d UNITED ST/J.TES 	 POSTl!L SERVICE

October 1, 2018

MANAGERS, OPERATIONS  SUPPORT (AREA)

SUBJECT:  Headquarters Operational Policy for the Columbus Day Holiday, Monday, October 8, 2018

This memorandum provides general operating policy and holiday planning guidance for the upcoming 2018 Columbus Day Holiday. Service levels for this holiday are displayed in Exhibit
125.22 of the Postal Operations Manual (POM).

Delivery Operations

All offices should carefully review their staffing plans for this holiday and make adjustments as necessary to meet the needs of their communities .  For planning purposes, Post Offices should use recent mail volumes , and adjust for local circumstances.

Make arrangements for dispatch of packages received through lobby deposit points, including Self Service Kiosks (SSKs).

Saturday , October 6:  Normal (Saturday) service levels will be provided in delivery and collection operations. All delivery units should take action prior to this date to confirm that units are in a current status (No curtailed mail volume or parcel volume) .

Sunday, October 7:  Normal (Sunday) service levels will be provided in delivery  and collection operations including Sunday/Holiday  Priority Mail Express and Sunday/Holiday Same Day Package Delivery (hub and spoke structure).  Area and District offices should verify compliance to the Sunday Staffing SOP and utilize their LOCs and HCUs to manage hub offices.  EAS must use Delivery Management Systems (OMS) when available to confirm proper scanning and delivery of Sunday parcels has been completed at all hub locations. All delivery units should take action
prior to this date to confirm that units are in a current status.  Offices which service Amazon Fresh and are part of the  Network  Priority  Pilot should follow  established delivery  process for each.

Columbus  Day  Holiday, "Non-Widely  Observed," Monday, October  8:   There  will  be  no regular delivery service except for Holiday Premium Priority Mail Express, Sunday/Holiday Same Day Package Delivery (hub and spoke structure) , appropriate Network Priority at select locations, and Customized Delivery (Amazon Fresh-hub model at the identified five digit delivery units).
Area and District offices should use Sunday Staffing SOP on this Holiday and utilize LOCs and HCUs to manage hub offices. EAS must use Delivery Management Systems (OMS) to ensure proper scanning and delivery of Same Day parcels has been completed at all hub locations.
Offices which service Amazon  Fresh and are part of the  Network  Priority  Pilot should follow established delivery process for each.  Regular night owls will be open along with the attached list of additional Columbus Day only night owls. These are for Monday night into Tuesday morning.

Tuesday, October 9:  Return to normal service levels. Delivery managers and supervisors should plan for additional mail volume and packages for delivery after the holiday . Review past

performance and work with In-Plant Support and Networks on transportation to ensure offices are staffed appropriately to have carriers leave and return on time. This is to include the regularly scheduled Night Owls.

Retail Operations

Post Offices should use recent retail sales trend information and mail volumes, and adjust for local circumstances .

Please ensure that Self Service Kiosks (SSKs) are fully stocked and that mailing supplies {boxes, Priority Mail labels, etc.) are available for customers.  Make arrangements for dispatch of packages received through lobby deposit points, including SSKs.   Facilities with staffing on this holiday should accommodate  requests for drop shipment appointments .

Offices should ensure that the current holiday closing "door cling" signage is properly displayed. Offices with glass doors should center the door cling inside the main customer entrance door at eye level. Offices with wooden doors should affix the door cling on the exterior. Additional door cling signage can be ordered by contacting the Point of Purchase Hotline at 1-800-332-0317 .

Many Contract Postal Units (CPUs) may be open on the holiday weekend. Post Offices should, therefore, advise customers (to the extent possible) of the locations and hours of operation for CPUs, and where retail services will be available.

Saturday, October 6: Normal (Saturday) service levels will be provided in retail operations. The retail staffing should be adjusted based on projected workload.

Sunday, October 7: Normal service levels. Retail services should only be available in those offices that normally open on Sundays.

Columbus Day Holiday, "Non-Widely Observed," Monday, October 8: No retail service will be available, except from those facilities normally open on this holiday.

Tuesday, October 9: Return to normal service levels. Retail managers and supervisors should use recent sales trend information and adjust for local circumstances.

Processing  Operations

This holiday presents an opportunity to consolidate and compress plant operations to generate savings while maintaining service performance levels. In order to take advantage of the savings opportunity, please adhere to the following guidelines:

Do Not Combine First Class with Priority
Use the variance tools and the Run Plan Generator (RPG) for staffing operations.
Advance Blue & Orange Marketing Mail for Saturday delivery.
Sites canceling on Monday will be determined locally/by Area as well as the decision for Tuesday early collection plans. (See below instructions relative to processing and dispatching Commercial Mailings).
Inhibit sort programs regeneration prior to the holiday and re-establish afterwards.
Recommend processing First Pass (918) on Saturday afternoon/evening.  Finalization will be Monday prior to Second Pass (919).
Ensure only one Delivery Point Sequence (DPS) run on Tuesday (no double runs of DPS).
Utilize a RPG model for DPS processing on Saturday night, Sunday, and Monday morning that ensures an early DPS dispatch for Tuesday delivery.

Ensure on-time or early clearance of FC SPRs on Friday and Saturday to avoid surface volume rolling over to Monday and Tuesday.
Evaluate the processing of Outgoing Priority on the day of the holiday to avoid late clearance on Tuesday. (Sites not processing priority on the holiday must create an early collection plan to start outgoing operations earlier.)
Assign SWYB to avoid VAP issues to THS.

