodes
that will allow postal delivery unit
personnel to ‘‘stop-the-clock’’ via
scanning. As a contingency, the external
service measurement contractor will be
required to train reporters to identify
carrier route flats mail and have them
report delivery of such pieces without
an IMB scan. These data will be sent to
the external reporting system and will
be the ‘‘stop-the-clock’’ for the
individual mail pieces. The external
service measurement contractor will
calculate the service performance for the
pieces that go to the external reporters.
5.5
Standard Mail Saturation Flats
The primary induction method for
saturation flats are Sectional Center
Facility or Delivery Unit dropped
bundles. Due to the distinct
characteristics of saturation flats, the
Postal Service is proposing a
measurement approach specific to this
mail.
5.5.1
Adoption Rates
In order to be included in service
performance measurement, Standard
Mail saturation flats mailers must
provide electronic mailing information.
5.5.2 ‘‘Start-the-Clock’’
The ‘‘start-the-clock’’ for Standard
Mail saturation flats will be the
documented arrival time at the Postal
Service unit.
5.5.3 ‘‘Stop-the-Clock’’
Unique barcodes are not required on
saturation bundled flats. The Postal
Service is exploring methods for
external reporters to capture the ‘‘stopthe-clock,’’ such as encouraging mailer
adoption of the IMBs for this mail, or
through the application of alternate
barcodes that will allow postal delivery
unit personnel to ‘‘stop-the-clock’’ via
scanning. As a contingency, the external
service measurement contractor will be
required to train its reporters to identify
saturation flats and to have those
reporters record delivery of such pieces
without an IMB scan. These data will be
sent to the external reporting system
and will be the ‘‘stop-the-clock’’ for the
individual mail pieces. The external
service measurement contractor will
calculate the service performance for
these pieces that go to the external
reporters.
5.6 Standard Mail Parcels
Many Presort Standard Mail parcel
shippers chose to purchase special
services such as Delivery Confirmation
for their mail. For reporting purposes,
performance results will be calculated
by the Postal Service then sent to the
external measurement contract for
inclusion into the Standard Mail
aggregated results. Standard Mail
parcels represent 0.3% of the total
mailstream, and 9% of Standard Mail
parcels have Delivery Confirmation
service. This sample size is more than
adequate for service performance
measurement of this mail category.
5.6.1 Adoption Rates
Many Presort mailers already meet the
electronic mailing information
requirements necessary for performance
measurement. The Postal Service plans
to expand internal Delivery
Confirmation sampling processes that
verify shipment contents and the
accuracy of the electronic mailing
information. As verification becomes
more prevalent, the volume of parcels
that are measured will increase.
5.6.2 ‘‘Start-the-Clock’’
The ‘‘start-the-clock’’ for Standard
Mail parcels will be the documented
arrival time at the Postal Service unit.
For mail that is presented at the BMEU,
the acceptance of the mailing will be
used as the ‘‘start the-clock’’ as long as
the mailing meets the preparation
requirements.
5.6.3 ‘‘Stop-the-Clock’’
Postal delivery personnel scan
Delivery Confirmation barcodes upon
delivery of parcels for which Delivery
Confirmation service has been
purchased. They can denote the
delivery or attempted delivery, either of
which will serve to ‘‘stop-the-clock.’’
5.7
5.7.1
Reporting for Standard Mail
Quarterly Reporting
The Postal Service proposes quarterly
reporting for Standard Mail that will
measure service performance by
administrative district separately for
destination entry mail and end-to-end
mail. Reporting destination entry mail
and end-to-end mail separately by day
significantly expands the number of
performance measures reported and the
number of external reporters required.
The proposed measurements provide
ample detail to assess the quality of
service without becoming cost
prohibitive for the Postal Service.
The quarterly reports will provide
service performance scores for letter,
flat, and parcel-shaped Standard Mail.
The Postal Service will send
performance data for Standard Mail
parcels to the external service
performance contractor for consolidated
reporting purposes.
The proposed quarterly report format
for Standard Mail is as follows:
TABLE 5–A1.—QUARTERLY SERVICE PERFORMANCE FOR STANDARD MAIL; SAMPLE QUARTERLY REPORT FORMAT FOR
STANDARD MAIL
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
District
Destination
entry on-time
(percent)
End-to-end ontime
(percent)
CAPITAL METRO AREA .........................................................................................................................................
Baltimore District ......................................................................................................................................................
Capital District ..........................................................................................................................................................
South Carolina District .............................................................................................................................................
Greensboro District ..................................................................................................................................................
Mid-Carolinas District ...............................................................................................................................................
No. Virginia District ..................................................................................................................................................
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
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TABLE 5–A1.—QUARTERLY SERVICE PERFORMANCE FOR STANDARD MAIL; SAMPLE QUARTERLY REPORT FORMAT FOR
STANDARD MAIL—Continued
District
Destination
entry on-time
(percent)
End-to-end ontime
(percent)
Richmond District .....................................................................................................................................................
XX
XX
1 For
purposes of publication, the reference to Figure 7 in the Proposal has been changed to Table 5–A.
The mail variance for Standard Mail
pieces will be reported separately with
the percentage of mail that is delivered
within one-day, two-days, and threedays of the applicable standard. The
proposed quarterly report format for
Standard Mail variance is as follows:
TABLE 5–B 1.—QUARTERLY SERVICE PERFORMANCE FOR STANDARD MAIL—MAIL VARIANCE; SAMPLE QUARTERLY
REPORT FORMAT FOR STANDARD MAIL VARIANCE 2
Destination entry
End-to-end
Within
+1-day
(percent)
1 For
Within
+3-day
(percent)
Within
+1-day
(percent)
Within
+2-day
(percent)
Within
+3-day
(percent)
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
CAPITAL METRO AREA .........................
Baltimore District ......................................
Capital District ..........................................
South Carolina District .............................
Greensboro District ..................................
Mid-Carolinas District ...............................
No. Virginia District ..................................
Richmond District .....................................
Within
+2-day
(percent)
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
purposes of publication, the reference to Figure 8 in the Proposal has been changed to Table 5–B.
Entry includes DBMC, DSCF, DDU.
2 Destination
5.7.2 Annual Reporting
The Postal Service proposes reporting
a national aggregate measure for the
percentage of Standard Mail delivered
on time. This Annual Compliance
Report includes letter, flat, and parcel-
shaped Standard Mail and consists of a
weighted average for each Standard
Mail segment that allots weight based
on the volume of mail in each district.
If the segments are not representatively
distributed, the weighting will ensure
that each district counts for the
appropriate portion of the national
aggregate.
The proposed report format for
Standard Mail Annual Compliance
Report is as follows:
TABLE 5–C 1.—ANNUAL COMPLIANCE REPORT; SAMPLE ANNUAL REPORT FORMAT FOR STANDARD MAIL
Mail class
Goal
On-time
(percent)
Standard mail ...........................................................................................................................................................
XX
XX
1 For
5.7.3
purposes of publication, the reference to Figure 9 in the Proposal has been changed to Table 5–C.
Statistical Validity
The Postal Service anticipates that
25% of Standard Mail will have an IMB
and be measurable by January 2009.
Using this adoption rate, the average
district will have approximately 4,750
pieces per quarter upon which to base
the last mile factor estimates. At 50%
IMB coverage, the volume increases to
9,500 pieces per quarter on average.
Precision is affected by the last mile
factor estimate and mailer adoption of
the IMB and electronic mailing
information. The Postal Service
anticipates a precision between +/
¥0.5% and +/¥0.9% as illustrated in
the table below.
TABLE 6.—PRECISION FOR STANDARD MAIL
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Confidence
interval
(percent)
Standard Mail ...................................................................................................
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factor estimate
(percent)
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3
5
5
20DEN1
Coverage of
IMB + electronic mailing
information
(percent)
25
50
25
50
Precision
(percent)
+/¥0.75
+/¥0.5
+/¥0.9
+/¥0.7
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The assumption of last mile factor
estimates in the 3–5% range for
Standard Mail service is based on the
mix of letter and flat volumes, and is an
estimate at this point, which can be
refined when data is available.
It should also be noted that the last
mile factor is one piece of the overall
service performance estimate, with the
performance of the acceptance to final
processing scan being the other. The
availability of billions of data records to
sample from to form these estimates
means that we can economically take
large samples for individual report cells
(e.g. Baltimore SCF-entry Standard Mail,
Chicago 3-day First-Class Presorted
Mail). The estimated precision levels
will be shared with the PRC during the
development process.
In 2009, the performance of an
estimated 2.7 million Standard Mail
parcels will be sampled for end-to-end
service measurement, representing 9%
of these parcels. While this represents
low usage of Delivery Confirmation
service, it is still representative of the
population and, hence, provides an
acceptable basis for service performance
measurement.
6. Periodicals
and flats. Since IMB and electronic
mailing information adoption for
Periodicals is projected to be slower
than for Standard Mail and First-Class
Mail, the Postal Service will use as an
interim approach for performance
measurement while IMB and electronic
mailing information adoption rates
grow. The interim approach relies on
external reports generated by Red Tag
and DelTrak, which conduct
performance research independently.
6.1
6.2
Background
Periodicals represented just over 4%
of the overall mail volume in FY 2006,21
with 9 billion mail pieces. Periodicals
consist of letters and flats, most of
which are destination dropped. The
Postal Service will use the same
measurement approach for both letters
Periodicals Letters and Flats
All Periodicals are bulk entry, and the
vast majority of the volume is flats.
Table 7—Periodicals Mail Volume
illustrates the make-up of Periodicals
Mail. It also illustrates the percentage
that each Periodicals shape represents
within the overall mailstream.
TABLE 7.—PERIODICALS MAIL VOLUME
Letters
(percent)
Periodicals .................................................................................................................................
Overall Mailstream .....................................................................................................................
6.2.1
6.2.3
Adoption Rates
Initial adoption of IMBs is projected
to be slower for Periodicals than for
First-Class Mail and Standard Mail.
However, revisions to the technical
specifications for the IMB and recent
successful tests indicate the IMB is
viable for Periodicals. With required use
by January 2009, the conservative
estimates for IMB and electronic mailing
information adoption for Periodicals
are:
FY 2009: 10.25% of letters and flats;
and
FY 2010: 25+% of letters and flats.
These estimates equate to just over 2.2
billion Periodicals with IMBs and
electronic mailing information that
satisfy the conditions for performance
measurement in FY 2009.
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
6.2.2
Statistical Validity
Different numbers of districts in each
area, as well as varying mail volumes
and mixes make it challenging to
estimate the precision level for
Periodicals at this time without the
methodology for calculations being fully
developed. The Postal Service will
continue to work on trying to estimate
what precision will likely be achieved,
but do not currently have the data or
assumptions necessary to make an
educated estimate.
Interim Approach
In FY 2008, the Postal Service is
evaluating two existing mailer-operated
measurement systems, Red Tag and
DelTrak, to measure Periodicals service
performance. The ‘‘start-the-clock’’ for
both systems is the mailer-reported
induction time. For DelTrak, the
transportation company hired by the
mailer is required to enter the date/time
when mail is dropped at a postal
facility. The Postal Service has
discussed adding the FAST
appointment number to both DelTrak
and Red Tag, so the reported ‘‘start-theclock’’ could be audited in the same
manner as is being planned for the longterm IMB-based approach. For Red Tag
and DelTrak, the ‘‘stop-the-clock’’ is the
delivery date reported online by the
external reporters. These external
reporters are mainly concentrated in
postal administrative districts with high
population density. Due to the limited
number of reporters participating in
these programs, data will only be
statistically valid for the desired
precision at a national aggregate level.
In 2008, the Postal Service is conducting
evaluations of these systems to ensure
valid data can be available in FY 2008
and used for reporting in FY 2009.
1.56
0.07
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98.4
4.2
Total
(percent)
100.0
4.25
6.2.4 ‘‘Start-the-Clock’’
Mailers are required to prepare mail
with IMBs and submit electronic
mailing information listing the IMBs
used. Mail is verified to ensure it meets
mail preparation criteria. Mail that does
not meet mail preparation standards
will be excluded from service
performance in order to ensure that the
system produces a valid, reliable
measurement score. Drop shipment
mailers provide advance notification in
FAST at designated facilities, providing
mail profile, to include arrival times. At
sites that are equipped with scanners,
containers with Intelligent Container
barcodes will be scanned to record
arrival times. At other sites, the ‘‘startthe-clock’’ will be the documented
arrival time at the Postal Service unit.
Mail arrival times and mail preparation
quality information will be made
available to mailers.
6.2.5 ‘‘Stop-the-Clock’’
External reporters will be equipped
with handheld IMB scanners and will
scan any IMBs on mail that they receive.
These scan data will be sent to the
external reporting system and will be
the ‘‘stop-the-clock’’ for the individually
scanned mail pieces. By comparing the
date of the final postal mail processing
scan with the actual receipt date for
these pieces, the external service
21 https://www.usps.com/financials/_pdf/
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measurement contractor can calculate a
factor for the actual service performance
of the last mile for Periodicals. This
factor can be combined with the
Intelligent Mail data to form the end-toend service performance measure.
