Chapter 1 Compliance with Statutory Policies

response. More than 2,494 responses were made by postal inspectors involving suspicious substances in the mail.

The Postal Service continues to develop relationships with state Offices of Emergency Management and local first responders. An outreach campaign was conducted to help federal, state, and local emergency responders better understand the Postal Service and its evolving role in managing the consequences associated with acts of terrorism, and biological and chemical disasters. Postal Service groups and other law enforcement and intelligence agencies serve on a multiphase project to assess potential terrorist acts that employ chemical, biological, radiological, or explosives threats.

There is ongoing participation in national emergency communication tests as part of the Continuity of Operations Plan to ensure that viable communications continue to exist between the Postal Service and other federal agencies in the event of an emergency. To enhance screening capabilities of postal inspectors responding to suspicious substances found in the mail, 88 field test screening units have been deployed throughout the country. In addition, response vehicles and mobile command centers have been deployed to serve as an integral asset in response efforts.

Postal inspectors serve as liaisons with three federal agencies (Central Intelligence Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigations, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)) to collect intelligence on threats that affect the Postal Service. These liaisons enable other agencies to work with the Postal Service to develop and analyze threat information as part of a comprehensive risk-management program. The Inspection Service conducts ongoing comprehensive threat and vulnerability risk assessments to secure critical infrastructure.

2. HEADQUARTERS WATCH DESK

The Postal Service’s Headquarters Watch desk is fully operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The watch desk receives information about critical events that may have national implications and require immediate action. When an event occurs, local Inspection Service personnel, other law enforcement agencies, and DHS immediately contact the Headquarters Watch Desk to report information for dissemination to Postal Service officials for appropriate action. The chief postal inspector and the deputy chief inspector of Headquarters operations determine notification requirements for the postmaster general, deputy postmaster general and chief operating officer, members of the Board of Governors, Inspector General, and other executive officers. When appropriate, the deputy chief inspector of Headquarters operations activates the Command Center to coordinate the incident, as was the case during the response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

5. Workforce Planning

A. ENTERPRISE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

The Enterprise Resource Management System (eRMS), which manages employee attendance at 98 field sites, is a key tool used to assure that operations are adequately and efficiently staffed. The Postal Service completed national deployment of the interactive voice response

technology component of eRMS and continues to provide enhancements to the software application. These enhancements improve complement management, cost effectiveness, and automated, system-generated reports. Key components are:

• Interactive Voice Response (IVR) System script and coding to accommodate more calls within the system.

• eRMS software enhancements continue to improve overall system performance and provide more user-friendly features.

• Continuing automation of reports which give more concise data and enhanced accountability for review on a quarterly basis.

• Continuing enhancements for the Time and Attendance Collection System (TACS) within eRMS, which provide real-time data to manage the daily business operations.

Efforts to integrate eRMS with TACS, the employee self-service Web site LiteBlue, and injury compensation reporting are ongoing. These enhancements to the application are expected to provide users with an extensive and robust resource tool in 2007.

B. HUMAN CAPITAL ENTERPRISE/HR SHARED SERVICES

The Postal Service is tasked with developing an integrated Human Capital Enterprise/HR Shared Services (HCE/HRSS) environment that increases efficiency, while assuring high quality service for postal employees. The new technology and standardized, streamlined business processes support the recently opened Human Resources Shared Service Center (HRSSC) in Greensboro, North Carolina. When completed, the new environment will result in one fully-integrated system that includes a shared services center and enhanced self-service options that give employees access 24-hours a day, 365-days a year.

HCE/HRSS successfully partnered with Headquarters’ business owners and field practitioners to complete Phase 1 of a three-phase process. This includes moving the benefits and compensation, retirement and separation, and EAS and associate supervisor selection processes for more than 700,000 employees to a shared services center. In support of the change, the Postal Service hosted PostalPEOPLE fairs in major plants. More than 150,000 employees attended the fairs to learn how to manage personnel transactions.

Phases 2 and 3 of the migration of human resource functions will move organization management, job bid management, and eRecruitment to the HRSSC. Other activities included in the PostalPEOPLE initiative consist of safety and injury compensation management, the electronic official personnel folder, and unemployment compensation claims. The Complement Management System will be replaced when the Human Capital Enterprise System (HCES) is implemented for all districts next year.