ISC Operations

This non-widely-observed holiday presents an opportunity to maximize processing to take full advantage of available lift and ensure service expectations are met. Please adhere to the following guidelines:

Use the Run Plan Generator (RPG) for staffing operations
Clear any delayed volumes and advance mail where possible
Ensure coordination with Customs & Border Protection (CBP) to provide sufficient staffing to avoid backlogs
Ensure Customs belts are staffed sufficiently to maximize efficiency
Ensure on-time clearance of mail on Sunday and Monday nights into the network on Tuesday to avoid overflow on Wednesday's network

Processing and Dispatch of Commercial Mailings

Specific planning activities should include:

Coordination with Business Mail Entry Unit (BMEU) Managers
Coordination with Detached Mail Units
Coordination with Business Service Network Managers
Notifying Commercial Mailers of BMEU holiday hours and assurance that mail which is entered will be processed and dispatched
Adjusting Operating Plans and RPGs to include the anticipated Commercial Mail volumes
Ensuring that all processed mail is dispatched on scheduled transportation on Saturday night and Monday morning
Ensuring communication to field of FedEx and Dispatch Plan

Plant managers must ensure that Integrated Operating Plans (IOPs) between the BMEUs and Operations are updated to ensure timely induction, processing and dispatch of mail presented to the BMEU prior to and on holidays.  BMEU managers must ensure that all staff at both the BMEUs and the Detached Mail Units are familiar with and execute their operations in accordance with the IOP. Local collection and cancellation plans must be coordinated with associate offices, and must support achievement of 24-hour clock indicators. Managers and supervisors must plan for anticipated increased volumes after the holiday. It is vital to ensure all mail is finalized, prepared for assignment, and dispatched on the appropriate transportation network.

Plants must make plans to assure that destinating two- and three-day volumes are processed to meet service goals before and after the holiday. All missorted, missent, return-to-sender and Postal Automated Redirection System (PARS) and Flat PARS volumes must be identified, finalized, prepared for assignment and dispatched on the appropriate transportation network
on Saturday. The 24-hour clock indicators for the Managed Mail Program on hand will be useful in monitoring the success of this plan.

Plant Managers must commit that Parcel Return Service (PRS-569xx) operations will be staffed and all returns sorted, scanned and staged for our PRS partners as agreed.

Reductions in FAST holiday constraints or facility closures will not be approved; every site must maintain appointment availability.  Plants need to ensure timely acceptance of drop shipments. Please ensure that the local FAST facility coordinator contact information is current. The FAST Help Desk will be authorized to contact local Plant Managers directly to resolve urgent acceptance issues.

Network Distribution Centers (NDCs) also have an opportunity to consolidate and compress operations to generate savings while maintaining service performance levels. NDCs must utilize the RPG tool to staff operations. Tier 2 NDCs must ensure that all outgoing volume from Friday and Saturday retail receipts are finalized and dispatched on the appropriate network transportation on the following day. All NDCs must ensure destinating parcel volume received between 16:00 Friday and 16:00 Monday are available for delivery Tuesday morning. NDCs must schedule drop shipment acceptance hours to ensure timely induction, processing and dispatch of mail.

If there is a need to deviate from this guidance, please work through the appropriate office for an exception.

Logistics Operations
Air Transportation  Network FedEx
Normal FedEx operations are planned during the Columbus Day period, including normal scheduled Nightsort and Daysort flights from all FedEx hub locations.

Holiday	Day of Week	Date	Daysort	Nightsort I	Comments	
_.,.,_	
Day before	Sunday	10/7/2018	YES		
Columbus Day	Monday	10/8/2018	_.,.,.....,l•._	YES	I	No Day-Tum	
Day after	Tuesday	10/9/2018	YES	YES	I	

UPS
UPS will have normal Monday and Tuesday operations during the Columbus Day period.

Holiday	
Day of Week	
Date	Postal Volume Tendered	
Comments	
	
Day before	Sunday	10/7/2018	"'·-	
Columbus Day	Monday	10/8/2018	YES	Nonnal Monday Tender	
Day after	Tuesday	10/9/2018	YES	Nonnal Tuesday Tender	

CAIR
Normal CAIR operations during this period. TSA tender for Tuesday has been adjusted based on local request per available FX capacity .

Surface Transportation  Network

The Surface Transfer Centers will operate on a holiday schedule as shown on the Network Operations "Surface Operations" website at:
http://blue .usps .gov/network    operations/stcs .htm

Dispatch  Procedures

To avoid transportation delays, manage mail volume flow before, during, and after the holiday accordingly:

Maximize utilization of available surface, commercial air, and FedEx transportation during the holiday period. Dispatch all mail volume inducted on Sunday and Monday nights into the network on Tuesday to avoid overflow on Wednesday 's network.

Prioritization values established for planned routes will ensure commercial air capacity is utilized ahead of FedEx.

Please disseminate these policies and procedures to the appropriate personnel in your area. Your immediate attention to these details and dispatch procedures is appr	·  ed. Thank you for your assistance.

Robert Cintron	K vi	. McAdams.
Vice President	Vice President
Network Operations	Delivery  Operations

cc:	Ms. Brennan
Mr. David Williams
Vice Presidents, Area Operations
Managers, Delivery Programs Support (Area) Managers, In-Plant Support (Area)
Manager, Business Service Network