6.3
Reporting for Periodicals
6.3.1 Quarterly Reporting
In 2008, the Postal Service is
reviewing Red Tag and DelTrak data for
reporting at the national level on a
quarterly basis for the reasons stated
above. The Postal Service is currently in
discussions with both the operators of
DelTrak and Red Tag to develop and
setup the system for combined
measurement no later than FY 2009;
however, the initial proposed format
includes national aggregate scores for
percent delivered on time, and within 1day, 2-days, and 3-days of the
applicable standard.
Due to the slower projected adoption
rates for Periodicals, the Postal Service
proposes reporting service performance
at a postal administrative area level in
the interim until the volume of
Periodicals with IMBs and electronic
mailing information is reliable enough
to provide statistically significant
results at a lower level of aggregation.22
As IMB and electronic mailing
information adoption grows and
additional performance data become
available, the granularity will increase
and allow for reporting at the district
level.
The proposed quarterly report format
for Periodicals is as follows:
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TABLE 7–A1.—QUARTERLY SERVICE
PERFORMANCE FOR PERIODICALS;
SAMPLE QUARTERLY REPORT FORMAT FOR PERIODICALS—Continued
Area
On-time
(percent)
Capital Metro Area ...............
Southeast Area .....................
Great Lakes Area .................
Western Area ........................
Southwest Area ....................
Pacific Area ..........................
NATIONAL ............................
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
1 For
purposes of publication, the reference
TABLE 7–A1.—QUARTERLY SERVICE to Figure 10 in the Proposal has been
PERFORMANCE FOR PERIODICALS; changed to Table 7–A.
SAMPLE QUARTERLY REPORT FORThe mail variance for Periodicals will
MAT FOR PERIODICALS
be reported separately, reflecting the
Area
Northeast Area .....................
New York Metro Area ...........
Eastern Area .........................
percentage of mail that is delivered
within one-day, two-days, and threedays of the applicable standard. The
proposed quarterly report format with
the mail variance for Periodicals is as
follows:
On-time
(percent)
XX
XX
XX
TABLE 7–B.1—QUARTERLY SERVICE PERFORMANCE FOR PERIODICALS MAIL VARIANCE; SAMPLE QUARTERLY REPORT
FORMAT WITH MAIL VARIANCE FOR PERIODICALS
Area
Within + 1-day
(percent)
Within + 2days
(percent)
Within + 3days
(percent)
Northeast Area .............................................................................................................................
New York Metro Area ..................................................................................................................
Eastern Area ................................................................................................................................
Capital Metro Area .......................................................................................................................
Southeast Area ............................................................................................................................
Great Lakes Area ........................................................................................................................
Western Area ...............................................................................................................................
Southwest Area ...........................................................................................................................
Pacific Area ..................................................................................................................................
NATIONAL ...................................................................................................................................
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
1 For
6.3.2
purposes of publication, the reference to Figure 11 in the Proposal has been changed to Table 7–B.
Annual Reporting
The Postal Service proposes reporting
national measures for the percentage of
Periodicals mail delivered on time.
Annual performance consists of a
weighted average for each Periodicals
segment that allots weight based on the
volume of mail in every district. If the
data are not representatively distributed,
the weighting will ensure that each
district counts for the correct portion of
the national aggregate.
The proposed report format for
Periodicals Mail Annual Compliance
Report is as follows:
TABLE 7–C.1—ANNUAL COMPLIANCE REPORT; SAMPLE ANNUAL REPORT FORMAT FOR PERIODICALS
Mail class
Goal
On-time
(percent)
Periodicals ...............................................................................................................................................................
XX
XX
1 For
purposes of publication, the reference to Figure 12 in the Proposal has been changed to Table 7–C.
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
7. Intelligent Mail Adoption
22 A postal area is the administrative level
directly below national headquarters and is
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Postal Service intends to rely on
Intelligent Mail Barcodes as a central
component of service performance
measurement. That is not the case for
Package Services. Accordingly, before
discussing Package Services below in
Section 8, it is worthwhile to emphasize
several important considerations
comprised of multiple subordinate postal districts.
There are currently nine areas that span the entirety
As reflected in the three sections
above pertaining to First-Class Mail,
Standard Mail and Periodical pieces, the
of the postal network; each of the 80 districts is part
of one area.
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relevant to IMBs and electronic mailing
information.
During initial discussions with the
PRC, concerns were raised regarding
IMB adoption. Mailer participation and
adoption of the Intelligent Mail series of
barcodes and associated electronic
mailing information is critical to the
success of service performance
measurement. The Postal Service is
evaluating strategies to encourage mailer
adoption and has been collaborating
with the industry to mitigate potential
adoption obstacles.
7.1 Intelligent Mail Pilot
The Postal Service launched the
Intelligent Mail system pilot with
Presort First-Class Mail letters in
September 2006. Following the success
of the initial pilot, the program
expanded to include Standard Mail
letters and flats in July 2007. By the end
of FY 2007, over 350 mailings and 18
million mail pieces from five large
mailers and presort companies have
been tracked and service measurement
calculated. The Postal Service is using
this pilot to demonstrate the mailers’
ability to meet the mail make-up
requirements for service measurement
and the Postal Service’s ability to
calculate measurement and Seamless
Acceptance. When the service
performance measurement system is
implemented for letter and flat shaped
mail, an external contractor will
perform the calculations.
The pilot is in the process of
expanding by increasing the volume of
tracked mail pieces and adding more
mail acceptance sites. As of October
2007, the average Intelligent Mail
volume is forecasted to increase to 1.4
million pieces per day and 7 million per
week. In January 2008, the addition of
new mailers to the pilot will increase
Intelligent Mail volume to an average of
7 million pieces per day and 35 million
pieces per week. These volumes and
mailer capabilities demonstrate the
feasibility of the system.
7.2 Growth of Intelligent Mail Barcode
(IMB) Adoption
A major component of the new system
is the IMB. The IMB has only been
available to mailers for a little over a
year. The chart below illustrates the
capability of the industry to provide the
volumes needed for measurement. The
volumes show continued growth
between June and September 2007.
During the first year of use, postal mail
processing equipment scanned over one
billion IMBs. By September 2007, 135
medium-to-large-volume postal
customers and data consolidators were
using IMBs, and approximately 2% of
scans on postal automation equipment
were IMBs.
The following figure shows actual
IMB scans for previous three months
and an estimated trend line depicting
the growth.
[Figure 13, captioned ‘‘Growth of
IMBs,’’ is not reproduced here. It can be
viewed by accessing the pdf version of
the Service Performance Measurement
filing (December 5, 2007) posted on the
Commission’s web site.]
With the January 2009 requirement to
utilize IMBs, there is a potential for IMB
volumes to exceed 2 billion per week
and 100 billion per year at that point.
The table below contains estimated
mailer adoption rates of both the IMB
and the electronic mailing information
for performance measurement.
TABLE 8.—ESTIMATED MAILER ADOPTION RATES
2009
(percent)
First-Class Mail:
Presort Letters ..................................................................................................................................................
Standard Mail:
Letters ...............................................................................................................................................................
Flats ..................................................................................................................................................................
Periodicals:
All ......................................................................................................................................................................
8. Package Services
8.1
Background
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
Package Services market-dominant
products include single-piece Parcel
Post, Bound Printed Matter, Library
Mail, and Media Mail. Presort Package
Services flat-shaped mail is mainly
composed of oversized catalogs, which
are operationally handled the same as
Standard Mail flats. Accordingly, the
Postal Service will measure and report
on Presort Package Services flats using
the same approach as Standard Mail.
Package Services parcel-shaped mail
represented less than 0.3 of the overall
mail volume in FY 2006.23 Among
Package Services parcels, 16 are Retail
and 84 are Presort.
Measurement sample size for parcels
is significantly higher than for letter and
flat-shaped mail. This is due to the
inclination of mailers to purchase
Delivery Confirmation on parcels,
especially Presort parcels. For Retail
parcel-shaped Package Services mail,
the Postal Service captures the ‘‘startthe-clock’’ at the retail counter as part
of the Delivery Confirmation payment
transaction. The ‘‘stop-the-clock’’ is
captured at delivery or attempted
delivery. The result is an unparalleled
scanning volume that creates a sample
size more than sufficient for
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25–50
50–75
25–50
25–50
50–75
50–75
10–25
25–75
performance measurement. For Presort
Package Services parcels, mailers are
currently required to submit electronic
mailing information, which will be used
for verification of shipment contents
and mail preparation quality. As the
verification processes are rolled out
nationally, the volume of Presort parcels
that are measured will increase.
Table 9—Package Services ParcelShaped Mail Volume illustrates the
make-up of parcels by entry method.
The table also illustrates the percentage
that market-dominant Package Services
parcel-shaped mail represents within
the overall domestic mailstream.
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TABLE 9.—PACKAGE SERVICES PARCEL-SHAPED MAIL VOLUME
Retail
(percent)
Package Services (Parcel-shaped) .......................................................................................
Total Domestic Mailstream ....................................................................................................
8.2 Retail Package Services
The Postal Service currently measures
service performance for Package
Services Retail mail via Delivery
Confirmation scans. This approach for
measuring performance is working well,
so there are no plans to change the
measurement method for this mail.
Retail Package Services mail represents
16.0% of all Package Services parcels,
but only 0.04% of the total mailstream.
Delivery Confirmation is included on
15% of such parcels, which represents
a significant portion of the mail.
8.2.3 ‘‘Stop-the-Clock’’
Postal delivery personnel scan the
Delivery Confirmation barcodes upon
delivery or attempted delivery, either of
which will serve to ‘‘stop-the-clock.’’
8.2.1 Statistical Validity
In 2006, over 14 million Package
Services parcels included Delivery
Confirmation service, representing 15%
of these parcels. Since nearly all of these
parcels are scanned at retail and
delivery, this measurement is
representative and, hence, provides an
acceptable basis for service performance
measurement.
In 2009, the performance of an
estimated 2.7 million parcels will be
sampled for service measurement,
representing 9% of these parcels. While
this represents low usage of Delivery
Confirmation service, it is still
representative of the population and,
hence, provides an acceptable basis for
service performance measurement.
8.3.1 Adoption Rates
Many mailers already meet the
electronic mailing information
requirements necessary for performance
measurement. The Postal Service plans
to expand internal Delivery
Confirmation sampling processes that
verify shipment contents and the
accuracy of the electronic mailing
information. As verification becomes
more prevalent, the volume of parcels
that are measured will increase.
8.2.2 ‘‘Start-the-Clock’’
The ‘‘start-the-clock’’ for Retail
Package Services mail occurs at the
retail counter when the customer
purchases Delivery Confirmation. When
retail clerks apply the Delivery
Confirmation forms to parcels, they scan
the Delivery Confirmation form
barcodes. The scans are captured via
either a POS terminal at the retail
counter or an Intelligent Mail handheld
scanning device. Because the customer
is present at the ‘‘start-the-clock’’ event
and receives a time-stamped receipt
with purchase, there are several
validation points.
8.3 Presort Package Services
Presort Package Services mail
represent 84.0% of all parcel-shaped
Package Services mail volume and
0.23% of the total mailstream. Delivery
Confirmation service is included on
21% of Presort Package Services mail
pieces.
8.3.2 Statistical Validity
With the selected approach, the
performance of an estimated 5 million
parcels will be sampled for service
measurement in FY 2009. Since the
21% of the mail category contains
Delivery Confirmation service, concerns
about the representativeness of the
sample used to measure service
performance are minimal.
8.3.3 ‘‘Start-the-Clock’’
The ‘‘start-the-clock’’ for Presort
Package Services is the documented
arrival time at the Postal Service unit.
Since it is not practical to scan every
parcel in the Presort shipment, the
Postal Service will instead scan a subset
of the parcels to validate shipment
content. For mail that is presented at the
BMEU, the acceptance of the mailing
will be used as the ‘‘start-the-clock’’ as
long as the mailing meets the
Presort
(percent)
16.0
0.04
Total
(percent)
84.0
0.23
100.0
0.27
preparation requirements. As with
mailings that enter at the dock, the
Postal Service will scan containers that
have an Intelligent Mail Container
barcode to validate mailer shipment
content and the acceptance time.
8.3.4 ‘‘Stop-the-Clock’’
Postal delivery personnel scan
Delivery Confirmation barcodes upon
delivery or attempted delivery, either of
which will serve to ‘‘stop-the-clock’’ for
service performance measurement.
8.4
8.4.1
Reporting for Package Services
Quarterly Reporting
The Postal Service proposes reporting
quarterly on the percentage of mail that
is delivered on time. The proposed
quarterly report format for Package
Services parcels is as follows:
TABLE 9–A1.—QUARTERLY SERVICE
PERFORMANCE FOR PACKAGE SERVICES; SAMPLE QUARTERLY REPORT
FORMAT FOR PACKAGE SERVICES
PARCELS
District
On-time
(percent)
CAPITAL METRO AREA ......
