US Postal Service Installs Barcodes in Mailboxes to Help Track Deliveries

Barcodes aren’t just for grocery stores anymore.

They are now appearing in our mailboxes.

The U.S. Postal Service is installing them inside select mailboxes nationwide as part of effort to track and improve mail delivery service, said James Savoy Jr., station manager at the Tobe Hann Station Post Office on Beaumont’s north-side.

“The purpose of this is to keep consistent delivery to the extent it is possible,” Savoy said.

But the union representing postal workers has filed a grievance against the practice.

According to a letter being delivered to business and residential customers, a dozen barcodes will be scanned each day along a carrier’s delivery route.

The Postal Service says one barcode is scanned when the letter carrier leaves the office, one when he or she finishes loading their vehicle, nine along their route and one on returning to the office.

The scans will produce a report enabling carriers and supervisors to measure success in achieving the Postal Service’s delivery-time goal and identify opportunities for greater delivery efficiency, according to the Postal Service.

Rivals FedEx and UPS already offer real-time tracking of packages.

Nationally, the Postal Service has been implementing the system since November. It is expected to be in use in about 60 percent of post offices by the end of the year.

Customers can opt out of having the barcodes placed inside their mailboxes, according to the letter. Callers are directed to station managers if have questions.

Savoy said letter carriers’ reactions are mixed.

“As with any new program, there is some apprehension,” Savoy said.

The National Association of Letter Carriers doesn’t object to the basic idea of having carriers record when they reach checkpoints on their routes.

But the union dislikes that letter carriers lose their flexibility and decision-making ability, such as what time to take a lunch break when the weather changes, the union said.

—– To see more of The Beaumont Enterprise, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.southeasttexaslive.com/ (c) 2001, The Beaumont Enterprise. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

FDX, UPS,

KNIGHT RIDDER TRIBUNE, 06th September 2001