The Postal Service continues to refine its performance measurement processes and develop new systems to expand the services that are measured and reported. (Results for all Market Dominant products are reported on usps.com/serviceperformance.) These new measurement systems are in different stages of maturity. They are not part of the Postal Service’s corporate goals for 2010. However, managers are using the information provided to improve service in all categories. As baselines are established and measurement processes improved, additional services may be added as corporate goals in the future.
A summary of the measurement systems now being baselined and enhanced appears below.
For Presort First-Class Mail, the measurement system uses the documented arrival time at a postal facility to start the clock, and an IMb scan by an external third-party reporter to stop the clock. Tracking from IMb in-process scans is used in conjunction with the external data to determine performance.
For Standard Mail letters and non-saturation flats, the Postal Service is using arrival time at a designated postal facility to start the measurement, and an IMb scan by a third-party reporter to stop the clock. Tracking from IMb in-process scans is used in conjunction with the external data to extrapolate results.
Performance of Periodicals mail is currently tracked by combining data from two externally and independently operated systems used by the publishing industry. Service is measured using mailer-reported entry times to start the clock and external reporter delivery dates. Since this process is not representative of all publications, a system that uses broad participation in the Intelligent Mail program will replace it with a more robust, statistically valid system.
The measurement systems for Presort First-Class Mail, Standard Mail, and Periodicals will be enhanced when the service performance measurement application for Full-Service Intelligent Mail is implemented in March 2010.
Package Services performance measures transit time from deposit at a Post Office until delivery for parcels with Delivery Confirmation. The system measures service to and from virtually all 3-Digit ZIP Code areas for which volume exists. Systems are not yet fully in place to measure the on-time performance for Presort Package Services, and at this point available data represents too little of the overall population to be a representative measure.
Given the array of Special Services, performance is being measured by a variety of systems. For all of these services, the measured result is compared with the respective service standard to determine performance. For Delivery Services (Delivery Confirmation, Signature Confirmation, Certified Mail, Electronic Return Receipt, Registered Mail, and Collect on Delivery), the Postal Service measures the time elapsed from delivery scan to when the information is available to customers. For CONFIRM, the Postal Service measures the time from a mailpiece scanned in processing to the availability of scan data to the customer. The Post Office Box measure compares the percentage of time that mail is delivered to a box section within the posted “up time” — when customers are told the mail should be available. Address List Services performance measures the time it takes for a customer to receive the requested information. Address Correction performance measures the time it takes for address data to be transmitted to program participants. Performance for Insurance Claims measures the time it takes for a claim to be resolved. Money Order Inquiries measures the time to provide the customer with a response.