Baltimore District ..................
Capital District ......................
South Carolina District ..........
Greensboro District ...............
Mid-Carolinas District ...........
No. Virginia District ...............
Richmond District .................
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
1 For purposes of publication, the reference
to Figure 14 in the Proposal has been
changed to Table 9–A.
The mail variance for Package
Services parcels will be reported
separately with the percentage of mail
that is delivered within one-day, twodays, and three-days of the applicable
standard. The proposed quarterly report
format with the mail variance for
Package Services is as follows:
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
TABLE 9.–B1.—QUARTERLY SERVICE PERFORMANCE FOR PACKAGE SERVICES MAIL VARIANCE; SAMPLE QUARTERLY
REPORT FORMAT WITH MAIL VARIANCE FOR PACKAGE SERVICES PARCELS
Within + 1-day
(percent)
District
CAPITAL METRO AREA .............................................................................................................
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XX
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Within +
2-days
(percent)
Within +
3-days
(percent)
XX
XX
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TABLE 9.–B1.—QUARTERLY SERVICE PERFORMANCE FOR PACKAGE SERVICES MAIL VARIANCE; SAMPLE QUARTERLY
REPORT FORMAT WITH MAIL VARIANCE FOR PACKAGE SERVICES PARCELS—Continued
Baltimore District ..........................................................................................................................
Capital District ..............................................................................................................................
South Carolina District .................................................................................................................
Greensboro District ......................................................................................................................
Mid-Carolinas District ...................................................................................................................
No. Virginia District ......................................................................................................................
Richmond District .........................................................................................................................
1 For
8.4.2
Within +
2-days
(percent)
Within + 1-day
(percent)
District
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
Within +
3-days
(percent)
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
purposes of publication, the reference to Figure 15 in the Proposal has been changed to Table 9–B.
Annual Reporting
The Postal Service proposes reporting
national measures for the percentage of
Package Services mail delivered on
time. Annual performance consists of a
weighted average that allots weight
based on the volume of mail in each
district. If the data are not
representatively distributed, the
weighting will ensure that each district
counts for its fair share in the national
aggregate. The proposed report format
for Parcels Annual Compliance Report
is as follows:
TABLE 9–C.1—ANNUAL COMPLIANCE REPORT; SAMPLE ANNUAL REPORT FORMAT FOR PACKAGE SERVICES
Mail class
Goal (percent)
On-time (percent)
Package Services ................................................................................................................................................
XX
XX
1 For
purposes of publication, the reference to Figure 16 in the Proposal has been changed to Table 9–C.
9. Special Services
9.1
Background
There are two categories of special
services: ancillary and stand-alone.
Ancillary special services are purchased
in addition to the postage applicable to
First-Class Mail, Periodicals, Standard
Mail, and Package Services. These
optional special services are varied in
nature and include Delivery
Confirmation, Signature Confirmation,
Certified Mail, Return Receipt,
Registered Mail, Collect on Delivery,
Address Correction Service, and
CONFIRM, among others. In contrast to
ancillary special services, stand-alone
special services are not contingent on
sending or receiving a particular mail
piece and include services such as P.O.
Box Service and Address List Services.
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9.2 Delivery Confirmation, Signature
Confirmation, Certified Mail, Registered
Mail, Electronic Return Receipt, and
Collect on Delivery
A principal feature of these special
services is the electronic provisioning of
information by the Postal Service to the
sender regarding the delivery status of a
particular mail piece. That information
may consist of confirmation that
delivery was attempted, completed, or
that a copy of the recipient’s signature
was captured.
For a number of these services,
delivery-related information is
generated by postal scanning of mail
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pieces at delivery units or during
delivery. Before the completion of daily
work shifts, postal delivery personnel
dock their portable handheld scanners,
so that delivery information pertinent to
each scanned mail piece can be
transmitted to appropriate postal data
systems. New scanners currently being
deployed allow for signatures to be
captured at delivery and transmitted
with the delivery information. Delivery
information captured is then made
available to the purchaser of the special
service.
The service measurement for Delivery
Confirmation, Signature Confirmation,
Certified Mail, Registered Mail,
electronic Return Receipt, and Collect
on Delivery will use barcode scans to
measure the time between when
delivery information was collected and
when that information was made
available to the customer. When the
delivery event scan is captured by the
handheld scanner, a timestamp is
associated to the scan; this is the ‘‘startthe-clock.’’ Once the device is docked,
the delivery event scan information is
transmitted to the centralized system
where it is made available to customers
and the posting time is recorded. The
posting time is the ‘‘stop-the-clock.’’
9.3 CONFIRM and Address Correction
Electronic information from the Postal
Service to the sender is a key
component for CONFIRM and
automated Address Correction services
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as well. CONFIRM scanning of mail and
identification of automated address
correction of applicable mail pieces are
performed passively by automated mail
processing equipment, which then
transmit information to postal data
systems. Information from these systems
is made available to the purchaser of the
special service.
The service measurement for
CONFIRM and automated Address
Correction will use the IMB to measure
between the time scan information was
collected and the time scan information
was made available to the customer.
When the piece is scanned, a timestamp
is associated to the scan to provide the
‘‘start-the-clock.’’ When the scan
information is transmitted to the
centralized system and made available
to customers, the posting time is
recorded. The posting time is the ‘‘stopthe-clock.’’
9.4 P.O. Box Service
Post Office Box Service will be
internally measured using scanning
technology to ensure timely availability
of the mail by the posted ‘‘uptime.’’ The
‘‘uptime’’ is the time of day by which
customers can expect to collect the mail
that is committed for that day from their
P.O. Box. A barcode will be placed in
the P.O. Box Section that the Postal
Service will scan after the distribution
of this mail is complete. USPS will
evaluate performance by comparing the
actual completion of the box
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distribution for this mail compared to
the posted ‘‘uptime’’ for the location.
9.5 Insurance Claims Processing
The Customer Inquiry Claims
Response System (CICRS) is an
application used to process indemnity
claims when insured articles are lost or
damaged in the mail. For domestic
claims, after the customer has
completed the appropriate claim form,
Postal Service employees complete the
claim form and submit it for processing
via the CICRS system. The claim is
keyed into the system and the data is
uploaded for processing. CICRS
processing includes identifying claims
that are not complete and require
additional information from the
customer. Correspondence is
automatically generated and mailed to
the customer requesting the missing
information, which includes
instructions with where to send the
additional information. Once all
information is received by CICRS, the
system will proceed to the claims
processing resolution phase. The date
that all information is available for
claims processing resolution is the
‘‘start-the-clock.’’ Depending on the
value of the item lost or damaged, the
claim may be automatically paid or
denied by the system or sent for review
by an adjudicator or consumer advocate.
The adjudicator or consumer advocate
decides if the claim should be paid,
denied, or closed. The date either the
system or the adjudicator pays, denies,
or closes the claim is the ‘‘stop-theclock.’’
9.6 Money Order Inquiry Processing
The Money Order Inquiry System
(MOIS) is an application used to process
Postal Money Order inquiries made by
customers. After the customer has
completed the appropriate form, Postal
Service employees submit the form to a
centralized unit for processing. The
inquiry is scanned into the system and
the data are uploaded for processing.
MOIS processing includes verifying if
the money order subject to inquiry has
been cashed, by running the money
order number against a database of
cashed money orders. The system
generates correspondence to customers
regarding the status of the money order
in question. The Postal Service intends
to establish a service standard of 15
business days for this service. The
‘‘start-the-clock’’ is the date the Money
Order Inquiry form is filed by the
customer; the ‘‘stop-the-clock’’ is the
date the money order inquiry
information is issued to the customer by
the Money Order Inquiry System.
9.7 Address List Services
Address List Services are available to
customers seeking correction of the
addresses or ZIP Codes on their mailing
lists, or the sequencing of their address
cards. Address Changes for Election
Boards, corrections of addresses or ZIP
72415
Codes on mailing lists, and Sequencing
of Address Cards will use an external
customer survey to measure customer
satisfaction with the timeliness of
receipt for their address list request. The
service performance measure will
include the customer satisfaction
percentage.
9.8
9.8.1
Reporting
Quarterly Reporting
The Postal Service proposes reporting
Delivery Confirmation, Signature
Confirmation, Certified Mail, Registered
Mail, electronic Return Receipt, and
Collect on Delivery as an aggregate score
on a quarterly basis by district. The
service standards for these special
services are aggregated as they all
measure the time elapsed from when the
delivery information is captured by the
Postal Service until it is available to the
customer. The Post Office Box Service
will also be reported quarterly by
district.
Since CONFIRM, Address Correction,
Insurance Claims Processing, Money
Order Inquiry Processing, and Address
List Services are national services and
are not linked with particular postal
districts, they will be reported at a
national level. The Postal Service
proposes reporting quarterly on the
percentage of those services that meet
the service standard.
The proposed quarterly report format
for Special services is as follows:
TABLE 9.–D 1.—QUARTERLY SERVICE PERFORMANCE FOR SPECIAL SERVICES; SAMPLE QUARTERLY REPORT FORMAT FOR
SPECIAL SERVICES REPORTED AT THE DISTRICT LEVEL
District
Delivery information special
services combined score 2
on-time
(percent)
Post office box
service ontime
(percent)
CAPITAL METRO AREA .........................................................................................................................................
Baltimore District ......................................................................................................................................................
Capital District ..........................................................................................................................................................
South Carolina District .............................................................................................................................................
Greensboro District ..................................................................................................................................................
Mid-Carolinas District ...............................................................................................................................................
No. Virginia District ..................................................................................................................................................
Richmond District .....................................................................................................................................................
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
1
2
For purposes of publication, the reference to Figure 17 in the Proposal has been changed to Table 9–D.
Includes Delivery Confirmation, Signature Confirmation, Certified Mail, Registered Mail, electronic Return Receipt, and Collect on Delivery.
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The proposed quarterly report format
for CONFIRM, Address Correction,
Insurance Claims Processing, Postal
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Money Order Inquiry Processing, and
Address List Services is as follows:
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TABLE 9–E.1—QUARTERLY REPORT FOR SPECIAL SERVICES; SAMPLE QUARTERLY REPORT FORMAT FOR SPECIAL
SERVICES REPORTED AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL
Confirm ontime
Address correction on-time
(percent)
Insurance
claims processing on-time
(percent)
Money order
inquiry on-time
(percent)
Address list
services satisfied
(percent)
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
NATIONAL ...........................................................................
1
For purposes of publication, the reference to Figure 18 in the Proposal has been changed to Table 9–E.
9.8.2
Annual Reporting
10. Service Performance Measurement
Validation
Due to the numerous different
measurements presented in the Special
Service category, the Postal Service will
develop an annual index or indices that
consolidate the multiple measurements
into an aggregate score(s). The exact
approach is still being developed;
however, the methodology is intended
to be similar to the aggregate
measurement used for the Customer
Service Measurement (CSM).
Every aspect of the service
performance measurement system must
reflect the highest degree of
commitment to data integrity.
Accordingly, the Postal Service will
implement appropriate internal control
processes in addition to the existing
quality control processes in place for the
external measurement systems (EXFC
and IMMS). The existing measurement
systems apply a proven and auditable
approach to quality assurance backed
Single-piece
Letters
2006 Total
volume
11. Appendix
11.1
Appendix I—Mail Volumes
Presort
Flats
2006 Total
volume
up by 17 years experience in mail
performance measurement.
The Postal Service’s proposed
measurement approach includes
internal validation processes to ensure
data quality. Business rules will be
defined to ensure that only mailings that
do not meet mail preparation standards
are excluded from service performance.
In addition, service performance data
will be made available to the Office of
the Inspector General (OIG) for auditing
purposes.
Parcels
2006 Total
volume
Letters
2006
DelCon
2006 Total
volume
ALL
Flats
2009 Adoption
2006 Total
volume
Parcels
2009 Adoption
2006 Total
volume
2006
DelCon
2009
Sample
2006 Total
1. Total Mail Volume by Mail Classification (000’s)**
Adoption Rate
First-Class .....
Periodicals .....
Standard ........
Standard
Carrier
Route ..
Standard
Non
Carrier
Route ..
Package Services * ..........
....................
38,127,475
....................
....................
....................
3,405,121
....................
....................
....................
350,979
....................
....................
....................
14,208
....................
....................
....................
54,550,677
140,682
61,971,735
25%
13,637,669
35,171
15,492,934
....................
993,985
8,880,202
39,911,201
25%
248,496
2,220,051
9,977,800
....................
189,216
....................
576,623
....................
89,782
....................
54,473
5%
4,489
....................
2,724
....................
97,617,453
9,020,884
102,459,559
....................
....................
....................
....................
9,561,885
2,390,471
26,087,072
6,521,768
....................
