It’s 7:30 am and you’re a letter carrier . . . so take a moment and imagine the following as a typical workday. First, you walk into the office, clock in, and check in with the boss. Then, you load up the vehicle with the mail that is already prepared for your route. Finally, at 7:45 am, you jump into the vehicle, drive off and begin delivering the mail. At no point are you required to manually sort mail. Is that day far off in the future . . . or, is it just around the corner?
Currently, Delivery Point Sequence (DPS) letters are automated to the delivery point so that the carrier can take it directly to the street. DPS mail is picked up by the carrier on the way to the vehicle and does not need additional manual sorting. The purpose of the DPS program is to reduce the amount of time carriers spend in the office manually sorting letters, thereby reducing cost and improving accuracy and speed of delivery. Since 1993, when DPS was introduced, the share of city delivery routes receiving DPS letters has grown to more than 99 percent and the share of rural routes has grown to 86 percent. On average, these routes receive 88 percent of their letters in DPS order. The Postal Service’s goal is to raise the DPS percentage to 95 percent by 2010. The chart below depicts how the share of DPS letters and manually sorted (cased) letters on city delivery routes has changed over time.
Loading ... Loading ...Delivery is the Postal Service’s largest cost center accounting for more than 40 percent of expenses, and having carriers manually sort mail takes time and money. Carrier routes are configured to take eight hours to complete, and those eight hours include time spent in the office . . . primarily manually sorting mail, as well as time spent on the street. According to the Postal Service, over the last 15 years, it has recognized over $5 billion in savings due to DPS.
Now, the Postal Service wants to replicate for flats — large envelopes, magazines, and catalogs — what is done for letters by implementing the Flat Sequencing System (FSS). The FSS will sort flats into delivery point sequence. In FY 2007, the Postal Service processed 52 billion flats and 80 percent needed to be sorted manually in the office by the carrier. The plan is for FSS to reduce the amount of time carriers spend in the office manually sorting flat mail. Although FSS is not quite ready for primetime, the Postal Service is currently piloting it at the Dulles Processing and Distribution Center in Virginia.
If the majority of the mail is sorted in delivery point sequence using automation, it will dramatically change how a carrier spends his or her workday. Remember, you are the carrier and now you have automated sorted bundles of DPS letters and FSS mail. There was no need to manually sort any of this mail in the office. You only had to pick up the mail and maybe a few parcels before you headed out on your route. What does this mean? Well, for starters, because carriers begin delivering mail earlier, carriers have a longer day out on the street. In addition, more time dedicated to delivering the mail will likely result in carriers being back in the office within their allotted 8-hour tour, thereby reducing overtime and late deliveries. Further, avoiding the evening rush hour traffic may result in decreased auto accidents. Finally, because the mail is delivered more quickly, customer service may be improved.
What do you think? Do you think that the days of manually sorting mail in the office are coming to an end? It took 15 years to realize the impact of DPS; will it take longer for FSS? Will increased delivery points and decreased mail volume have an impact? Can you think of some other challenges and benefits that may be presented because of DPS and FSS?
This blog is hosted by the OIG’s Delivery directorate.
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Just because we now have sliced bread, packaged balogna,packaged cheese, and bottled condiments doesn’t mean we should eleminate the kitchen. It does make it faster to have things in order in the kitchen. Let the cook put it together and service is swift. Make the cook take it to the table and look at each individual preference, it takes more time and is sloppy, as the delivery person tries to go faster, soon you will have egg all over the place. Try serving a banquet of 500 people, making each order at the table, the people at the end will never come back.
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I am a letter carrier of over 22 years and I have just finished filling out the application for FERS early retirement (VER). I am nervous about taking this step as I am 54 and need to bridge the gap until I begin to receive the SSI supplemental at 56. Reading all your comments has helped me feel more at ease about this decision, I truly am sad to be leaving my route of 18 years but I have witnessed and experienced all that has been mentioned regarding the downfall of our service life via Management’s folly. The USPS business model is unsound and there seems little that Postal Workers can do to effect a change in strategy. Frustration abounds. Asking carriers to just work harder, longer, faster, could be my 7 year old’s business model. Even when management is shown by their own numbers how carriers can be more efficient working in safe but “unapproved” methods, they refuse to allow it. This has caused me/us to have ZERO faith in management’s ability to guide us through these lean and changing times. I’ll miss working with so many of my good brothers and sisters in mail, but it’s time for me to go. Best of luck to you all, you DESERVE IT!
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i may be wrong, but i think to receive the ssi supplement you have to be minimum retirement age and 30 years in the post office. you may want to double check on this before you retire.
