November 9, 2022

VICE PRESIDENTS, AREA RETAIL AND DELIVERY OPERATIONS
VICE PRESIDENTS, REGIONAL PROCESSING OPERATIONS

SUBJECT:   Operations Policy for the Thanksgiving Day Holiday
 Thursday, November 24, 2022

This memorandum provides general operating policy and holiday planning guidance for the upcoming 2022 Thanksgiving Day Holiday.  Service levels for this holiday are displayed in Exhibit 125.22 of the Postal Operations Manual (POM).

Thanksgiving Day is a widely observed holiday, which means that many businesses are
closed and not producing outgoing mail. There will be no regular delivery service except for
Holiday Premium Priority Mail Express. Personnel on duty should check collection boxes at post offices, lobby drops and Self-Service Kiosks (SSKs) for overflow on Thursday, November 24, 2022.

Continuing through the end of PEAK, we are conducting 6:00 am to 9:00 am Morning Package Plays in the Peak identified offices. The Package Plays will assist delivery offices in maintaining on-time service and eliminate potential delayed and curtailed mail volumes. These plays are designed to adjust for volume and staffing when volume projections exceed daily capacity. Thanksgiving Day should be utilized as a day to become current.

Delivery Operations

All offices should carefully review their staffing plans for this holiday and adjust as necessary to meet the needs of their communities.
•	All delivery units should take action prior to this date to ensure that units are in a current status 
•	For planning purposes, Post Offices should use recent mail volumes, and adjust for local circumstances.

Tuesday, November 15: 
•	Local management should review the Route Book for Night Owl scheduling for Thursday, November 24. Route Books will be sent from the External Customer Integration Team via SharePoint: 

HQ External Customer Integration (sharepoint.com)

•	A delivery manager or supervisor must:
o	Post holiday work schedules and review attendance patterns to be addressed
o	Complete the “Pre-Holiday Play Certification” survey in Retail and Delivery Applications & Reports (RADAR) before 12:00 noon local standard time 

Wednesday, November 23:
In addition to regular delivery and collections, all delivery offices should:
•	Take appropriate action to ensure units remain in a current status; the goal is to have zero delayed or curtailed mail volumes going into Thanksgiving
•	Conduct the necessary Morning Package Plays to eliminate potential delays and minimize late returns
o	Deliver a minimum of 15% of ALL packages between 6:00 am and 9:00 am
•	Conduct, if needed, Evening Package Plays to become current
•	There will be no Night Owl drops Wednesday night into Thursday

Thanksgiving Day Holiday, “Widely Observed”, Thursday, November 24: 
Continuing through the end of PEAK, all offices remain decoupled. 
•	Any delivery of mail, other than Holiday Premium Priority Mail Express, should be authorized by the respective Headquarters Vice Presidents
•	There will be Amazon Thanksgiving drops at all Amazon locations
o	Offices are not required to deliver Amazon on the holiday
o	Regular Night Owl drops resume Thursday night into Friday morning and should be staffed
•	There will be no regular collections
o	Collection boxes located in front of post offices, lobby drops and SSK’s should be monitored and collected to prevent overflow situations

Friday, November 25:
Return to normal service levels.  
•	Delivery managers and supervisors should plan for additional mail volume and packages for delivery after the holiday
•	6:00 am to 9:00 am Morning Package Plays must be utilized by all delivery units to eliminate potential delays and minimize late returns
o	Deliver a minimum of 15% of ALL packages between 6:00 am and 9:00 am
o	Evening Package Plays should be scheduled, as needed
•	A delivery manager or supervisor must complete the “Post-Holiday Play Certification” survey in RADAR before 12:00 noon local standard time
•	Review past performance and work with In-Plant Support and Network Operations on transportation to ensure offices are staffed appropriately to have carriers leave and return on time
•	Collections must start and run on-time to meet the DOV to the mail processing facilities

Retail and Post Office Operations

Management should review staffing plans and adjust as necessary to meet the needs of their communities using recent and SPLY retail sales trend information and mail volumes. 
 
Management should ensure SSKs are fully stocked and mailing supplies (Priority Mail/Priority Mail Express boxes, envelopes, labels etc.) are available for customers.   
 
