Fleet Specialty Card Management – Pacific Area
Objective
The objective of our audit was to assess the effectiveness of controls over fleet specialty cards for delivery operations in the Pacific Area.
The U.S. Postal Service operates one of the largest vehicle fleets in the U.S. In fiscal year (FY) 2017, the Postal Service used 205,997 vehicles, primarily to deliver and collect mail. Each of these Postal owned vehicles are issued a fleet card to pay for commercially purchased fuel, oil, and maintenance expenses up to $300. In addition to these cards, the Postal Service has fleet specialty cards. Fleet specialty cards are issued to each facility with assigned vehicles and to Vehicle Maintenance Facilities (VMF) to pay for maintenance or repairs over $300.
Site managers should monitor fleet specialty card purchases to prevent unauthorized charges. Each month, they review and certify these transactions with supporting documentation, which are maintained for two years. Site managers must also ensure the VMF receives a copy of each maintenance invoice or receipt. The VMF enters the maintenance invoice or receipt details into a work order in the Solution Enterprise Asset Management (SEAM) system to maintain complete service records for each vehicle in the fleet.
Additionally, site managers maintain and secure all fleet specialty cards and the personal identification number (PIN) list. PINs are confidential numbers randomly assigned to Postal Service employees and are used to authorize purchases made with fleet specialty cards.
The Pacific Area was selected based on the amount of fleet specialty card transactions in FY 2017, which totaled $10.2 million, and the percentage of specialty card transactions (41 percent) used for non-fuel transactions such as maintenance and repairs, towing, and vehicle washes.
What the OIG Found
Fleet specialty card controls were not always effective in the Pacific Area. We reviewed a statistical sample of 207 transactions for fuel and non-fuel purchases and determined that:
- Eighty-nine of the 207 (43 percent) sample transactions were not supported by invoices or receipts.
- Sixty-two of 83 (75 percent) SEAM work orders were not created in the system for non-fuel transactions.
- Seventeen of 35 (49 percent) fleet specialty cards were missing and not available for use.
- None of the 20 delivery units properly managed the employee PIN lists through the Voyager Fleet Commander Online application. Specifically:
-- Fifty-two employees had multiple PINs.
- 254 PINs needed to be deactivated.
- Thirty-three employees required a PIN.
- Six delivery units had 47 employees with PIN limits exceeding the $300 per day and $1,000 per month limit.
These conditions occurred because facility management did not:
- Ensure site managers certified and reconciled fleet specialty card transactions in the Fuel Asset Management System (FAMS) module.
- Receive Voyager eFleet Card training to complete the reconciliation process and secure all cards and PINS.
- Report lost or stolen cards for their facility.
- Ensure safeguards and controls were in place to properly secure and manage fleet specialty cards and PINs at their facility.
- Follow the Voyager Standard Operating Procedure and conduct the semi-annual reviews of PINs.
- Obtain authorization from VMF managers to increase PIN limits on fleet specialty cards and follow up with Voyager/US Bank to correct PIN limits.
As a result, we are unable to determine if transactions were appropriate and vehicle maintenance records were complete. We made referrals to our Office of Investigations, as appropriate. We estimated the Pacific Area incurred approximately $4.4 million in questioned costs for unsupported fleet specialty card transactions in FY 2017.
What the OIG Recommended
We recommended management:
- Ensure facility site managers/reconcilers complete the eFleet Card for Site Manager training reflecting latest policy updates.
- Issue a directive instructing site managers to ensure fleet specialty card transactions and related supporting documentation are reviewed at least monthly, maintained for two years, and provided to the appropriate vehicle maintenance facilities.
- Instruct site managers to follow the Voyager Standard Operating Procedures for monthly reconciliations and provide access to the FAMS.
- Direct site managers/reconcilers to report all missing Voyager fleet cards to servicing VMF or Voyager/US Bank based on district guidance.
- Direct site managers to conduct the semi-annual PIN reviews.
- Notify delivery units that VMF Management has responsibility to adjust PIN limits.