....................
....................
36,648,967
....................
....................
....................
....................
52,409,850
13,102,463
13,824,129
3,456,032
....................
....................
....................
66,810,602
....................
12,000
93,599
14,105
....................
....................
326,374
81,594
490,738
103,108
5,155
922,711
* Package Services excludes Parcel Select because it is not a market dominant product and Service Performance Measurement is not required.
** 2006 Total mail volume sums to 210 billion due the exclusion of Parcel Select because it is not a market dominant product.
2. Percent of Mail Class
First-Class .....
Periodicals .....
Standard ........
Standard
Carrier
Route ..
Standard
Non
Carrier
Route ..
Package Services ............
39.058%
....................
....................
3.488%
....................
....................
0.360%
....................
....................
0.015%
....................
....................
55.88%
1.56%
60.48%
13.97%
0.39%
15.12%
1.02%
98.44%
38.95%
0.25%
24.61%
9.74%
0.19%
....................
0.56%
0.09%
....................
0.05%
0.26%
....................
0.16%
100.000%
100.000%
100.000%
....................
....................
....................
....................
26.82%
6.71%
73.18%
18.29%
....................
....................
....................
100.000%
....................
....................
....................
....................
78.45%
8.42%
20.69%
9.69%
....................
....................
....................
100.000%
....................
1.301%
10.144%
1.529%
....................
....................
0.92%
0.23%
53.18%
11.17%
0.30%
100.000%
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3. Percent of Total Mailstream
First-Class .....
Periodicals .....
Standard ........
Standard
Carrier
Route ..
Standard
Non
Carrier
Route ..
Package Services ............
VerDate Aug<31>2005
17,955%
....................
....................
1.604%
....................
....................
0.165%
....................
....................
0.007%
....................
....................
25.690%
0.066%
29.184%
6.422%
0.017%
7.296%
0.468%
4.182%
18.795%
0.117%
1.045%
4.699%
0.089%
....................
0.272%
0.042%
....................
0.026%
0.002%
....................
0.001%
45.971%
4.248%
48.252%
....................
....................
....................
....................
4.503%
1.126%
12.285%
3.071%
....................
....................
....................
16.788%
....................
....................
....................
....................
24.681%
6.170%
6.510%
1.628%
....................
....................
....................
31.463%
....................
0.006%
0.044%
0.007%
....................
....................
0.154%
0.038%
0.231%
0.049%
0.002%
0.435%
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FY ’09 volume per
household*
72417
FY ’09 IMB/electronic mailing information adoption
FY ’09 IMB volume
per household
Volume at external
reporters
N/A
25%
25%
10–25%
N/A
74
190
5.9–14.75
N/A
740,000
1,900,000
59,000–147,500
4. Estimated Volume to External Reporters
First-Class Mail—Single-piece ......................................................................................................................
First-Class Mail—Presort ...............................................................................................................................
Standard ........................................................................................................................................................
Periodicals .....................................................................................................................................................
*Per
2006 Household Diary Study
Table 1 includes the total mail
volumes in FY 2006 for each mail
category. This table also includes the
projected IMB and electronic mailing
information adoption rates for FY 2009
and the estimated volumes for each
year. The estimated volumes for FY
2009 represent the total mail volumes
that will be included in service
performance measurement. All volumes
are in thousands.
Table 2 depicts the percent of the mail
class that the mail category represents.
For instance, single-piece First-Class
Mail letters make up 39.058% of all
First-Class Mail.
Table 3 illustrates the percent of the
total mailstream that the mail category
represents. For example, single-piece
First-Class Mail letters make up
17.955% of the entire mailstream.
Table 4 provides an estimate of the
volume expected to be received by the
external reporters in FY 09. The
volumes were estimated as follows:
According to the 2006 USPS
Household Diary Study, 1338 nonexpedited mail pieces were received per
U.S. household during the past year
broken down into the volumes shown in
FY ’09 Volume Per Household;
Applying the Adoption Rates the
result is FY ’09 IMB Volume Per
Household; and
Since there will be 10,000 external
reporters, the total mail volume scanned
by external reporters is shown in
Volume @ External Reporters.
This estimate provides the number of
pieces with end-to-end service
measured by the external reporters in
order to determine the factor differential
for each mail category.
This analysis assumes uniform
distribution of the mail for each mail
class and mail shape. It also assumes
reporters never miss a day reporting and
no mail received by reporters is
excluded due to improper mailer
preparation.
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
223
296
760
59
11.2 Appendix II—Enablers
The success of the service
performance measurement system relies
on many efforts already underway at the
Postal Service. The Postal Service
expects completion of all components
needed for service performance
measurement by 2009.
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11.2.1 Intelligent Mail Series of
Barcodes
The Postal Service has recently
introduced three new Intelligent Mail
barcodes that enable the tracking of
pieces, handling units, and containers
as they move across the Postal Service
network. Each of these barcodes are
mailer applied and have a common
customer identifier called the Mailer ID
(MID) which can be used to associate
the mail asset to the appropriate mailer.
Each barcode also has a field that is
used to support a serial number
allowing mailers of any size to identify
their mail assets.
The Mailer ID field within the
Intelligent Mail barcodes is used to
identify Mail Owners and/or Mailing
Agents. The MIDs are assigned by the
Postal Service to each Mail Owner and/
or Mailing Agent that requests them. A
MID can be a 9-digit field or a 6-digit
identifier and is assigned based on the
annual mail volume of the mailer. MIDs
are used in the Intelligent Mail barcode,
Intelligent Mail Tray barcode, and
Intelligent Mail Container barcode.
[Figure 19, captioned ‘‘Intelligent Mail
Series of Barcodes’’ is not reproduced
here. It can be viewed by accessing the
pdf version of the Service Performance
Measurement filing (December 5, 2007)
posted on the Commission’s Web site.]
Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMB). The
Intelligent Mail barcode is a 31-digit
Postal Service barcode used to sort and
track letters and flats. Unlike the
POSTNET barcode that only contains
the delivery point ZIP Code, the new
Intelligent Mail barcode contains
additional fields such as the Service
Type Indicator, Mailer ID, and Serial
Number. These fields expand the ability
to track individual pieces and provide
greater visibility into the mailstream.
With this Intelligent Mail barcode, a
mailer can request services such as
tracking and address correction all in
one barcode. The Intelligent Mail
barcode allows the mailer to number
mail so that each mailpiece in a mailing
can be uniquely identified. It contains a
Mailer ID field that allows the mailer to
obtain data about mailings.
Intelligent Mail Tray Barcode. A
cornerstone of the overall tracking
strategy is the capability to uniquely
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track handling units such as trays,
sacks, and tubs. The tray label that is in
use today is a 10-digit label used solely
for routing. The new transitional label,
the 10/24, has the old barcode on it and
a new 24-digit Intelligent Mail Tray
barcode. The 24-digit barcode includes
routing information and data that can
uniquely identify handling units and
allows for the identification and
tracking of the progress of trays, sacks,
and tubs. The inclusion of the old 10digit label is a transitional strategy as
the Postal Service enhances all
processing systems to read the new 24digit barcode.
Ideally, mailpieces with the
Intelligent Mail barcodes applied to
them are placed into trays that are
presorted and being routed to specific
destinations. Using the Intelligent Mail
Tray barcode allows the pieces within
the tray to be linked to each specific tray
prepared.
[Figure 20, captioned ‘‘Intelligent
Mail Tray Barcode Affixed to Postal
Service Mail Tray shows the Intelligent
Mail Tray barcode affixed to a tray,’’ is
not reproduced here. It can be viewed
by accessing the pdf version of the
Service Performance Measurement filing
(December 5, 2007) posted on the
Commission’s Web site.]
Intelligent Mail Container Barcode.
The Postal Service is transitioning to a
new pallet label for application on
containers. The new pallet label
contains the Intelligent Mail Container
barcode allowing mailers to uniquely
identify each container in a mailing.
The Intelligent Mail Container barcode
is applied to a customer’s containers
that contain trays and sacks. This
barcode is applied by mailers and
scanned at induction and at other points
of the mailstream by handheld scanners.
[Figure 21, captioned ‘‘Intelligent
Mail Container Barcode Affixed to a
Mailer Pallet shows the Intelligent Mail
Container barcode affixed to a pallet,’’ is
not reproduced here. It can be viewed
by accessing the pdf version of the
Service Performance Measurement filing
(December 5, 2007) posted on the
Commission’s Web site.]
Intelligent Mail package Barcode. The
Intelligent Mail Package barcode
conforms to different barcoding
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standards to accommodate the package
market, but its benefits are similar to
those created by the Intelligent Mail
barcode for letters and flats. It contains
information about the package and the
mailer, which is used to sort and track
the packages.
[Figure 22, captioned ‘‘Intelligent
Mail Package Barcode Affixed to a
Parcel shows the Intelligent Mail
Package barcode affixed to a parcel,’’ is
not reproduced here. It can be viewed
by accessing the pdf version of the
Service Performance Measurement filing
(December 5, 2007) posted on the
Commission’s web site.]
11.2.2 Electronic Mailing Information
There are three forms of electronic
mailing information transmission for
letter and flat-shaped mail: Mail.dat,
Web Services, and Postage Statement
Wizard. All involve sending
information to the Postal Service’s
PostalOne! system. All three of these
options provide customers the ability to
submit electronic information about
their mailings, which the Postal Service
can use to generate the necessary
documentation to support verification,
payment, and ‘‘start-the-clock.’’ This
electronic information can also be used
to automate payment processes using
electronic payment options such as
ACH Credit or Debit.
PostalOne! System. The PostalOne!
system enables Intelligent Mail by
serving as the single point of entry for
all electronic mailing information used
in service performance measurement to
validate mail piece scan data. The
PostalOne! system manages business
mailing transactions and streamlines the
mail acceptance process by facilitating
the electronic exchange of mailing
information between mailers and the
Postal Service. This collaboration gives
customers a streamlined process for
mail entry, payment, tracking and
reporting.
Customers select one of the electronic
mailing information transmission
methods (Mail.dat, Web Services,
Postage Statement Wizard) and send the
electronic information using the
PostalOne! system. This information
management system provides an
electronic linkage between a customer’s
mailing information and Postal Service
business mail acceptance and induction
processes. The PostalOne! system
translates this customer generated
electronic information into mailing
documentation. Thus, mailers are able
to avoid the creation of paper based
forms and use technology to manage
their mailing data. PostalOne! can also
use this information to automate
payment processes using ACH Debit or
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20:08 Dec 19, 2007
Jkt 214001
Credit payment methods. With the
PostalOne! system, mailers have 24X7
access to their mailing documentation
and financial transaction information.
Mail.dat. Mail.dat is a composite file
structure that was developed by the
IDEAlliance organization for the
industry to communicate mailing
information across the mail supply
chain. Mail.dat files are sent
electronically to the PostalOne! system
where they are stored and used to
generate documentation to support
verification and payment.
Web Services. Web Services enables
customers to submit mailing
information using a Web Service over a
secure connection (HTTPS) with the
Postal Service. Web Services use a
SOAP protocol to submit information in
an XML format that ensures that the
data can be sent and received by
applications written in various
languages and deployed on various
platforms.
Postage Statement Wizard. The
Postage Statement Wizard (PSW) is a
tool that provides a secure way to
submit a postage statement online using
a PostalOne! account. The PSW verifies
completed information for an online
postage statement. The PSW
automatically populates the permit
holder section of the postage statement
based on the account number provided.
It guides the user through the items
needed to complete the statement based
on information provided. When entering
mailing information through PSW, it
automatically calculates the postage and
validates the information entered. Once
the postage statement is completed
online, the electronic statements will be
submitted directly to the acceptance
unit.
There is one method of electronic
mailing information for parcel-shaped
mail—the Confirmation Services file.
The Confirmation Services file is
submitted to the Product Tracking
System (PTS). Electronic mailing
information is a requirement for Presort
parcel mailers to qualify for the
electronic rate option.
Product Tracking System. The
Product Tracking System (PTS) provides
tracking information for Confirmation
Services, i.e., Delivery Confirmation and
Signature Confirmation, as well as
Express Mail. Parcel mailers create
manifests and submit them
electronically to the Product Tracking
System. The electronic manifests are
processed in PTS and then sent to
PostalOne! for financial reconciliation.
Confirmation Services file. To qualify
for the reduced rates of the electronic
Confirmation Services option, mailers
are required to send a file electronically
PO 00000
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with a listing of all the barcodes and
some related shipping information. The
electronic file contains information
about the mailer, the date and time of
mailing, the entry facility, the tracking
number, and the destination ZIP Code
for each parcel. Delivery information
about the mail pieces is made available
electronically in extract files. The
Delivery information includes an
‘‘electronic receipt’’ for each mail piece
submitted and associated scan events.
Payment for the postage is unaffected by
this service.