Offices should display proper “door cling” signage prior to the holiday.  Visibly taped or handwritten signage is not acceptable.  Advise customers of any Contract Postal Units (CPUs) or Approved Shipper (APS) locations where retail services will be available on the Thanksgiving Day holiday and provide them with the hours of operation. No changes

Leading into Thanksgiving week and approaching the weekend.
•	Processing to review operating plans during daily IOP meetings preceding the weekend to staff F4 and F2 accordingly
•	Ensure Logistics has provided Customer Service with holiday and weekend schedule so that we can ensure F4 is scheduled appropriately
•	MTE should be prepped and dispatched on all available trips over the weekend to feed our plant partners with needed equipment

Wednesday, November 23:  
Normal service levels will be provided in Retail and Post Office Operations.   
•	Remote Forwarding System (RFS):  Ensure undeliverable parcels are processed timely to avoid backlogs through the holiday 
•	Parcel Return Service (PRS):  Dispatch PRS as scheduled. If needed, escalate non-picked up package issues to your Business Service Network (BSN) representative, and annotate in RADAR.  For Return Delivery Units (RDU), follow the 48-hour rule before dispatching to the plant 
•	Technology:  Confirm all scanning equipment is operable and transmitting without incident including: ADUS, SDUS, PASS, DSS, IMD, MDD-IO. Extra batteries should be kept on hand as needed.  For ADUS and SDUS equipment, the holiday sort plan mimics the Sunday PDTAT configuration. Sites should verify their PDTAT files are correct.  If changes are required, submit to ADUSSDUSSortPlanRequests@usps.gov by Monday, November 21 
•	Notice Left Shelf: Verify items receive notification or are returned according to the schedule. For post office box packages, if it fits, place in the PO box or parcel locker 
•	MyPO Notifications:  Check MyPO notifications, including hold mail, package pickups and redelivery and ensure items are closed in MyPO
•	‘First In First Out’ (FIFO):  Use placards, signs, and lines for maintaining FIFO to manage volume and assist with applying the correct Delivery Day Indicator (DDI)  
•	Delivery Day Indicator (DDI):  Management oversight to ensure delivery units apply the correct DDI BEFORE scanning packages (see below). REMINDER: After 11:00 AM, in conjunction with 30 minutes of idle time (no scans), the PASS machines will no longer have “Today” available as a DDI selection
•	PM Parcel Distribution:  Review volumes, schedules, and work all available parcels in the PM to ensure unit is clean before the holiday 
•	Sorting and Staging Area:  Confirm all processing equipment/containers is are neat, in place, and ready for the following day. Check housekeeping: floors clear of debris, trash bins emptied, extra empty equipment staged ready for pickup 
•	Verify the Amazon route book for scheduled drop times over the holiday weekend 
•	Utilize the Amazon projections sent on Tuesday (11/22/22) for proper planning and scheduling 
•	Confirm users have the correct PDTA access to send for routing 

DDI Selections:
Date Packages are SCANNED 	Date Packages will be DELIVERED 	DDI Selection  	
Wednesday, November 23, 2022 	Wed – November 23	Today  	
	Thu – November 24	Holiday  	
	Fri – November 25	Next Day *  	
Thursday, November 24, 2022	Thu – November 24	Holiday  	
	Fri – November 25	Next Day *  	
Friday, November 25, 2022 	Fri – November 25	Today  	
	Sat – November 26	Tomorrow	
* Used for processing packages on the current day, BUT have a Delivery Date for the “Next” Day:  Normal service levels will be provided 

•	Function 4 Staffing:  Balance workhours to workload by reviewing VAP Gap tool to identify staff opportunities, assess holiday volume trend data and mail arrival times to schedule staff that coincides with the workload and performance expectations (=> 270 parcels per hour and OT <=1%) 
•	Normal Hub Delivery on Wednesday 
•	Collections:  At the local level, confirm holiday-specific collection transportation schedules for the dispatching of collection mail.  Clear collection points in front of and within the post office (e.g., collection boxes, inside lobby drops and self-service kiosks) prior to truck arriving and dispatch all available outgoing mail on first available truck.  Follow local separation procedures when preparing mail for dispatch according to local holiday schedules 
 
