Home

USPSNEWS@WORK

NUMERO UNO: USPS is top-ranked federal agency, survey says

We're number one. Americans give us a big thumbs-up when it comes to protecting their privacy. Of 60 government agencies, USPSŪ is rated highest by the American public in terms of safeguarding personal information, according to an independent survey.

The Privacy Trust Survey was conducted by the Ponemon Institute and sponsored by the CIO Institute of Carnegie Mellon University. The goal of the study was to determine whether or not individuals believe the government is committed to protecting their privacy and which agencies they trust most with their personal information, according to Dr. Larry Ponemon, director of the institute.

Americans have a special relationship with their letter carriers. That's the reason respondents ranked USPS so high, said Ponemon. They associate the Postal ServiceTM with the friendly person who delivers their catalogs and birthday cards and holds their mail when they go on vacation. They trust their mail carrier and in turn the Postal Service.

USPS was one of the first government agencies to appoint a chief privacy officer, whose mission is to protect and enhance the Postal Service's commitment to privacy. USPS has developed a comprehensive privacy policy that reflects best practices from the private and public sectors.

PARCEL RETURN SERVICE: Great opportunity - if we handle it right

Parcel Return Service makes it easy for customers to return items bought online or from a catalog. Companies provide a special Parcel Return Service return label with their order so it's quick, easy and convenient.

The return label has the address of the bulk mail center in the customer's service area - but with a unique ZIP CodeTM that begins 569. That 569 ZIP Code should not be crossed out or "corrected." These packages must be accepted, collected and processed - they must not be returned to sender.

The color may be wrong. The size may be wrong. But the ZIP Code on the return label - beginning with 569 - is right. Parcel Return Service is a great revenue opportunity if we handle it right.

DELIVERING MEDICINE: USPS carriers could deliver medicine in the event of a catastrophe

Under a plan presently being developed, Postal Service letter carriers could be called upon to deliver antibiotics to residential addresses in the event of a catastrophic incident involving a biological agent for which antibiotic use is appropriate. Participation would be voluntary.

The planning is the result of a memorandum of agreement among the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Homeland Security and the Postal Service. The Postal Service is working closely with the National Association of Letter Carriers and the National Rural Letter Carriers Association on the issue.

USPS was approached by the two agencies because of its extensive delivery reach and the trust Americans in every community have in their letter carriers.

The delivery plan would supplement the public health system in the event of a catastrophic emergency. Procedures under consideration would add to - not replace - local plans.

Individual local health agencies would dispense initial and follow-up supplies of antibiotics and relevant information in an affected area. Antibiotics for residential delivery would come from the Strategic National Stockpile.

Further discussion of the plan with state and local officials will be required to determine the feasibility of incorporating Postal Service assistance in antibiotics delivery to residential addresses into emergency planning by local communities.

eBAY POSTERS: Message to small businesses - "Dream big. Save big."

USPS and eBay have teamed up again for a new promotion that began Feb. 19 in many Post Offices™. With its "Dream big. Save big." contest, eBay highlights its role as a marketplace for small businesses. USPS gets a prominent plug for its online shipping solutions and the new Carrier Pickup program.

Posters are on display in Post Offices located in 10 U.S. markets - New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston-Manchester, Washington, DC (Hagerstown), Dallas-Ft. Worth, Seattle-Tacoma and Atlanta. If your office is located in one of these markets and didn't get a poster, contact your district retail specialist.

USPSNEWS@WORK

ANSWER CENTRAL: "Contact Us" site now offers customers more options and information

Call it Answer Central. It's the new Contact Us Web site on usps.com. "We're making it easier for customers to get the answers they need," said USPS Vice President and Consumer Advocate Francia Smith.

The Contact Us Web site features an expanded frequently asked questions section with more than 1,500 entries, an enhanced search engine, a link to e-mail USPS and important USPS toll-free numbers.

Customer e-mail inquiries are answered with the same resources used by the call center agents. Questions requiring specialized attention are forwarded to the appropriate postal subject matter expert.

STAYING INFORMED: New Emergency Preparedness Web site

Add this one to your list of important cyber locations. It's the new Emergency Preparedness Web site on the Postal Service Intranet. The site contains emergency preparedness policy and documents, weekly updates, USPS protective measures, contingency plans and a "reading room."

"The Web site is another tool to help keep employees informed and properly prepared in case of a crisis," said Emergency Preparedness Vice President Henry Pankey.