11.2.3 Facility Access and Shipment
Tracking (FAST)
The Facility Access and Shipment
Tracking (FAST) system is an electronic
appointment system that mailers use to
schedule the deposit of mail at postal
facilities. Customers may schedule
appointments online using the FAST
web site or they may submit
appointment requests using the
Transaction MessagingTM specifications
submitted through PostalOne!/FAST
Web Services. This convenient
messaging protocol provides customers
the opportunity to integrate the
appointment scheduling process into
their supply chain management
software and receive information about
their appointments from the Postal
Service electronically. FAST takes into
account mail shape (e.g., letters, flats,
and parcels) and pallet presort-level
information to maximize the capacity
offered at each facility. All Periodicals,
Standard Mail, and Package Services
drop shipment customers are required
to schedule appointments using FAST
at designated facilities. First-Class Mail
will be enabled in 2008.
11.2.4
Seamless Acceptance
Seamless Acceptance streamlines the
business mail acceptance process by
automating the Business Mail Entry
(BME) mail verification processes for
letter and flat mail. By applying unique
barcodes on mail pieces, handling units
and containers, and providing barcode
information in electronic mailing
information, Seamless Acceptance
mailers support the automation of
verification processes. Seamless
Acceptance mail receives Postal Service
mail-processing scans of the barcodes
and the Postal Service uses the
information gathered to verify the
electronic mailing information
submitted by the mailers and to
determine mail preparation quality.
The business benefits envisioned from
the implementation of Seamless
Acceptance include, but are not limited
to:
E:\FR\FM\20DEN1.SGM
20DEN1
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 244 / Thursday, December 20, 2007 / Notices
Increasing the quality of the mail and
mailers’ electronic mailing information
by providing timely feedback to mailers
through actionable mail quality reports;
Allowing mailers additional
flexibility in selecting the timeframe
and location of mail entry;
Improving the accuracy of the
verification process through analysis of
a larger percentage of mail pieces of a
mailing;
Introducing more accountability for
all participants by basing verification
results on mail processing data instead
of clerk performed tests;
Enhancing automation compatibility
based on results from Postal Service
mail processing equipment;
Identifying and eliminating systemic
problems in Postal Service mail
handling and mailer preparation;
Providing near real-time visibility for
both mailers and the Postal Service;
Decreasing cycle time and reduce
costs across the mail supply chain;
Increasing amount of time Postal
Service clerks are available for customer
service; and
Reducing/removing sampling
procedures during verification.
11.2.5
Mail Processing Equipment
As mail processing equipment sorts a
mail piece, information is gathered from
machine scans to determine the piece’s
location within the postal network. All
major mail processing equipment has
the ability to scan the Intelligent Mail
barcode on mail pieces during
processing. The machines with mail
piece barcode scanning capability
include:
Letters: Delivery Barcode Sorters
(DBCS), Mail Processing Barcode Sorters
(MPBCS), and Carrier Sequence Barcode
Sorters (CSBCS);
Flats: AFSM 100 and UFSM 1000; 24
Packages: Automated Package
Processing System (APPS) and Small
Package Bundle Sorter (SPBS).
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
and make that data available to other
USPS systems.
(Authority: 39 U.S.C. 3691(b)(1)(D) and
(b)(2)).
11.2.7 Intelligent Mail Data
Acquisition System (IMDAS)
Steven W. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E7–24528 Filed 12–19–07; 8:45 am]
IMDAS has replaced the handheld
scanners that carriers, mail handlers,
and drivers formerly used to scan IMBs
on handling units and Delivery
Confirmation forms.
The Intelligent Mail Data Acquisition
System (IMDAS) program is
implementing a standardized hardware
and software platform for mobile data
collection and data transfer through
scanning technology. The IMDAS
program promotes a family of handheld
data acquisition devices to support the
current scanning needs of Postal Service
products and services, as well as
support the future scanning needs of
Intelligent Mail products and services.
The IMDAS supports tracking mail
pieces, unit loads, transportation,
inventory and performance operations
using a standardized family of mobile
devices. This program includes
replacing the current Mobile Data
Collection Device (MDCD) scanners,
which postal personnel use for delivery
operations, dock operations, and
customer service operations. The
Intelligent Mail Data Acquisition
System was developed using integrated
architecture and infrastructure that are
consistent with industry best practices.
The IMDAS yields an accurate, reliable,
and stable flow of data, and is required
to interface successfully with the
existing postal infrastructure.
III. Ordering Paragraphs
The Intelligent Mail Device (IMD) is
an ergonomically designed, handheld
computer capable of running mail
processing applications and scanning
barcodes. The Postal Service has rolled
out new Intelligent Mail Devices to
carriers, mail handlers, and drivers. The
Intelligent Mail Devices currently in the
field can read IMBs, but will need a
software upgrade in order to collect data
using new start- and ‘‘stop-the-clock’’
event codes, parse the data in the codes,
It is ordered:
1. Docket No. PI2008–1 is established
for the purpose of receiving comments
regarding the Postal Service’s proposed
service performance measurement
systems.
2. Interested persons may submit
written comments on any or all aspects
of the Postal Service’s proposed service
performance measurement systems and
reporting systems by no later than
January 18, 2008.25
3. Reply comments may be filed by no
later than February 1, 2008.26
4. Kenneth E. Richardson, acting
director of the Office of the Consumer
Advocate, is designated to represent the
interests of the general public in this
docket.
5. The Secretary shall arrange for
publication of this Notice in the Federal
Register.
24 UFSM 1000 can read barcodes printed at
original specifications and will be updated in early
2008 to read barcodes printed according to the
revised specifications.
25 Changed from January 7, 2008 (per Order No.
48) by Order No. 49.
26 Changed from January 18, 2008 (per Order No.
48) by Order No. 49.
11.2.6
Intelligent Mail Device (IMD)
VerDate Aug<31>2005
20:08 Dec 19, 2007
Jkt 214001
72419
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BILLING CODE 7710–FW–P
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–56947; File No. SR–Amex–
2007–134]
Self-Regulatory Organizations;
American Stock Exchange LLC; Notice
of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness
of a Proposed Rule Change To Amend
Commentary .10 to Amex Rule 584 To
Delete the Reference to the Weekly
Bulletin
December 12, 2007.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2
notice is hereby given that on December
6, 2007, the American Stock Exchange
LLC (‘‘Amex’’ or the ‘‘Exchange’’) filed
with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (‘‘Commission’’) the
proposed rule change as described in
Items I and II below, which Items have
been prepared substantially by the
Amex. The Amex filed the proposed
rule change under Section 19(b)(3)(A) of
the Act 3 and Rule 19b–4(f)(6)
thereunder,4 which renders the proposal
effective upon filing with the
Commission. The Commission is
publishing this notice to solicit
comments on the proposed rule change
from interested persons.
I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Terms of Substance of
the Proposed Rule Change
The Amex proposes to adopt changes
to Commentary .10 to Amex Rule 584 to
delete the reference to the Weekly
Bulletin therein. The text of the
proposed rule change is available at
https://www.amex.com, the principal
offices of the Amex, and the
Commission’s Public Reference Room.
II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
In its filing with the Commission, the
Amex included statements concerning
the purpose of and basis for the
proposed rule change and discussed any
1 15
U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
CFR 240.19b–4.
3 15 U.S.C. 78S(b)(3)(A).
4 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6).
2 17
E:\FR\FM\20DEN1.SGM
20DEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 244 (Thursday, December 20, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72395-72419]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-24528]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. PI2008-1; Order Nos. 48 and 49]
Administrative Practice and Procedure, Postal Service
AGENCY: Postal Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This document informs the public that the Commission is
seeking comments on proposed service standard measurement and reporting
systems for market dominant products. The proposal responds to
provisions in a law enacted this year which require consultation
between the Commission and the Postal Service on the establishment of
service standards. The law also requires the use of an objective
external measurement, unless the Commission approves an internal
measurement system. Comments will assist the Commission in carrying out
its legal obligations. This document identifies revised comment
deadlines and reflects minor changes, reformatting, and footnote
numbering.
DATES: Initial comments due January 18, 2008; reply comments due
February 1, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments electronically via the Commission's Filing
Online system at https://www.prc.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen L. Sharfman, General Counsel,
202-789-6820 and stephen.sharfman@prc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulatory History, 72 FR 34424 (June 22,
2007).
I. Background
Section 301 of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act
(PAEA), Public Law 109-435, 120 Stat. 3218, requires the Postal
Service, in consultation with the Postal Regulatory Commission
(Commission), to establish by regulation a set of modern service
standards for market dominant products by December 20, 2007.\1\ By
statute, the service standards must be measured by an objective
external performance measurement system, unless the Commission approves
the use of an internal measurement system. 39 U.S.C. 3691(b)(1)(D) and
(b)(2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Section 301 of the PAEA is codified at 39 U.S.C. 3691. The
Postal Service published its proposed service standards October 17,
2007. See 72 FR 58946.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Commission and Postal Service have held a series of meetings to
discuss service performance measurement issues.\2\ In response to those
meetings, the Postal Service has submitted a formal proposal to the
Commission setting forth several proposed systems for measuring the
service performance of market dominant products.\3\ The
[[Page 72396]]
Proposal describes the measurement approaches the Postal Service seeks
to use to measure the service performance of its various market
dominant mail products. These approaches include, for example, the
External First-Class (EXFC) measurement system to measure single-piece
First-Class Mail, Delivery Confirmation for parcel-shaped mail, and a
hybrid system for presort letters and flats that relies on Intelligent
Mail Barcode (IMB) scans and independent, third-party reporters. In
addition, the Proposal sets forth by product (or class of mail) the
manner in which and the frequency with which the Postal Service
proposes to report the service performance data. Lastly, because not
all the proposed service performance measurement systems are fully
operational, the Postal Service provides an adoption timeline and
interim measurement solutions pending development and adoption of
longer term measures.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ During the course of developing service standards, the
Postal Service has also discussed service performance measurement
systems with workgroups of the Mailers Technical Advisory Committee.
\3\ See USPS Service Performance Measurement Proposal, received
November 29, 2007 (Proposal), which is reproduced below. The
Proposal is also available on the Commission's Web site, https://
www.prc.gov.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Measurements from existing systems, e.g., EXFC and Delivery
Confirmation, will be utilized to report service performance in FY
2008.\4\ Beginning in January 2009, when the use of IMBs will be a
prerequisite for certain rate discounts, the Postal Service anticipates
being able to report service performance data for all products, except
for Within County Periodicals.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ In FY 2008, pilot programs involving IMBs may yield
performance measurements as well.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Postal Service seeks approval to move forward with the
development of the proposed measurement systems ``with the
understanding that the approval is for the conceptual approach
[discussed in the Proposal] and is subject to review of the implemented
systems.'' Id. at 7. More specifically, it requests that the
Commission:
1. Approve the EXFC measurement system for service performance
measurement of First-Class Mail single-piece letters and flats, and as
a proxy for First-Class Mail presort flats. Id. at 7; see also id. at
8, 17, and 22; \5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ To measure First-Class presort flats, the Postal Service
proposes to use EXFC data for machine-addressed flats only. Id. at
22.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Approve Delivery Confirmation service for service performance
measurement of parcel-shaped market dominant mail. Id. at 7; see also
id. at 22-23, 39, 52, and 53;
3. Approve a hybrid measurement system based on IMB scans and
independent, third-party stop-the-clock scans for service performance
measurement of presort letters and flats, i.e., First-Class presort
letters, Standard Mail letters and flats, and Periodicals letters and
flats. Id. at 7; see also id. at 9, 20, 33, 35-36, and 43-44; \6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ Presort Package Services flats will be measured using the
same approach as Presort Standard flats and be reported on a
consolidated basis. Id. at 6, n.8, and 35. The Postal Service
proposes not to measure single-piece Package Services flats due to
the relatively small quantities of such mail. Id. at 6, n.9.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Approve the use of Red Tag and DelTrak as interim service
performance measurements for Periodicals until adoption of IMBs is
sufficient to permit use of a hybrid internal and external measurement
system. Id. at 7; see also id. at 43-44;
5. Approve the International Mail Measurement System (IMMS) for
service performance measurement of First-Class Mail International
letters, EXFC measurement of domestic single-piece First-Class Mail
flats as a proxy for single-piece First-Class Mail International flats,
and the measurement of single-piece First-Class Mail parcels as a proxy
for First-Class Mail International parcels. Id. at 6-7; see also id. at
27-30;
6. Approve the use of internal data for service performance
measurement of certain Special Services. Id. at 7; see also id. at 56-
59; and
7. Approve the various service performance measurement reporting
proposals specified in the Proposal. Id. at 7; see also id. at 25, 30,
40, 46, 54, and 60.