Thursday, November 24: Thanksgiving Day Holiday, “Widely Observed”:
•	Retail services will be not available, except in those facilities normally open on this holiday  
•	Post offices should provide post office box access for customers to the maximum extent possible 
•	Post Office Operations personnel on duty should check and clear collection points in front of and within the post office (e.g., collection boxes, inside lobby drops and self-service kiosks) and dispatch all outgoing mail on first available truck 
•	District Integrated Operating Plan Specialists should review District and local surface and air transportation network holiday schedules.  If networks are operating, ensure major mailers are contacted to make certain volumes are collected and inducted into the system in a timely manner 
•	District Integrated Operating Plan Specialists should work in conjunction with local processing and transportation personnel to ensure IOP agreements are being followed and MAQ/PAQ anomalies are being recorded properly 
o	Amazon will drop to all Amazon sites on Thursday Review route-book drop times to schedule personnel to accept drops in the morning  
o	Night Owls will be scheduled Thursday night into Friday morning for Friday delivery. Review route book for scheduled drop times.
o	“Holiday” configuration must be used as day of week selection in PDTA  

Friday, November 25:  
•	Return to normal service levels. Management should review the SSRD from 11/26/21(FY21 day-after “observed” Thanksgiving Day Holiday) and use recent sales trend information to adjust for local circumstances. 
•	Package pickup services should be provided at Dutch doors along with soft openings to reduce customer wait times, to the fullest extent possible No changes 
•	Function 4 Staffing:   
o	Plan for additional mail volume and packages for post-holiday delivery
o	Review VAP Gap tool, post-holiday volume trend data, CSAW projections, mail arrival times and utilize F4 IVES Scheduler to plan for staffing that coincides with the projected workload and performance expectations

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:

•	Ensure Operating Plan Precision Targets are met throughout the holiday.
•	Opening Units kept at day zero for Letters and Flats
•	Advance all available Violet & Yellow Marketing Mail for Wednesday delivery 
•	Review IVES scheduling to match operating plans
•	Focus on RPG Compliance and P2P (Start Time & Throughput)
•	Inhibit Delivery Point Sequence (DPS) sort program regeneration prior to the holiday and re-establish afterwards
•	Utilize an RPG model for DPS processing on Wednesday & Thursday night that ensures an early DPS dispatch for Friday delivery
•	Ensure only one DPS run on Friday morning (no double runs of DPS)
•	Communicate with Marketing and Logistics to leverage mailer package volumes available for Holiday pick up and Outgoing processing
•	Decisions for Friday early collection plans will be determined locally by Region/Division (See below instructions relative to processing and dispatching Commercial Mailings) 
•	Evaluate the processing of Outgoing Priority & 1st class on the day of the holiday to avoid late clearance on Friday. (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 

PROCESSING NOCC 

•	Increased nightly oversight of plant performance to plan/capacity 
•	24-hour coverage, including on the holiday, to provide assistance and escalation 
•	Increased monitoring of MMP performance to plan on Thursday 
•	Increased monitoring of DPS performance to plan on Thursday 

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 
•	Ensure communication to field of FedEx and Dispatch Plan 

Plant managers must commit that Parcel Return Service (PRS-569xx) operations will be staffed, and all returns sorted and available to PRS partners as agreed. 

Plant managers are to ensure proper Priority Mail Open & Distribute (PMOD) process, especially ensuring all destinating volume receives it’s stopped the clock Received At Opening Unit (RAOU) scan upon arrival. 

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 Wednesday.  

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 profile 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.  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.

International Service Center 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.
•	Stop/Start the clock events are critical during holiday periods. Please ensure all employees are aware of processes for visibility and service protection. 
•	Ensure on-time clearance of FC SPRs to avoid surface volume rolling over.
•	Ensure processing and dispatch of Priority throughout the holiday weekend to avoid exceeding lift.

Maintenance Operations

The Maintenance Technical Support Center (MTSC) will assist mail processing sites with planned power outages in accordance with the following knowledge base (KB) article.

Facility Planned Power Outages
MTSC KB0012715

Refer to the Mail Processing Emergency Response Checklists for critical actions and tasks.