The site also has links to the Department of Homeland Security, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Federal Emergency Management Agency and state emergency management agencies.

See it for yourself at http://blue.usps.gov/emergencypreparedness/welcome.htm.

APPS-olutely amazing: New package sorter testing begins

Automation revolutionized letter and flat processing for the Postal Service. Now it's about to do the same thing for packages.

The first article test for the automated package processing system (APPS) began at Twin Cities Metro Hub in Minneapolis. APPS, the next-generation package sorter, replaces the older, labor-intensive, small parcel bundle sorter.

APPS has a number of enhanced features. Singulation gets packages to politely line-up for processing. Dimensioning measures package length and girth. An image tunnel lifts images from four sides of a package.

APPS combines these features with tested automation scanning favorites like an optical character reader, a barcode reader and a video coding system using up to 200 outputs, to improve productivity and sortation accuracy.

TOP TALENT: Engineering VP recognized

National Journal named Engineering Vice President Thomas Day one of 100 key government officials and outside experts. Day was recognized for playing "a lead role in USPS efforts to safeguard the mail," said the Journal. His ability to explain technical and complicated information in understandable language often made him "the public face of USPS" during the anthrax attacks. He is overseeing the installation of biohazard-detection equipment in 238 mail- processing centers across the country. National Journal covers the people, issues and trends that drive federal policy making.

Stop Redistributing the Postal Bulletin to CPUs, and Decrease Your Subscription Accordingly

Why?

We now have access to the master mailing list for contract postal units (CPUs). Effective with this issue of the Postal Bulletin, we are mailing the Postal Bulletin directly to all CPUs.

What Does This Mean for You?

Less work.

Since we are mailing the Postal Bulletin directly to CPUs, you won't have to spend your time and energy doing it. We'll do it for you.

You must do the following if you are redistributing to CPUs:

• Immediately stop redistributing.

• As soon as possible, contact us to decrease your subscription (since you won't need those extra copies to redistribute anymore).

Example:

If you currently have a subscription of 15 copies, and you usually keep 10 for your facility and you redistribute 5 to CPUs, you'll need to stop redistributing the 5 copies and let us know as soon as possible that we should decrease your subscription from 15 to 10.

How Do You Decrease Your Subscription?

We have the list of CPUs and their mailing lists, but we don't know how many you are forwarding to your CPUs. So we need your help. If you're redistributing to CPUs, contact us to decrease your subscriptions, by sending us an e-mail or by calling us:

• Send an internal e-mail to Postal Bulletin.

• Call us at 202-268-5776.

- Policies and Procedures Information,
Public Affairs and Communications, 3-4-04

Administrative Services

Directives and Forms Update

Effective immediately, Publication 223, Directives and Forms Catalog (June 1999), is revised. The tables below contain the document ID, edition date, title, PSN (Postal ServiceTM stock number), and the Postal Service and public supply source for all new, revised, and obsolete directives and forms. Use this article to keep Publication 223 current. Information on how to order directives and forms is available in chapter 1 of Publication 223.

IWEB = Intranet = http://blue.usps.gov; click on
More References.

WWW = USPS www page = www.usps.com.

PE = Postal Explorer = http://pe.usps.gov.

F3 = F3 Fill Software.

We will incorporate these revisions into the next printed version of Publication 223 and also into the online version of Publication 223, which is available on the Postal Service PolicyNet Web site. Go to http://blue.usps.gov; click on More References, then Publications.

New Directives

Management Instructions

Notices

Posters

Revised Directives

Handbooks

Posters

Publications

Revised Forms

Obsolete Directives

Headquarters Circulars

Management Instructions

Publications

Obsolete Forms

- Policies and Procedures Information,
Public Affairs and Communications, 3-4-04

Customer Relations

Mail Alert

The mailings below will be deposited in the near future. Offices should honor the requested home delivery dates. Mailers wishing to participate in these alerts, for mailings of 1 million pieces or more, should contact Business Service Network Integration at 703-292-4041 at least 1 month preceding the requested delivery dates. The Postal ServiceTM also offers electronic Mail Alerts via ADVANCE. For more information, see the ADVANCE Notification & Tracking System Technical Guide on the Internet at http://www.ribbs.usps.gov/files/advance/ADVTECH.PDF or contact the National Customer Support Center at 800-458-3181.