The Commission's role under section 3691 of title 39 is to consult
with the Postal Service concerning the establishment of service
standards for market dominant products. The service standards are
required to be measured by an objective external performance
measurement system, unless the Commission approves the use of an
internal measurement system. Section 3691(b)(1)(D) and (b)(2). Given
its obligations under the PAEA and the Postal Service's Proposal, which
characterizes the various measurement approaches as either external or
internal, the Commission is initiating this docket to solicit public
comment on the Postal Service's proposed service performance
measurement systems. Interested persons are invited to comment on any
or all aspects of the proposed service performance measurement and
reporting systems. Comments are due January 18, 2008.\7\ Reply comments
may be filed no later than February 1, 2008.\8\ The Commission intends
to evaluate the comments received and use those suggestions to help
carry out its performance measurement responsibilities under the PAEA.
All comments will be available for review on the Commission's Web site,
https://www.prc.gov.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ Changed from January 7, 2008 (per Order No. 48) by Order No.
49.
\8\ Changed from January 18, 2008 (per Order No. 48) by Order
No. 49.
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[II.] United States Postal Service Service Performance Measurement
[A.] Notices
CONFIRM[supreg], Express Mail[supreg], First-Class Mail[supreg],
Intelligent Mail[supreg], Planet Code[supreg], PostalOne![supreg],
Priority Mail[supreg], Standard Mail[supreg], usps.com[supreg], U.S.
Postal Service[supreg], ZIP+4[supreg], Certified MailTM,
Delivery ConfirmationTM, Onecode ACSTM, Post
OfficeTM, Postal ServiceTM, P.O.
BoxTM, Signature ConfirmationTM, and ZIP
CodeTM are among the many trademarks owned by the United
States Postal Service[supreg].\9\
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\9\ (copyright) 2007 United States Postal Service. All rights
reserved.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[B.] Glossary of Terms
The description of the proposed approach for service performance
measurement includes references to certain postal terminology. For
clarification, the following brief definitions and descriptions are
provided.
A service standard is defined as ``a stated goal for service
achievement for each mail class.'' See Publication 32, Glossary of
Postal Terms (May 1997, updated with Postal Bulletin revisions through
July 5, 2007). The service standard for each market-dominant mail
service incorporates the days-to-deliver for each 3-digit ZIP Code
origin-destination pair within the Postal Service network. The
standards serve as the benchmark for measuring service performance.
The critical entry time (CET) is the latest time mail can be
received at designated induction points in the postal network in order
for it to be processed and dispatched in time to meet service
standards.
The start-the-clock is the date/time when the mail piece enters the
mailstream. If the Postal Service accepts a mail piece before the
posted CET for that day, the day of entry is designated as the ``start-
the-clock'' date. If the mail piece is accepted after the CET or
dropped at a collection box, business mail chute, or Post Office
location after the last posted pickup time or on a day when pickup does
not occur, the mail piece will have a ``start-the-clock'' date of the
following applicable processing day.
The stop-the-clock is the date/time when delivery occurs or is
initially attempted.
[[Page 72397]]
The service performance is the number of calendar days from the
``start-the-clock'' to the ``stop-the-clock.'' However, if the day of
receipt occurs after a non-delivery day (Sunday or a holiday), then one
day is subtracted for each non-delivery day.
The Annual Compliance Report is the national service performance
report for market-dominant mail service that is subject to compliance
review on a fiscal year basis.
[C. Description of Proposal]
1. Introduction
Among many requirements, the Postal Accountability and Enhancement
Act (PAEA) instructs the United States Postal Service (Postal Service)
to establish modern service standards for its market-dominant mail
products by December 20, 2007. These standards should be designed with
the intent of providing a system of objective external performance
measurement. However, the law allows for the implementation of an
internal measurement system instead of an external one, with the
approval of the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC).\10\
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\10\ Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act. 39 U.S.C.
3691(b)(1)(D) and 3691(b)(2). https://www.prc.gov/notices/PL109-
435PAEA.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The proposed service performance measurement system is designed to
provide the Postal Service and its customers with data sufficiently
accurate and reliable for purposes of assessing the quality of mail
service in a cost effective manner. The measurement system is also
intended to provide the PRC with the ability to perform its
responsibilities under the PAEA with a high degree of confidence. The
following table summarizes the proposed measurement system. Each
``start-the-clock'' and ``stop-the-clock'' event is described in detail
in later sections.
Table 1.--Measurement Approach at Full Rollout \1\
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Single-piece Presort
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Letters Flats Parcels Letters Flats Parcels
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First-Class Mail................ EXFC.............. EXFC.............. Start: Delivery Start: Documented EXFC as Proxy \2\. Start: Documented
Confirmation Arrival Time at Arrival Time at
delivery scan. Unit. Unit.
Stop: Delivery Stop: External Stop: Delivery
Confirmation reporting. Confirmation
delivery scan. delivery scan.
Single-Piece First-Class Mail IMMS \3\.......... EXFC as proxy \4\. Single-Piece First- N/A............... N/A............... N/A.
International Class Mail
parcels as proxy
\5\.
Periodicals \6\................. N/A............... N/A............... N/A............... Start: Documented Start: Documented N/A.
Arrival Time at Arrival Time at
Unit. Unit.
Stop: External Stop: External
reporting. reporting..
Standard Mail................... N/A............... N/A............... N/A............... Start: Documented Start: Documented Start: Documented
Arrival Time at Arrival Time at Arrival Time at
Unit. Unit. Unit.
Stop: External Stop: External Stop: Delivery
reporting. reporting \7\. Confirmation
delivery scan.
Package Services................ N/A............... N/A \8\........... Start: Delivery N/A............... .................. Start: Documented
Confirmation Arrival Time at
delivery scan. Unit.
Stop: Delivery Stop: Delivery
Confirmation Confirmation
delivery scan. delivery scan.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Special Services are not included in Table 1 as they have different methods to ``start-the-clock'' and ``stop-the-clock'' from the market-dominant
mail classes. The approach for measuring Special Services is explained in detail later in this document.
\2\ The Postal Service will use the External First-Class Mail Measurement System (EXFC) measurement for single-piece flats as a proxy for Presort First-
Class Mail flats due to small volumes. The external measurement contractor will create test mail pieces with characteristics of Presort mail and seed
them into the mailstream via retail.
\3\ The International Mail Measurement System (IMMS) is an external measurement system for which an independent measurement contractor seeds mail into
the mailstream with a wide range of mail characteristics representing international mail.
\4\ The EXFC measurement for domestic single-piece First-Class Mail flats will serve as a proxy for single-piece First-Class Mail International flats
due to the small volume in this category. After clearing customs, single-piece First-Class Mail International flats enter the domestic mailstream and
are handled with domestic single-piece First-Class Mail flats.
\5\ The Postal Service will use the measurement for domestic single-piece First-Class Mail parcels as a proxy for single-piece First-Class Mail
International inbound surface parcels due to the small volume in this category. After clearing customs, single-piece First-Class Mail International
inbound surface parcels enter the domestic mailstream and are handled the same way as domestic single-piece First-Class Mail parcels.
\6\ Two external systems, Red Tag and Time Inc.'s DelTrak, will be used for measurement during FY 2009, as the Postal Service transitions to a
statistically viable long-term solution.
\7\ Presort Package Services flats consist primarily of Bound Printed Matter, which has similar physical characteristics as Presort and can be scanned
by external reporters. Accordingly, Presort Package Services flats will be measured via the same approach as Presort Standard Mail flats and reported
together.
\8\ Single-piece Package Services flats make up less than 4% of all Package Services flats (excluding retail Media Mail, which was discontinued as a
result of PRC Docket No. R2006-1) and only 1% of the total Package Services mail base; therefore, the Postal Service does not propose a single-piece
Package Services flats measure. As a result, the Package Services measurement will be strictly parcel volume.
[[Page 72398]]
The Postal Service believes that the proposed measurement and
reporting systems described in greater detail below satisfy all
legislative requirements and provide the PRC with sufficiently reliable
data with which to perform its service performance accountability
responsibilities. The proposed system is cost effective, statistically
significant, sufficiently granular in detail, and includes numerous
methods of auditability. The Postal Service is asking for approval to
move forward with development of these systems with the understanding
that the approval is for the conceptual approach documented here and is
subject to review of the implemented systems. In order to begin
reporting service performance metrics as quickly as possible, the
Postal Service requests that the PRC do the following:
Approve continued use of EXFC for service performance measurement
of First-Class Mail single-piece letters and flats, and as a proxy for
First-Class Mail Presort flats;
Approve continued use of Delivery Confirmation service for service
performance measurement of parcel-shaped components of each domestic
market-dominant mail class;
Approve the use of an external measurement system that supplements
externally collected delivery data with Intelligent Mail scans for
service performance measurement of Presort letters and flats;
Approve the use of data from external measurement systems--Red Tag
and DelTrak--as an interim service performance measurement for
Periodicals until adoption of IMBs is sufficient to permit migration to
the external measurement provider;
Approve continued use of IMMS for service performance measurement
of single-piece First-Class Mail International letters, and the use of
domestic single-piece First-Class Mail flat performance as a proxy for
single-piece First-Class Mail International flats;
Approve the use of internal data for service performance
measurement of Special Services; and
Approve the reporting proposals specified.
2. Measurement Approach
The Postal Service proposes continued use of EXFC to measure
single-piece First-Class Mail letters and flats and IMMS to measure
single-piece First-Class Mail International letters.\11\ For letter-
and flat-shaped Presort mail within First-Class Mail, Periodicals, and
Standard Mail services, the Postal Service has designed an external
measurement approach that supplements mail scans available from an
internal Intelligent Mail system with externally collected data. For
parcel-shaped mail within First-Class Mail, Standard Mail, and Package
Services,\12\ the Postal Service proposes to use an internal solution
based on Delivery Confirmation scans obtained at acceptance and
delivery. Additionally, the proposed performance measurement of various
domestic special services will use an internal measurement approach.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\11\ The only major type of International Mail classified as
market-dominant is single-piece First-Class Mail International. For
single-piece First-Class Mail International flats and parcels, the
Postal Service will use the domestic flats and parcel measurements
as proxies, as explained in Section 4.
\12\ Package Services market-dominant products include single-
piece Parcel Post, Bound Printed Matter, Library Mail, and Media
Mail. For purposes of service standard establishment and service
performance measurement, the market-dominant products designated by
39 U.S.C. 3621(a) as single-piece Parcel Post, Bound Printed Matter,
Library Mail, and Media Mail are grouped together as Package
Services due to the small volumes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The two critical elements for service performance measurement of a
mail piece are the date/time when the mail piece enters the mailstream,
otherwise known as the ``start-the-clock,'' and the date/time when
delivery occurs or is attempted, otherwise known as the ``stop-the-
clock.'' The mail piece service performance can be viewed as the
difference between the ``start-the-clock'' and ``stop-the-clock'' dates
compared to the established service standard for the mail category.
When assessing mail piece performance, the facility Critical Entry Time
(CET) must be taken into account. The CET is the latest time mail can
be received at designated induction points in the postal network in
order for it to be processed and dispatched in time to meet service
standards. If the Postal Service accepts a mail piece before the CET on
a given processing day, the mail piece will have a ``start-the-clock''
date of the current day. If the mail piece is accepted after the CET,
the mail piece will have a ``start-the-clock'' date of the following
applicable processing day.
2.1 Presort Letter and Flat-Shaped Mail
For Presort Standard Mail, First-Class Mail and Periodical letters
and Standard and Periodical flats, the Postal Service proposes a
service performance measurement system that uses the induction event to
``start-the-clock,'' and an external, third-party ``stop-the-clock''
performed by reporters with scanners in their home. Additional data on
mail piece tracking from Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMB) scans will also
be used to supplement the external data. However, any data collected by
the Postal Service will be provided to an independent, external
contractor to calculate service measurement and compile the necessary
reports.
To facilitate an accurate ``start-the-clock,'' mailers will prepare
mail with IMBs and submit electronic mailing information that describes
the mail profile. During mail induction, the Postal Service will scan
barcodes to record mail arrival at sites that are equipped with
scanners. At other sites, the ``start-the-clock'' will be the
documented arrival time at the Postal Service unit. In all cases,
mailings are verified to ensure they meet acceptable mail preparation
requirements to qualify for service performance measurement. Mail
arrival times and mail preparation quality information will be made
available to mailers to ensure validity.
The proposed measurement system will determine the service
performance by using data collected by the Postal Service on the time
taken from the ``start-the-clock'' through processing. The external
measurement contractor will combine this data with data from anonymous
households and small businesses that report directly to an external
service measurement contractor. The reporters in anonymous households
will submit in-home delivery information to the external measurement
contractor, and that information will be used to determine the ``stop-
the-clock'' service day. The end-to-end service measure will have two
parts, (1) how long mail pieces take to get through processing, and (2)
how long mail takes from the last processing scan to arrive in-home--
the second portion will be used as a delivery factor differential to
determine the percent of mail not delivered on time even though it made
through processing timely. For Presort letters and flats entered at
Delivery Units that do not receive processing scans, postal delivery
personnel will scan IMBs to indicate intention to deliver same-day. The
delivery factor differential for the performance measurement between
the date of the last IMB scan and the date reported in-home will be
determined for each mail category. This factor represents last mile
delivery performance. With this measurement approach, the core of the
service performance score would be based on data provided by external
reporters, which would make it easily auditable, and yet cost
effective.
