Postal Service Continues To Pursue Transformation Plan Initiatives
Postmaster General John E. Potter reported today that Postal Service Transformation Plan initiatives continue this month with a planned June 27 Summit meeting to consider more rate-setting and flexible-pricing processes that will help maintain universal service at affordable rates. This will mark the second in a series of planned Transformation Plan Summit meetings designed to explore new and modern business models for the Postal Service.
The first meeting, a Ratemaking Summit jointly sponsored last month by the independent Postal Rate Commission and the U.S. Postal Service, drew more than 150 mailing industry representatives who shared their ideas about how the Postal Service of the future might best be able to respond to customer needs and meet the challenges of a changing delivery services marketplace.
In other action during the Board of Governors meeting:
Automated Flat Sorting Machines
Walter O’Tormey, manager of Processing Operations, reported that the two-year nationwide deployment of 534 Automated Flat Sorting Machine 100s (AFSM 100) in 239 mail processing facilities was completed last month and is expected to save $292.5 million annually. This unique, “intelligent,” flat mail sorting equipment deciphers hard-to-read addresses while sorting three times as fast as previous equipment.
Rehabilitation Act Compliance
Robert Otto, vice president of Information Technology, described technology to make it easier for the 33 million Americans with disabilities to conduct postal business via electronic information technology. Individuals using assistive technology to visit www.usps.com can listen to instructions on how to buy stamps, find ZIP Codes, calculate postage and conduct virtually any post office transaction. The Postal Service Call Center information line is now accessible via teletype machine (1-877-877-7833) for individuals with hearing disabilities. Subtitles are now included on all employee training videos and as part of broadcasts from a postal internal employee television news network. In addition, compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act is now required when purchasing information technology.
Capital Investment
The Board approved the upgrade of a previously purchased 375,000-square-foot building on a 15.3-acre site in Teterboro, New Jersey, to be known as the Northern New Jersey Processing and Distribution Center. The facility will streamline and improve mail processing and distribution operations in the local area by consolidating operations currently housed in eleven postal facilities.
Postal facility decontamination
Potter reported that postal executives and District of Columbia officials continue to meet with postal employees and residents in the Brentwood area to review and respond to any concerns regarding decontamination of the Brentwood facility. Work on the Trenton, New Jersey, facility will begin after thorough and satisfactory completion of the Brentwood cleanup work.
