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Achieve Results

Safety Focused
The Postal Service is steadily becoming a safer place to work. Several very effective programs focus on safety and health best practices. Employees are now working safer because they are more aware of the necessary precautions to take in their environment.

The number of injuries reported to the Department of Labor decreased by 5.2 percent. This continues a trend of prior-year reductions that started in 2001. In 2000 there were 87,672 reported injuries compared to 61,171 in 2006. Overall, the Postal Service paid $932.4 million in workers' compensation expenses, which includes payments for new injuries and injuries from previous years back to the 1960's.

There were continued reductions in the number of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Injuries and Illnesses (I&I) and Motor Vehicle Accidents (MVA). At the end of the year, I&I numbers are down 3,462 (7.87 percent). The frequency rate is 5.56, a reduction of 7.64 percent. There were 773 fewer motor vehicle accidents. The MVA frequency rate is 9.90, down from 10.32.

For the last 3 years, the Postal Service has participated in the Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) and the Ergonomic Risk Reduction Process (ERRP), in which corporations and federal agencies agree on commitments to reduce injuries and illnesses through a comprehensive safety and health management system.

At the end of 2006, there were 100 postal facilities in the recommended and/or approved stages of the VPP certification process. Approved sites must exhibit good safety records and must undergo a wall-to-wall inspection by an OSHA team and a representative from an outside company. Participation requires that employees be actively involved in anticipating, evaluating, and controlling potential safety and health hazards. Participating VPP sites are noting a decrease in injuries and grievances, and an increase in overall efficiency and productivity. The ERRP focused initially on processing and distribution centers, where the physical demands on workers are greatest. A cross-functional group made up of union, management, and OSHA representatives works with each site to identify ergonomic factors that contribute to injuries caused by lifting, lowering, reaching, bending, pushing, and similar movements. Approximately 120 mail processing sites are using the process to reduce ergonomic risks, and another 63 sites will do so by early 2008. Due to the successes, both VPP and ERRP will be expanded to additional facilities.

Employees Connecting With Customers to Grow the Business
Customers have changing needs and the Postal Service has solutions — employees are making the connection. Through the Business Connect and Customer Connect programs, the Postal Service leverages its employees knowledge of the local communities to boost revenue-generation efforts. Business Connect builds awareness about how the mail can help small- and mid-sized companies grow. Local postal managers use face-to-face meetings, presentations, and lobby demonstrations to explain the benefits of services such as Click-N-Ship, Package Pickup, and NetPost Services to design, print, and send small mailings.