Using external reporters, barcoded mail that falls out of
automation, such as non-machinable and not flat-
[[Page 72399]]
machinable (NFM) mail, will be included in service performance
measurement. To ensure that the external service measurement contractor
is able to measure service performance for properly prepared and
addressed mail pieces, the Postal Service will provide the contractor
with mail quality information that it derives by scanning IMBs.
The proposed approach leverages data from internal systems to
enhance measurement for Presort letters and flat-shaped mail has
several key advantages: greater representation of mail characteristics;
allows for richer diagnostics; and provides opportunities to reduce the
cost of measurement.
2.2 Requirements for Presort Mailers
Since the Postal Service measurement system for letter and flat-
shaped mail is dependent on the IMB, the Postal Service will require
the use of IMBs to qualify for automation discounts as of January 2009.
It is important to note that the IMB alone does not provide enough
information for service performance measurement. The mailer adoption
rates projected throughout this document include both adoption of the
IMB as well as the adoption of electronic mailing information. For
service performance measurement purposes, mailers will need to:
Prepare mailings using the Intelligent Mail series of barcodes to
provide a sufficient level of uniqueness and abide by mail preparation
requirements to ensure that the mailings are automation-compatible;
\13\ and
Submit electronic mailing information describing the mail contents
and Intelligent Mail barcodes used.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\13\ Domestic Mail Manual sections 200.3.1 through 200.3.14.
Physical Standard Mails for Automation Letters and Cards. Domestic
Mail Manual sections 300.3.1 through 300.3.14.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Service performance measurement will depend on high-quality mail
presented to the Postal Service. The Postal Service requires that mail
meet the required mail preparation criteria. The quality of the mail
will be verified by either Seamless Acceptance, semi-automated
verification such as MERLIN, or manual verification processes. Under
the Seamless Acceptance verification process, certain characteristics
of mail will be inspected while mail is processed in the mailstream.
Because incorrectly addressed pieces and improperly prepared mail make
it impossible in many cases to meet the service standard, only mailings
that meet acceptable mail preparation criteria will be included for
service measurement.
2.3 Parcels
For parcel-shaped mail within First-Class Mail, Standard Mail, and
Package Services, the Postal Service will use an internal solution
based on Delivery Confirmation scans obtained at acceptance and
delivery. The Postal Service currently measures service performance for
Retail parcels via Delivery Confirmation barcode scans. The existing
Delivery Confirmation performance reports for mail originating at
postal retail units can be used in the short-term to measure the
service performance of all Package Services until service measurement
can be extended to Presort parcels. For reporting purposes, First-Class
Mail parcels will be included with the First-Class Mail aggregated
performance results, Standard Mail parcels will be included with the
Standard Mail aggregated performance results, and the Package Services
aggregated performance results will include only parcel volume.
Parcel-shaped Retail mail will use the Delivery Confirmation scan
at the retail counter as the ``start-the-clock.'' Parcel-shaped Presort
mail will use the documented arrival time at the postal unit as the
``start-the-clock.'' For Presort parcels, validation similar to that
for letters and flats will be performed to ensure that the proper
parcels were dropped at the correct postal facility.
The ``stop-the-clock'' is the Delivery Confirmation scan performed
by postal delivery personnel at delivery.\14\ Since postal personnel
scan virtually every piece with a Delivery Confirmation scan at
delivery, the measurement system is truly an end-to-end performance
system. In addition, the sender has access to the Delivery Confirmation
``stop-the-clock'' information from usps.com and, thus, can
independently verify the delivery date.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\14\ Carriers en-route and clerks at post office boxes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
More detail on parcels can be found under the specific class
descriptions below.
2.4 Reporting
The Postal Service will use an independent, external contractor to
prepare service performance reports for domestic First-Class Mail,
Periodicals, Standard Mail, and single-piece First-Class Mail
International letters. For the letter- and flat-shaped components of
its market-dominant mail classes, the Postal Service's external
contractor will employ reporters equipped with handheld scanners who,
each day, will scan the IMB on live mail pieces received at their
delivery addresses. The reporters will transmit scan data back to the
external contractor and the scans will be used as the ``stop-the-
clock'' for the mail pieces. Since there is considerable set-up
associated with this type of system, the Postal Service will begin
reporting from this system in FY 2009.
External ``stop-the-clock'' scanning offers many benefits to the
Postal Service, the PRC, and mailers concerning the accuracy and
auditability of service performance measurement:
Last-mile sampling data will be used to provide the granularity
required for the district level reporting;
Association of the reporter scan data to the final Mail Processing
Equipment scan will be used to assess and correct any last mile
failures;
Mail pieces used will have no distinguishing features; and
The volume of mail going to a reporter will remain unchanged.
The Postal Service plans to continue collecting performance data for
parcels within each domestic market-dominant mail class as it does
today based on Delivery Confirmation acceptance and delivery scans. The
Postal Service will send performance data for First-Class Mail parcels
and Standard Mail parcels to the external service performance
contractor for consolidated reporting into each mail class' reporting
measurement. Service Performance for Package Services parcels and
Special Services will be reported by the Postal Service. Quarterly
reports will include data on the percentage of mail delivered on time
as well as the percentage of mail delivered within 1-day, 2-days, and
3-days of the standard being measured. Annual compliance reports will
include the annual goal and the annual percentage of mail for each
class delivered on time or the percentage of special services provided
on time by service.
2.5 Timeline
The Postal Service will use a phased rollout of the service
performance measurement system, which will correspond with Presort-
mailer adoption of the IMBs and other needed electronic mailing
information. A significant adoption of IMBs by presort mailers is
expected by FY 2009. This will provide sufficient representative volume
to provide statistically valid judgment.\15\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\15\ Excludes Periodicals Mail, which will cutover in 2009.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some components of the proposed measurement system are already in
place. The Postal Service will continue
[[Page 72400]]
to use EXFC to measure single-piece First-Class Mail letters and flats,
as well as IMMS to measure single-piece First-Class Mail International
letters. EXFC and IMMS are specifically designed to be representative
of those mailstreams and already provide an external, statistically
valid performance measurement. Measurement is also becoming available
for Package Services parcels entered at retail.\16\ The existing
Delivery Confirmation performance reports for mail originating at
postal retail units can be used in the short-term to measure the
service performance of all Package Services until service measurement
can be extended to Presort parcels.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\16\ Under Order No. 43, the PRC has classified all inbound
single-piece surface parcels tendered at Universal Postal Union
inward land rates in the market-dominant category. This mail
includes surface parcels, which enter the United States via surface
transportation at the New Jersey International Bulk Mail Center, as
well as surface airlift parcels, which enter at the five
International Service Centers in Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles, New
York JFK, and San Francisco. Once surface parcels clear customs,
they are transferred from the acceptance facility to a Bulk Mail
Center (BMC). Once entered into the BMC network, inbound parcels
undergo the same processing as domestic single-piece Package
Services parcels. Because the volume of the inbound surface parcels
is small in proportion to other market-dominant categories, creating
a separate measurement system for these parcels is not cost-
justified. Given that inbound surface parcels are handled through
the domestic BMC network, the Postal Service submits that the
service performance measurement statistics for corresponding
domestic surface parcels serves as a reasonable proxy for
International Mail inbound surface parcels.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Although use of the IMB will not be required until January 2009,
several Presort mailers have already adopted the IMB and submit
electronic mailing information. Pilot programs are currently underway
for measurement of Presort First-Class Mail and Standard Mail. Mailer
adoption rates are expected to continue growing.
Toward the end of 2008, external reporters will be trained to use a
new scanning device for in-home delivery reporting of all mail received
that contains an IMB. Beginning in 2009, IMB and electronic mailing
information adoption will occur in sufficient quantity that measurement
based on scans generated by external reporters will provide
statistically valid measurements for service performance of Presort
First-Class Mail letters and Standard Mail.
For Periodicals mailers, adoption of IMBs and electronic mailing
information is projected to be slower. Measurements from DelTrak and
Red Tag, which are two external measurement systems, will be used for
measurement during a portion of FY 2009 as the Postal Service
transitions to a statistically viable long-term solution using the same
methodology explained above.
Table 2.--Measurement Implementation Timeline
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
January 2008 FY 2009 FY 2010
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First-Class Mail Single-Piece Letters EXFC................... EXFC................... EXFC.
and Flats.
First-Class Mail Presort Flats and EXFC as Proxy.......... EXFC as Proxy.......... EXFC as Proxy.
Single-Piece International Mail
Flats.
Single-Piece First-Class Mail IMMS................... IMMS................... IMMS.
International Letters.
First-Class Mail Presort Letters..... Intelligent Mail Pilot. Reporter + IMB/ Reporter + IMB/
Electronic Mailing Electronic Mailing
Information (25-50% of Information (50-75% of
system). system).
First-Class Mail Parcels\1\ and System Setup and Retail and Presort Retail and Presort
International Mail Parcels. Development. Delivery Confirmation Delivery Confirmation
Sample (5-10% system). Sample (5-10% system).
Standard Mail Letters and Flats \2\.. Intelligent Mail Pilot. Reporter + IMB/ Reporter + IMB/
Electronic Mailing Electronic Mailing
Information (25-50% of Information (50-75% of
system). system).
Standard Mail Parcels \3\............ System Setup and Delivery Confirmation Delivery Confirmation
Development. Sample (5-10% of Sample (10-25% of
system). system).
Periodicals Letters and Flats........ Red Tag/DelTrak System Red Tag/DelTrak Reporter + IMB/
Review. Reporter + IMB \4\. Electronic mailing
information \5\ (25-
75% of system).
Periodicals: Within County \6\....... Red Tag................
Package Services Parcels (includes Retail Only (15% Retail and Presort Retail and Presort
Bound Printed Matter, Library Mail, Retail). Delivery Confirmation Delivery Confirmation
Media Mail and Parcel Post). Sample (5-10% system). Sample (10-25%
system).
Special Services..................... System Setup and Internal Measurement... Internal Measurement.
Development.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ First-Class Mail parcels will be rolled into the First-Class Mail measurement based on percent of mail.
\2\ Presort Package Services flats are included with Standard Mail flats.
\3\ Standard Mail parcels will be rolled into the Standard Mail measurement based on percent of mail.
\4\ Once a threshold is met for IMB statistical validity, which the Postal Service expects to occur in 2009, the
Postal Service plans to cutover to reporting via IMB scanning. Red Tag and DelTrak will be used for reporting
in 2009 until the cutover occurs; however, the long-term measurement approach for Periodicals is planned for
2010, subject to the considerations expressed above in fn. 16.
\5\ The Postal Service may elect to have its external provider use data from DelTrak or Red Tag even in future
years if it proves to increase the overall robustness of the data and the statistical validity.
\6\ The Postal Service is still attempting to determine how an accurate measurement system for In-County
Periodicals could be developed. In the interim, the Postal Service is hopeful that existing systems like Red
Tag could be expanded to provide data in the short-term and that mailer adoption of IMBs will provide
additional granularity in the long-term.
3. First-Class Mail
3.1 Background
First-Class Mail pieces represented 46.0% of the overall mail
volume in FY 2006,\17\ with nearly 98 billion pieces. Of First-Class
Mail, 42.5% are single-piece letters or flats, 0.36% are single-piece
parcels, 55.9% are Presort letters, 1.0% are Presort flats, and 0.194%
are Presort parcels. The Postal Service plans to measure each of these
different segments and report a weighted average measurement. Below
Table 3--First-Class Mail Volume illustrates the make-up of First-Class
Mail by entry volume and shape. The table also illustrates the
percentage that the First-Class Mail segments represent within the
overall mailstream.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\17\ https://www.usps.com/financials/_pdf/Fy2006_
RPWsummaryreport.pdf.
[[Page 72401]]
Table 3.--First-Class Mail Volume
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Single-piece Presort
------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Total
Letters Flats Parcels Letters Flats Parcels (percent)
(percent) (percent) (percent) (percent) (percent) (percent)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First-Class Mail............................................. 39.06 3.49 0.36 55.9 1.0 0.19 100
Overall Mailstream........................................... 18.0 1.6 0.17 25.7 0.47 0.09 46.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.2 First-Class Mail Single-Piece Letters and Flats
Collection boxes and office building chutes are the primary methods
for entering First-Class Mail single-piece letters and flats. Combined,
this mail represents 19.6% of the total mailstream. Service performance
is currently measured though EXFC and, subject to PRC approval, the
Postal Service plans to continue to use EXFC for this purpose.
EXFC currently has approximately 13,000 reporters and measures 2.7
million mail pieces each year. EXFC continuously measures 463 3-digit
ZIP Code service areas selected based on geography and volume density.
