USPSNEWS@WORK

Customer privacy protection: USPS has revised, strengthened consumer safeguards

The Postal Service has always maintained high standards for customer privacy, and it shows. And now, to strengthen customer protection, USPS has completely revised and reorganized its Privacy Act system of records.

• "The new systems are designed to provide customers with a comprehensive view of Postal Service privacy and data management practices," says Chief Privacy Officer Zoe Strickland.

• The Privacy Act of 1974 requires federal agencies to publish detailed notices describing the safeguards used to ensure the privacy of personal information maintained in systems of records. The notice describing the revised systems for USPS customers was published in the Dec. 16 edition of the Federal Register.

• The systems have been updated for accuracy, clarity, inclusion of more programs, inclusion of all customers, more standardized data practices and incorporation of trends in marketing, information technology and privacy.

• The systems also are organized into more useful categories with language that is easy to read and understand. "It was a year-long process that illustrates the high standards for privacy the Postal Service sets for its customers," says Strickland.

USPS tests high-tech machinery to keep people, mail safe from biohazards

USPS is turning to high-tech machinery to protect Postal Service employees and customers from exposure to biohazardous materials and to combat potential biological threats to the mail.

• In addition to the current irradiation of mail delivered to the federal government, USPS plans next year to install detection and filtration equipment at several Postal Service sites across the country.

• The new Biological Detection System (BDS) air sampling equipment uses polymerase chain reaction, a technique that duplicates DNA to detect biological threats. Already pilot-tested at the Baltimore P&DC, BDS will be installed at 14 pre-production sites in early 2003.

• Also in the Postal Service's anti-terror arsenal are ventilation and filtration systems (VFSs) that minimize employee exposure to bio-threats. Recently tested on mail processing equipment at the Northern Virginia and Dulles, VA, P&DCs, VFS will come to the Cleveland, OH, P&DC.

• USPS continues to look at additional high-tech solutions to keep people and mail secure, according to Bob Field, Operations program manager at Headquarters. These include imaging and video technology, as well as containment systems for collection boxes.

• Internationally, USPS is working with U.S. Customs officials on radiation detectors that would screen mail and packages entering the United States.

Votes counted, contract approved

APWU members have voted overwhelmingly in favor of a two-year contract extension. The unofficial tally is 79,932 yeas and 10,568 nays, according to APWU.

• The agreement covers the period from Nov. 20, 2003, through Nov. 20, 2005, and affects some 312,000 employees represented by the APWU.

• The agreement provides for a 1.3% wage increase effective Nov. 15, 2003, and a 1.3% increase effective Nov. 27, 2004.

• Other items include the continuation of COLAs and creation of a joint task force to discuss employee repositioning, with a limited temporary moratorium on excessing while discussions take place. All other provisions of the contract remain in effect.

Environmental manager Dennis Baca: Postal Service's "big green machine"

When Kermit the Frog trilled "It's Not Easy Being Green," he wasn't singing for Dennis Baca, USPS manager of Environmental Policy, but he should've been. Dubbed the "Big Green Machine" by The Federal Paper, Baca brings a "green" sensibility to the USPS bottom line.

• "We handle over 40% of the world's mail," Baca says in the article, "so my staff and I look at how we can help meet our primary business concern - which is moving the mail - and have the least amount of impact on the environment."

• Baca, a 27-year Postal Service veteran, began his Postal Service career as a clerk near Pittsburgh, PA, in 1975 after completing U.S. Navy service. He became a carrier, then held a variety of field and Headquarters management positions within Finance and Operations.

USPSNEWS@WORK

• Bio-safety now occupies much of Baca's time as he leads efforts to clean two closed Postal Service facilities - one in Washington, DC, and the other in New Jersey - due to anthrax contamination. He's also involved with irradiating government mail.

• His office at L'Enfant Plaza includes photos of many "green" projects, including buildings constructed from recycled materials and fleets of alternative-fuel vehicles. Last month, Baca was a finalist for the Service to America Medal, awarded by the Washington, DC, Partnership for Public Service.

• Baca is the first government official to be profiled in the The Federal Paper's "Profiles in Innovation" series.

USPS environmental pro John Bridges earns top kudos

PMG Potter is praising Environmental Programs Analyst John Bridges for his work in coordinating the decontamination of the Joseph Curseen and Thomas Morris P&DC on Brentwood Road in Washington, DC.

• Bridges recently was named "Environmental Professional of 2002" by the National Registry of Environmental Professionals.

• He has served as incident commander at the Brentwood Road facility since Oct. 21, 2001.

The human touch and high-tech gear: A combination that works for USPS

The Wall Street Journal praised USPS efforts to process hard-to-read addresses on letter mail, calling it a "combination of high-powered machinery and old-fashioned gumshoe work" that works amazingly well.

• The article profiles Tampa Remote Encoding Center (REC) employee Dana Cowgill, who processed nearly 10,000 hard-to-read letters during her eight-hour shift Dec. 16, the year's busiest mailing day. "The 29-year-old postal worker did it all sitting at a computer screen, without touching a single letter," said the Journal.

• The article describes the remote encoding process. If scanners on processing machinery can't read an address, an image of that address is "zapped via high-speed T1 line to RECs like the one in Tampa, which handles hard-to-read mail from roughly 400 post offices in the Southeast."

• Fortunately, processing equipment reads 85% of letter mail. And that percentage keeps going up. "Constant tweaking of handwriting recognition is boosting the recognition rate by about two percentage points a year," said the article.

• "The result: Contrary to popular perception, the Postal Service is getting more efficient, moving 12% more mail and delivering to 12 million more addresses with the same number of workers it had seven years ago," said the article.

• Constant improvement is the USPS mantra. "Following their success with letters, postal officials are working on plans to overhaul processing of magazines and catalogs. The project could help the Postal Service cut its expenses by as much as $2.8 billion a year," said the Journal.

Four out of five e-auctioneers recommend USPS

USPS is the preferred shipping choice for Internet auction users, according to a survey conducted by AuctionBytes Web site.

• Nearly 80% of online users surveyed selected the Postal Service. "Interestingly, higher volume sellers show an even greater preference for using USPS," said AuctionBytes.

• "Of those listing 80-399 items per month, 84 percent preferred USPS, and of those listing 400+ items per month, 94 percent preferred USPS," said the article.

Chairs, desks, tables: eBuy enabled

USPS has a strategic partnership with Allsteel Inc. to provide Postal Service facilities with office furniture and related services, such as design, installation, leasing, rental, transportation and warehousing.

• To order office furniture, employees need to use eBuy, the mandatory USPS purchasing method for intranet users. Sorry, large or capital purchases can't be made through eBuy. Only expense items can be purchased.

• Users without intranet access can call Allsteel order placement and customer service at 800-529-5781. When ordering, include your office Fedstrip number. For a catalog, go to http://ebuy.usps.gov/jsp/co/Login.jsp or call Allsteel's toll-free number.

Customer Relations

Mail Alert

The mailings below will be deposited in the near future. Offices should honor the requested 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 Service 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.

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