October National eMIR Bundle Breakage Blitz

 

 

In June and August of 2005, the Postal Service used the Electronic Mail Improvement Reporting (eMIR) process to focus on bundle breakage in a selected group of sites around the country.  Another “eMIR Bundle Breakage Blitz” will be conducted nationally for a two week period, beginning Monday, October 17, 2005.  Mail processing operations will focus on and dedicate resources to reporting bundle breakage issues during this two week period.  This effort will use the existing eMIR, Business Service Network (BSN), and Business Mail Acceptance (BMA) processes.  

 

 

Objective

 

The objective of the National eMIR Bundle Breakage Blitz is stated as follows:

 

Collect comprehensive data on bundle breakage due to mailer preparation and/or USPS equipment processes using the eMIR system in all plants and BMCs for a two week period.   Use the collected data to identify the systemic problems with bundle breakage.  Follow-up with both mail owners and mail preparers to significantly reduce the both the frequency and the impact of bundle breakage during the Fall Mailing Season.  The results will be discussed at the November MTAC meeting.

 

 

Process

 

The process for the National eMIR Bundle Breakage Blitz is as follows:

 

 

·         Each District should update their eMIR Coordinator list.  Sue Redman and Patrick Killeen will coordinate the Blitz and respond to field questions.

 

·         eMIR results will be monitored by Area and Headquarters personnel during the Bundle Blitz period.

 


 

Requirements

 

The requirements for the National eMIR Bundle Breakage Blitz are as follows:

 

 

 

Reporting Process

 

The irregularity reporting process is simple.  Once an irregularity has been identified, the specifics of the problem should be recorded using the problem reporting data collection PS Form 3749.  This form can be printed from the PostalOne! program.  It will be available to employees for their use to report problems encountered during mail processing operations.  Depending on local policy, a quality specialist, a supervisor or the employee who encounters the irregularity will be responsible for completing the form.  Every issue entered is expected to meet the quality standards for eMIR and BSN reporting.  Completed forms will be given to the assigned data entry personnel.  The data entry personnel will enter the information into the PostalOne! system by accessing eMIR at the following URL:  www.uspspostalone.com

 

Relevant to the data collected, special emphasis must be placed on:

 

·         Identification of the nature and magnitude of the problem

 

·         Identification and description of the mailing

 

·         Identification of the “mail owner”, “mail preparer”, “mail transporter”, or USPS BMEU (Post Office) of origin (USPS unit that accepted the mailing)

 

·         Attaching a digital photograph of the tray label or pallet placard, the mail piece and the problem to the report for easier identification.   The use of scanned documents in lieu of digital pictures should be avoided due to image quality concerns.

 

This process should be used to report serious quality issues and reoccurring problems, such as, unreadable barcodes, broken bundles, carrier route out of sequence, mislabeled trays, etc.  The process should be used when there is a sufficient quantity of mail that is improperly prepared that it will impact the efficient processing and/or delivery of the mail.

 

The data collection personnel will collect samples of mail irregularities to be entered on the problem reporting data collection PS Form 3749.  Examples of irregularities include but are not limited to:

 

·         [MM1] Bundles that have loose or insufficient strapping/banding or are oversize or overweight.

 

·         Improperly prepared shrink-wrapped bundles with either large openings that allow pieces to escape or with wrap of insufficient strength for the size and weight of the bundles.

 

·         Bundles prepared with rubber bands or string that do not maintain tension, slip off, or cannot maintain the integrity of the bundles during normal handling.

 

·         Bundles prepared with strapping and/or shrink-wrap that obstructs the address block on the top piece of the bundle. 

 

The data collection personnel will:

 

·         ensure that each sample is representative, substantive, and systemic
(e.g. a sack has one bundle that has one strap loose or broken would not be reported, but if multiple sacks have three or four bundles, and they are all loose or broken, it would be reported).

 

·         Identify the nature and magnitude of the problem (e.g. volume affected out of total) and the specific location where the problem was identified.

 

·         For APPS site, the specific location of the bundle breakage should be identified in the comments section.  (e.g.  Bundles broke at the dumper, broke at the singulator, etc.)

 

·         Provide an accurate description of the mailing and the problem.

 

·         Identify the “mail owner”, “mail preparer”, “mail transporter” or USPS BMEU (Post Office) of origin (USPS unit that accepted the mailing).

 

·         Save all sack labels or pallet placards, if possible, and attach to the checklist to be scanned in the system for easier identification.

 

·         Take digital photos of the label or placard and the problem mail piece to be
scanned into the system for easier identification.

 

The data entry personnel will input information into eMIR using PostalOne!  They will review the PS Form 3749 for completeness and determine if sufficient information is provided to identify the mailing and make customer contact.  The data entry personnel will seek feedback from the data collection personnel if more information is required.  The information concerning the specific location of the integrity problem should be input into the comments section along with any additional pertinent information. 

 

Once the data has been input into the system, eMIR will execute the business processes for customer contact and problem resolution.  The end product will be used to identify the extent of the problems, the type of problems, and the resolution of those problems and create a database that will allow Postal personnel to identify trends and initiate follow-up contact with customers to correct systemic problems.  

 

 

Quality of eMIR Reports  - Feedback to the Postal Service

 

The Postal Service is dedicated to having every eMIR issue report meet standards for high quality content.   If a mail owner or mail preparer has a concern over the quality of the content of a eMIR issue report they received, this should be reported through their BSN.  The BSN process will be used to consolidate these concerns, and correct any incidents of poor quality reporting.

 

 

Questions

 

Questions regarding the eMIR program or the Bundle Breakage Blitz process should be directed to Patrick Killeen of P&DC Operations at e-mail patrick.j.killeen@usps.gov or Susan Redman of PostalOne! at e-mail susan.f.redman@usps.gov .

 

Questions of a strategic nature concerning the Bundle Breakage Blitz process should be directed to Bob Fisher, Manager Service Performance Improvement, at robert.p.fisher@usps.gov, or Marc McCrery, Manager, Operations Requirements & Integration, at marc.d.mccrery@usps.gov .

 [MM1]I think we should stick to breakage problems, since this is the bundle breakage blitz.