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am a fsm 100 clerk in a major installation (once the leading flat processing section in the nation) and since the AI and ATHS upgrades we can’t even get certified. processing is down by 40% a compeletly compentent machine has been destroyed. and believe me i know flat processing and the FSS will be an even bigger failure. follow the money graft has to involed somewhere
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Got DPS as a rural carrier in Jan., 09. Have an LLV and love it. 35+ years with USPS. My beef–why is San Francisco plant running almost all carrier rt sort bundles of flats/magazines through the UFSM 100 machines? Trying to drive up numbers to keep their jobs? This is costing the USPS much money. And instead of being able to quickly case flats for delivery, I have to fight through helter-skelter helicopter flats. This borders on criminal activity, in the costs to the USPS. The Inspection Service should look into this. It’s very disturbing to have to hand sort random sort Via Magazines that should have come in walking sort sequence. Heads should roll.
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Ha ha ha….this person has a future in comedy. DPS has been a failure since it’s inception and will get worse when flats are added to the equation. It is really amazing when you talk to the “old timers” and they tell you how they would start at 6:00 sort all oof their mail at the case, get out to the street and be back before 3:30. now with all of the “time saving” automation, most carriers are starting later, leaving later, and getting back at night later.. When DPS flats are in place, will we all getting back by 8pm?
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i think FSS will greatly improve the po financially. management just needs to exercise care in the way they set up routes. the routes should be a good mixture of walking, mounted and jumps. if they are short sighted and continue with cores to try to save every last penny now, it will cost them a lot later in comp and sick leave. unfortunately, history says they will be short sighted.
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Sir, I basically have one question. Who will be able to carry/walk 7 hours a day for 30 years carrying a satchel full of mail/weight ( 20 lbs avg ) and make it to retirement ?
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Is there any definitive source that helps us estimate our overtime based on DPS?
For example, if my route was evaluated with an average of 2000 pieces of DPS and DOIS shows that I have 3000 pieces today, how much OT should I put in for, based on the fact that I have 1000 more pieces of DPS?
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Make your best guess, and fill out a PS form 3996. Call back as soon as you realize you are going over your estimate, if necessary. DPS makes no change in your notifying management of overtime.
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The Postal Service can’t deliver home town newspapers in a timely manner. I get none for days, then 3 at a time. This has been the case for years.
How is $876,000,000 for a machine going to fix this?
Money to sort an ever DECREASING flow of flats. Shaft the periodical mailers for efficiency in mailing Victoria’s Secret catalogs.
Find out how carriers work most efficiently and make the machines work that way. One bundle, and pull the vacant homes, moves and holds. Let the carrier have input into the system to register vacant homes, moves and holds. Allow carriers to view and modify the change of address system. Why keep the new addresses secret from the carriers? Once the forwarding time expired, how will customers get the once every other year vehicle registration, Greeting cards from distant friends and relatives, and that tax refund check? Good carriers look up the new address after the forwarding period expires and send those important things on.
As the percentage of mail that is standard rate business mail increases, and first class diminishes, more and more people will stop checking their mailboxes. I have several now. I have to hold their mail 10 days before disposing of it, and start all over again.
The Postal Service needs to find the right way to prepare mail for delivery, and that is single bundle. Carriers would sort residual mail, and insert it into the single bundle, maintaining the integrity of the single bundle. Management must concentrate on increasing parcel services. Flat rate boxes and click and ship are good starts. The volume needs to increase to compensate for the loss of first class volume.
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Carriers still have to case mail because they have to wait for parcels, letters unsorted by machine, and signature required items so carriers case machined mail while they wait. Machines are being paid for by cutting carrier pay because supposedly casing is not required. It’ll be the same thing with FSS.
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“pick up a few parcels”? What about the spr’s? My average parcel count per mgt is three a day. I can count the times I have had less than ten in a day because i kept copies of the days I was inspected. Any other day, 15 spr’s and 10 that won’t fit in a bag.
Marriage mail and all it’s droppings will foul things up. Will there still be third bundle flats?
Anything postcard and smaller has to be sorted before the street cuz they don’t sort well in the DPS, how many such issues will the FSS have?
Mgt keeps coming up with new acronyms for the workers to ridicule!
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“DPS mail is picked up by the carrier on the way to the vehicle and does not need additional manual sorting. The purpose of the DPS program is to reduce the amount of time carriers spend in the office manually sorting letters, thereby reducing cost and improving accuracy and speed of delivery.”…….that must not be a universal idea, heck in our office management allows culling of DPS(before routes are pulled down). Some carriers will finger every piece, removing the bad(sometimes upwards of a half hour),this practice has gone on for years. Don’t even question 3rd bundle ads which are cased in by some the morning they go out. My point is with most posts so eager to belittle management, who’s at fault here? Management for allowing it or the carriers who do it on their own accord. There was a time I really liked my job, but not when both parties are guilty in my book for not trying to insure the longevity of the postal service. My username says it all.