Additional Information
•	For all power outages, create a ticket on the MTSC Web Ticket Portal for the affected site and provide all relevant information about the outage.
•	For planned power outages, sites must submit a Change Request (CR) form to FAP_Power_Outage_Notification@usps.gov.  The CR form is available in the MTSC KB.

Upon receipt of the MTSC web ticket, the MTSC Network Operations Application Support (NOAS) team will contact Engineering to:
•	Schedule graceful shutdowns of IDS, NDSS, and NGTC for planned outages.
•	Validate functionality after power is restored for all outages.

If a system has issues going online after power is restored, then create a new ticket for the affected system and request NST assistance.

Non-Emergency Project Requests

MTSC will provide phone support 24 hours a day through the holiday but will curtail all 
non-emergency support activities to ensure sufficient HelpDesk coverage during the holiday scheduling period.  Normal projects and supplemental support activities will resume in the week.

Logistics Operations

Air Transportation Network

FedEx
FedEx will operate a normal schedule on Wednesday, November 23, 2022.  There will be no FedEx operations on Thursday, November 24, 2022.  FedEx will return to a normal schedule on 
Friday, November 25, 2022.

Lives Acceptance FedEx Network:
The last day for Live animal shipments will be Tuesday day - Tuesday night November 22, 2022.  Live animal shipments will not be accepted Wednesday, November 23, 2022.  Live animal shipments will resume back on Friday, November 25, 2022.

UPS
UPS will operate on Wednesday, November 23, 2022.  There will be no UPS operations on 
Thursday, November 24, 2022, or Friday, November 25, 2022.

Supplemental Networks

There will be no Aloha (KH), Amazon (A1), AmeriJet (M6), Kalitta (K4) or Northern Air Cargo (NC) operations on Thursday, November 24, 2022.  Normal operations will resume on Friday, November 25, 2022.

CAIR

Commercial air will operate a normal schedule throughout the holiday period.  The canine screening operation schedule for the holiday period is shown below: 

Please ensure the volume is picked up from the Freight Houses on Thursday night and Friday, 11/25/2022 and processed timely.

International Transportation Plan

Import/Export Plan for the ISC					
Holiday	Day of 	Date	JFK 	JFK 	ORD	ORD	
	Week		Export	Import	Export	Import	
Day before	Wednesday	11/23/2022	YES	YES	YES	YES	
Thanksgiving	Thursday	11/24/2022	YES	YES	YES	YES	
Day after	Friday	11/25/2022	YES	YES	YES	YES	
							
Holiday	Day of 	Date	LAX	LAX 	MIA	MIA	
	Week		Export	Import	Export	Import	
Day before	Wednesday	11/23/2022	YES	YES	YES	YES	
Thanksgiving	Thursday	11/24/2022	NO	NO	YES	YES	
Day after	Friday	11/25/2022	YES	YES	YES	YES	
							
Customs CBP opening plan and hours at the ISC				
Holiday	Day of 	Date	JFK 	JFK 	ORD	ORD	
	Week		CBP open	CBP hours	CBP open	CBP hours	
Day before	Wednesday	11/23/2022	YES	24/7	YES	24/7	
Thanksgiving	Thursday	11/24/2022	YES	24/7	YES	24/7	
Day after	Friday	11/25/2022	YES	24/7	YES	24/7	
 	 	 	 	 		
Holiday	Day of 	Date	LAX	LAX 	MIA	MIA	
	Week		CBP open	CBP hours	CBP open	CBP hours	
Day before	Wednesday	11/23/2022	YES	06:00 - 22:00	YES	06:00 - 20:30	
Thanksgiving	Thursday	11/24/2022	N0	CLOSED	YES	06:00 - 14:00	
Day after	Friday	11/25/2022	YES 	06:00 - 22:00	YES	06:00 - 20:30	

Surface Transportation Network

Thursday, November 24th
•	Normal STC Operations
Friday, November 25th
•	STC personnel will be on-site the day after the holiday.

Transportation will run on a reduced schedule the day after the holiday

Dispatch Procedures

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

•	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 appreciated.  

Thank you for your assistance.