Fiscal Year 2022 Capping Report - Mail Delivery, Customer Service, and Property Condition Reviews - WestPac Area
Background
The U. S. Postal Service’s WestPac Area has about 2,996 delivery units to assist in the Postal Service’s universal service obligation to bind the nation together and provide prompt, reliable, and efficient postal services to all communities. As of September 2022, about 64,000 city and rural carriers delivered to about 30 million possible delivery points in the WestPac Area. During fiscal year (FY) 2022, we evaluated mail delivery, customer service, and property conditions at 15 delivery units in the WestPac Area.
What We Did
Our objective was to summarize the audit results of selected Postal Service delivery units in the WestPac Area during FY 2022 and evaluate recent package and truck arrival scanning performance. For this audit, we extracted and analyzed recent package and truck arrival scanning data and compared it to the data used during the initial audits to determine if there were any improvements in scanning performance.
What We Found
During our FY 2022 audits at 15 delivery units, we found deficiencies with delayed mail at four units, package scanning at 15 units, truck arrival scanning at 12 units, and property conditions at 15 units.
Based on our analysis of recent package and truck arrival scanning data, we found notable improvements in the number of packages scanned at the units and truck arrival scanning. Specifically, 13 of 15 delivery units reduced the number of packages scanned at the unit. Further, 12 delivery units increased the number of truck arrival scans.
In addition, while reviewing property conditions during our FY 2022 audits, we regularly found that portable fire extinguishers were missing monthly and/or annual inspections.
Recommendation
We recommended management assign personnel at the district level to verify that fire extinguishers are properly inspected and develop a program to monitor the completion of monthly and annual fire extinguisher inspections.