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I have been a letter carrier for nearly twenty years now. We just started carrying mail in an FSS environment a couple of weeks ago. Zero training, zero discussion of how to carry the mail. It is obvious that postal management has decided to put their heads in the sand and act like FSS will add no time to the street. It adds 3-5 minutes per division and if you have a park and loop with 15 divisions you have an added 30-45 minutes per day on the street. You cannot pike mail out of you bag in between houses. I tried to carry a third bundle for a week and finally gave up. Now I just collate the residual mail with the FSS at the back of the vehicle. Management has shown no respect for the craft in dumping a new work method on us without any recognition or consideration of its effects. Unfortunately their failure will ultimately mean failure for the Postal Service. I am extremely disappointed, though not surprised by the performance of postal management.
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Retiree with age + seniority = 50, with Fortune 500 Co. 13 yrs. ago. Opted to defer 1/2 income with total confidence that opportunities would present themselves and they did. The incentive – “higher level thinkers”, best and brightest, determined that my enticement should be to pay off my house, send my kids to college (both serving in the medical field; one at Vanderbilt and the other a paramedic) and 100% major medical insurance coverage.
USPS was in need of data management specialists to ramp-up the DPS environment and recognition software. Seems there were not enough “career employees” that were computer literate, nor could qualify even at an entry level. Therefore, this mission was outsourced through Lockheed Martin; you know the folks that build the fighter jets and satelites?
Having come on board with USPS; through all of this, I’ve remained of the opinion that YES, MUCH CAN BE IMPROVED UPON in technological advancement. I will not even chalk it off to archaic mentality; but the consequences of inactions based upon “internal audit” and monitoring procedures (very biased) with just a monetary objective, or an attitude of “whatever makes me look good”; the successful business models in my past employment and present admiration; simply do not even give ear to such opinions.
Imagine, your dream; usually location, location, location, and the love of your life sharing your future. Nothing owed, paid in full; what would you do? Children made good, no issues of rampant public assistance prevail (pretty sheltered before becoming carrier), and no enabling allowed.
Well, I’ll tell you what I did. Was never afraid to train, transfer, or be too proudful to serve in any job capacity with USPS; that only proved to expand my knowledge of operations, technology, and personnel exposure. However, this system only seeks to penalize employees that choose to be exposed to an array of employment opportunities within; unlike Fortune 500 companies and business models that elect to applaud and compensate the individual’s intestinal fortitude.
Our station mgrs. and PMs are not paid enough (in Corporate America standards), and are not of a work ethic to do more for the amount they are paid (with the exception of my current “assigned PM, B.M.(not a joke, really his initials)” does whatever it takes. But because he’s exceptional in his tasks, he’s been detailed all over kingdom-come since the retirement of J.G. and we’ve had a dozen or so want-a-be’s. This is my personal observation.
Therefore, now as a carrier (which I do so love; fresh air, sunshine, exercise, and customers that I adore) I am absolutely elated in anticipation of the “load and carry” future of USPS letter carriers.
Remember, I was there at the cutting edge of burning- in the FSM100′s (Carrier Routed trays) for Quality Assurance Committee at Headquarters (we failed some, we passed some) no bias, just factual. I truely love this approach; with no reflection upon personal interest in the process; only QUALITY.
And, if I didn’t love my life, location, and what I’m doing now; I’d probably transfer again to participate in the FSS trials and implementation. I do so love technology as it improves our lives daily. I know, a bit too forward thinking for most; but I cut my teeth back in the 70′s with AT&T in the communications and information technology industry, and what a blessing. I would never have gained so much from recognizing the difference as an employee with profit-sharing benefits vs. USPS.
Final word, bring it on – so encouraged by the hope of increased level of excellence in customer service and shedding of deadbeats off payroll.
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DPS is not perfect then you will add FSS….waste of money…more injuries
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Now carriers delivering 3 bundles of mail (DPS, Flats, House to house mail) You know what may be you will save office time but not on street time. How many bundles of mail we will hold since this machines can’t read everything?
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I challenge those people who believe on this machine to try to deliver mail with 3 bundles.It’s easy to say but it’s hard to do it. Sad to say but I hate my job especially of this 3 bundle system. Management treated you like a robot and no respect. If you are a good and fast worker they abused you.What’s the point of being a good carrier if in the end they’ll give you extra work.
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Very simple DPS never been perfect why buying FSS… what a waste of money
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Let’s follow the logic. Less office time = more street time. More street time = more fuel expense. More street time = more chances to be rear ended, run over, etc.
Is anyone looking at the big picture?
Automation up stream may be useful but how does it affect the last cog in the system? The last cog is the human being who actually places the mail at the customer’s location. The last cog IS the SERVICE in the postal system.
That cog is now going to be required to have to pull product from more locations within their vehicle to perform their duties. This means longer waits at each stop on the route. This is fraught with danger for the safety of the last cog.
It appears that the design of the system in no way considers the impact upon the last cogs. I can’t even grasp how a walking route is supposed to “benefit” from this.
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I’ve been an employee for 22 years and have some of the same physical problems from working on machines all that time. Did you file for workers comp for any of them and did you have any problems getting them accepted ? Thanks
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