Approximately 90% of First-Class Mail volume originates and 80%
destinates in these EXFC measurement areas. EXFC mail pieces are
designed to resemble the rest of the mailstream; pieces are hand- or
machine-addressed, stamped or metered, and are of different colors,
sizes, and weights. The Postal Service intends to expand the use of
EXFC in FY 2009 to cover nearly all 3-digit ZIP Code areas.
3.2.1 Statistical Validity
Each EXFC postal administrative reporting district currently
receives approximately 5,000 EXFC mail pieces with an overnight service
standard, 1,500 pieces with a two-day standard, and 1,500 pieces with a
three-day standard each quarter. The original EXFC system used a
precision level of +/-3% to produce statistically valid results at the
postal administrative district level over an entire postal quarter. To
reach this level of statistical validity, a certain number of pieces
must be mailed during a given test period. Over the years, the Postal
Service has increased the original sample size, which has driven the
precision level to a much narrower variance and enhanced the system's
accuracy. Precision levels at the district level for the annual results
are now typically under +/-1% for each service standard. To ensure the
integrity of the measurement, the Postal Service does not know where
EXFC mail is being dropped or received.
At the national level, the current system has a precision level of
+/-0.05% across all three days in the current First-Class Mail service
standard range (overnight, two-day, three-day) over an entire fiscal
year.
The EXFC system has been in place since 1990 and provides accurate,
independent, and externally generated service performance results.
Quality reviews are conducted for droppers and reporters, and data are
reviewed on a daily, weekly, cross-weekly, monthly, and quarterly
basis.
3.2.2 ``Start-the-Clock''
The date/time that the mail piece is dropped into the collection
box, business mail chute, or at a Post Office location is the ``start-
the-clock.'' Mail piece droppers report the ``start-the-clock''
directly to the external service measurement contractor. If a mail
piece is dropped at a collection box, business mail chute, or Post
Office location after the last posted pickup time or on a day when
pickup does not occur, the next pickup day will be used as the ``start-
the-clock.''
The induction points for the ``start-the-clock'' are determined
before the start of each quarter. Droppers are provided with a listing
of collection boxes that they are allowed to use for their assigned
inductions in a given 3-digit ZIP Code service area. Enough locations
are chosen to ensure a certain amount of overage, to accommodate any
unforeseen issues that may arise with the selected induction points.
The collection boxes are chosen in a random selection process with
replacement, meaning that the same induction location may be chosen
multiple times. The induction points are weighted going into the
selection process, so that locations in 5-digit ZIP Code areas with a
larger number of collection boxes have a greater chance of being
selected than locations in ZIP Codes areas with a smaller number of
collection boxes. The external contractor monitors drop compliance
continuously throughout the quarter to ensure proper diversification of
mail locations.
EXFC origin-destination mail flows are based on estimated 3-digit
ZIP Code origin-destination pair volume flows for corresponding 3-digit
ZIP Code pairs over the past three fiscal years. The number of pieces
entered from each district is proportionate to the origin-destination
volumes by service standard. The measurement system will be expanded to
nearly all 3-digit ZIP Codes in FY 2009.
3.2.3 ``Stop-the-Clock''
The date/time that the mail piece is received at a household, small
business, or Post Office Box is reported as the ``stop-the-clock''
directly by the reporter to the external contractor for EXFC reporting
purposes. The service performance is the number of calendar days from
the ``start-the-clock'' to the ``stop-the-clock.'' However, if the day
of receipt occurs after a non-delivery day (Sunday or a holiday), then
one day is subtracted for each non-delivery day.
3.3 First-Class Mail Presort Letters
The primary induction method for Presort letters is bulk entry at
postal mail processing plants and Business Mail Entry Units (BMEUs)
across the United States. Presort First-Class Mail letters represent
25.7% of the total mailstream. The measurement approach proposed by the
Postal Service uses externally generated scans of mail pieces
containing IMBs by reporters to record in-home delivery dates. In
combination with Intelligent Mail scan data collected by the Postal
Service, this approach enables the granular level of reporting being
sought by the mailing industry.
3.3.1 Adoption Rates
Participation in the Intelligent Mail pilot, the benefits of the
IMB for special services, and the expectation that the Postal Service
will require IMBs on mail subject to automation discounts are factors
that, in combination, are expected to generate 13.6 billion Presort
letters with IMBs and the other needed electronic mail information by
January 2009. This volume will satisfy the conditions for performance
measurement in FY 2009. With required use by January 2009, the minimum
estimates for mailer adoption are:
January 2009: 25% of First-Class Mail Presort letters; and
[[Page 72402]]
January 2010: 50% of First-Class Mail Presort letters.
3.3.2 Statistical Validity
We plan to use the last mile estimate based on combined data from
presorted First-Class letters with IMBs and the EXFC pieces with IMBs.
Assuming that 25% of presorted First-Class mail will have an IMB and be
measurable, the average district will have approximately 6,775 pieces
per quarter upon which to base the last mile estimates when presorted
First-Class mail is combined with available data from EXFC. The last
mile factor estimate with a 95% confidence interval would be +/-0.5% at
the district level on average. Current EXFC data indicates that
district last mile factors vary over time and geography, but generally
fall in the 2-3% range. The Postal Service anticipates a precision
between +/-0.5% and +/-0.6% as illustrated in the table below.
Table 4.--Precision for First-Class Mail Presort Letters
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coverage of
Last mile IMB +
Confidence factor electronic Precision
interval estimate mailing (percent)
(percent) (percent) information
(percent)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First-Class Mail Presort Letters................ 95 2 25 +/-0.5
Presort Letters................................. 95 3 25 +/-0.6
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It should also be noted that the last mile factor is one piece of
the overall service performance estimate, with the performance of the
acceptance to final processing scan being the other. The availability
of billions of data records to sample from to form these estimates
means that the Postal Service can economically take large samples for
individual report cells (e.g. Baltimore SCF-entry Standard Mail,
Chicago 3-day First-Class Presorted Mail). The estimated precision
levels will be shared with the PRC during the development process.
3.3.3 ``Start-the-Clock''
Mailers are required to prepare mail with IMBs and submit
electronic mailing information listing the IMBs used. Mail is verified
to ensure it meets mail preparation criteria. Mail that does not meet
mail preparation standards will be excluded from service performance in
order to ensure that the system produces a valid, reliable measurement
score. The ``start-the-clock'' will be the documented arrival time at
the Postal Service unit. Mail arrival times and mail preparation
quality information will be made available to mailers.
3.3.4 ``Stop-the-Clock''
External reporters will be equipped with handheld scanners capable
of scanning IMBs and reporters will scan all mail they receive that
contains an IMB. These scan data will be transmitted to the external
reporting system and will be the ``stop-the-clock'' for the
individually scanned mail pieces. By comparing the date of the final
Postal Service scan with the actual receipt date for these pieces, the
external measurement contractor will calculate a factor for the actual
service performance of the last mile for First-Class Mail Presort
letters. This factor will be combined with the Intelligent Mail data to
report the end-to-end service performance measurement.
The use of external reporters will allow for measurement of
manually processed mail and mail that falls out of automation to be
included in service performance measurement. The external reporters
will provide the actual ``stop-the-clock'' and the external provider
will calculate the service performance for those pieces.
3.4 First-Class Mail Presort Flats
Presort First-Class Mail flats represent only 0.47% of the total
mailstream, producing one of the smallest mail categories. This low
volume makes creating a statistically valid measurement system
difficult. Since there are four times as many single-piece First-Class
Mail flats as there are Presort flats, and the single-piece and Presort
flats mailstreams are combined in operations, the Postal Service will
use the EXFC measurement of single-piece First-Class Mail flats as a
proxy for Presort flats. In order to determine a more accurate estimate
for First-Class Mail Presort flats, the portion of EXFC that reflects
this mail category, i.e., machine-addressed flats, rather than hand-
addressed, will be used.
3.5 First-Class Mail Retail Parcels
The Postal Service currently measures service performance for
retail parcels via Delivery Confirmation barcode scans. This approach
for measuring performance is working well, so the Postal Service will
continue using this measurement approach for this mail shape. For
reporting purposes, performance results will be sent to the external
measurement contractor for inclusion into the First-Class Mail
aggregated performance results. First-Class Mail Retail parcels
represent under 0.4% of all First-Class Mail and less than 0.2% of the
total mailstream.
3.5.1 Statistical Validity
In 2006, just over 14 million First-Class Mail Retail parcels
included Delivery Confirmation service, representing 4% of these
parcels. While this represents low usage of the Delivery Confirmation
service, it is still representative of the population and, hence,
provides an acceptable basis for service performance measurement. The
Postal Service will continue to use Delivery Confirmation scans as long
as they continue to provide accurate, auditable data for service
performance measurement.
3.5.2 ``Start-the-Clock''
Primarily, the ``start-the-clock'' occurs at the retail counter
when customers purchase Delivery Confirmation for parcels they intend
to mail. When postal retail clerks apply Delivery Confirmation forms to
these parcels, they scan the Delivery Confirmation barcodes on the
forms. The scan is captured via either a Point-of-Sale (POS) terminal
at the retail counter or an Intelligent Mail handheld scanning device.
Since the customer is present at the ``start-the-clock'' event and
receives a time-stamped receipt with purchase, there are several
validation points.
3.5.3 ``Stop-the-Clock''
At delivery, the carrier will scan the Delivery Confirmation
barcode to denote delivery or that delivery was attempted, either of
which will serve to ``stop-the-clock'' for service performance
measurement.
Retail parcel reporting for service performance measurement will
use the date of the ``start-the-clock'' event and count the days
between the ``start-the-clock'' and the ``stop-the-clock'' to determine
delivery performance. A
[[Page 72403]]
comparison is then made to the relevant service standard to determine
if the parcel received on-time service performance.
3.6 First-Class Mail Presort Parcels
One differentiating characteristic of First-Class Mail Presort
parcels is the propensity of mailers to apply Delivery Confirmation.
First-Class Mail Presort parcels with Delivery Confirmation service
comprise almost half of the mail category. This demonstrates that there
are ample parcels that can be included in service performance
measurement of this mail category. Using Delivery Confirmation scan
data, performance results will be calculated by the Postal Service and
then sent to the external measurement contractor for inclusion into the
First-Class Mail service aggregated performance results.
3.6.1 Adoption Rates
Many mailers already meet the electronic mailing information
requirements necessary for performance measurement; however, the Postal
Service plans to expand internal Delivery Confirmation sampling
processes that verify shipment contents and the accuracy of the
electronic mailing information. As verification becomes more prevalent,
the volume of parcels that are measured will increase.
3.6.2 Statistical Validity
With the selected approach, the performance of an estimated 4.5
million parcels will be sampled for service measurement in FY 2009.
Since half of the mail category contains Delivery Confirmation service,
concerns about the representativeness of the sample used to measure
service performance are minimal.
3.6.3 ``Start-the-Clock''
For service performance measurement, mailers are required to
prepare mail with the Delivery Confirmation barcode and submit
electronic mailing information listing the Delivery Confirmation
barcodes used. Mail is verified to ensure it meets mail preparation
criteria. Mail that does not meet mail preparation standards will be
excluded from service performance in order to ensure that the system
produces a valid, reliable measurement score. The ``start-the-clock''
will be the documented arrival time at the Postal Service unit. Mail
arrival times and mail preparation quality information will be made
available to mailers.
3.6.4 ``Stop-the-Clock''
Postal delivery personnel scan the Delivery Confirmation barcode
upon delivery and can denote the delivery or attempted delivery, either
of which will serve to ``stop-the-clock'' for service performance
measurement.
3.7 Reporting for First-Class Mail
3.7.1 Quarterly Reporting
The Postal Service proposes to continue reporting single-piece
First-Class Mail performance as it does today, with the addition of
single-piece First-Class Mail parcels.
For Presort First-Class Mail pieces, the Postal Service proposes
quarterly reporting that will measure service performance separately by
day, i.e., overnight, 2-day, and 3-day/4-day, for each district. This
greatly expands the number of performance measures reported, yet is
consistent with the way EXFC currently reports single-piece First-Class
Mail service. The use of data from the final Intelligent Mail scans
allows reporting at a higher degree of granularity. The quarterly
reports will provide on-time performance for letter, flat, and parcel-
shaped Presort First-Class Mail pieces. The Postal Service will send
performance data for First-Class Mail parcels to the external service
performance contractor for consolidated reporting purposes.
The proposed quarterly report format for on-time performance of
Presort First-Class Mail is as follows:
Table 4-A1.--Quarterly Service Performance for Presort First-Class Mail; Sample Quarterly Report Format for
Presort First-Class Mail
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Three-day/ four-
District Overnight on- Two-day on- day on-time
time (percent) time (percent) (percent)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CAPITAL METRO AREA........................................... XX XX XX
Baltimore District........................................... XX XX XX
Capital District............................................. XX XX XX
South Carolina District...................................... XX XX XX
Greensboro District.......................................... XX XX XX
Mid-Ca
