DUE TO A LAPSE IN GOVERNMENT FUNDING, ALL NON-EXCEPTED OIG EMPLOYEES ARE FURLOUGHED AND MUST CEASE ALL OIG WORK-RELATED ACTIVITIES.
This website will not be monitored or updated until full operations resume. Your interest in the efficiency of Postal Service programs is important to us. Our Hotline remains operational, and you may still submit your concern and it will be reviewed.
You may also submit FOIA requests, however we cannot respond until the government reopens.
Open Audit Recommendations
Below is a list of our open audit recommendations. When a report is issued, the Postal Service responds to each recommendation, and if there is agreement, it provides a corrective action plan with a date of planned implementation. We request written confirmation from the Postal Service when those corrective actions are completed and evaluate this information and provide concurrence when the recommendation can be closed.
If the Postal Service disagrees with a recommendation, we work towards agreement by elevating discussions between USPS and OIG management. Any recommendations that the Postal Service does not act on remain open and are reported to Congress until a resolution is achieved.
Conduct a feasibility study of capturing cost savings resulting from the Regional Transfer Hub initiative and, based on the results, implement tracking of costs related to the initiative.
$0
Open
Disagree
2
Implement controls to enforce all required scanning at Regional Transfer Hubs in coordination with the Vice President of Processing Operations.
$0
Open
Agree
3
Enforce corrective actions for contracted transportation with late departing transportation.
$0
Open
Agree
4
Establish quantifiable key performance indicators (in coordination with Vice President Processing Operations), including acceptable impacts to service and a trailer utilization target, specific to the Regional Transfer Hub initiative.
$0
Open
Disagree
5
Monitor performance of the Regional Transfer Hubs against established goals.
Create job positions where the primary responsibility is to oversee regional coordination of the shipping and handling of day-old poultry between internal and external stakeholders.
$0
Open
Agree
2
Establish recurring meetings throughout peak shipping season of day-old poultry with the applicable internal and external stakeholders to discuss issues and implement immediate corrective action.
$0
Open
Agree
3
Revise the Handling Lives Workbook to include procedures for accepting day-old poultry, including visual aids in accordance with mailing requirements in Publication 52.
$0
Open
Agree
4
Communicate to staff each year the acceptance procedures for day-old poultry prior to the start of peak shipment season.
$0
Open
Agree
5
Revise the Handling Lives Workbook and reissue annually, before each peak shipping. At a minimum, revisions to the workbook should include: performing a primary sort by transportation mode; proper bed loading; a limit for stacking packages; following first in, first out methods; and unloading day-old poultry timely from trailers.
$0
Open
Agree
6
Establish processes and procedures for periodic on-site review of its air carrier operations to ensure proper loading and securing of day-old poultry shipments.
$0
Closed
Agree
7
Revise Publication 52 to require the mailer to include a "deliver by" date, which is 72-hours after hatching, on all packages of day-old poultry.
$0
Open
Disagree
8
Develop electronic methods to uniquely track shipments of day-old poultry, including shipments that have perished.
$0
Open
Disagree
9
Develop a process specifically for the processing and handling of missent shipments of day-old poultry.
$0
Open
Agree
10
Revise Publication 52 to define when day-old poultry should be disposed of as an injurious item.
$0
Open
Agree
11
Along with the Vice President, Delivery Operations; Vice President, Processing Operations; and Vice President, Logistics, develop and provide training to staff on the correct processes for the disposal of day-old poultry.
Develop procedures to ensure survey responses are properly completed and reviewed in a timely manner and that managers are held accountable for when units are closed without valid justification.
$0
Open
Disagree
2
Develop an automated tool for notifying field staff in real-time when units open late or close early and sending justification requests to local staff.
$0
Open
Disagree
3
Develop system capabilities for recording, analyzing, reporting, and retaining data on units that open late or close early.
$0
Open
Disagree
4
Develop procedures to ensure justification responses are properly completed and reviewed in a timely manner and that managers are held accountable when units open late or close early.
$0
Open
Disagree
5
Augment suspension-related policies to include strategies for periodically and regularly communicating suspension statuses to impacted customers.
$0
Open
Disagree
6
Establish accountability mechanisms, such as timeliness targets, for resolving suspensions in a timely manner and for monitoring performance.
$0
Open
Disagree
7
Develop mechanisms to require Postmasters to properly update the status of suspended units to be displayed publicly on USPS.com.
Develop a mechanism to identify all applicable charges when calculating postage due to incorporate into its automated calculations.
$0
Open
Agree
2
Incorporate large and oversized package charges into postage due calculations for return-to-sender packages.
$21,376,852
Open
Agree
3
Retroactively invoice return addressees for large package charges that should have been paid.
$24,617,947
Open
Disagree
4
Electronically link the payment of postage due to the specific packages for which the payments are based.
$0
Open
Agree
5
Further automate the postage due calculation and collection process for undeliverable packages, using weights and dimensions captured by mail processing equipment.
$0
Open
Agree
6
Assess which delivery units need additional equipment, including scales, and provide it to efficiently process return-to-sender packages.
$0
Open
Disagree
7
Provide updated training and corrected guidance to clerks and staff on the latest policies and procedures for return-to-sender packages.
$0
Closed
Agree
8
Add reminders to the Remote Forwarding System application to prompt clerks to process and weigh packages correctly.
$0
Closed
Agree
9
Institute and enforce a policy requiring clerks and managers to restrict access to return packages that exceed the facility's interior capacity or develop other mitigation strategies.
Develop a short-term strategy for mitigating the impacts of storing E-Transits in holding lots that would include an analysis of related costs (in other words, acquisition, staffing, maintenance, transportation, and so forth) and assessment of other options such as divestment.
$0
Open
Agree
2
Correct inconsistencies in the Fleet Management Information System (FMIS) for E-Transits in holding lots and implement internal controls to periodically assess the accuracy of E-Transit vehicle data in FMIS.
$0
Open
Agree
3
Correct inconsistencies in preventative maintenance inspections and battery maintenance for E-Transits in holding lots and implement internal controls to periodically assess the consistency of these activities.
$0
Open
Agree
4
Correct deficiencies associated with E-Transit deployments and implement internal controls to periodically assess compliance with related deployment procedures.
$0
Open
Agree
5
Develop strategies and controls to ensure local holding lot staff are appropriately using applicable service contracts.
$37,058
Open
Disagree
6
Develop strategies to enhance communication of policies and procedures to E-Transit local holding lot staff, particularly related to the consistency of Fleet Management Information System data, preventative maintenance inspections, battery maintenance, and deployment.
Require the Threat Assessment Team to assess threats identified in Assault Threat Specialty Reports as jacketed cases and document them in the Threat Assessment Case Tracking system.
$0
Open
Disagree
2
Reiterate guidance to the Threat Assessment Team lead on responsibilities for reporting incidents in the Threat Assessment Case Tracking system.
$0
Open
Agree
3
Clarify and reiterate guidance to facility managers on timely reporting incidents of workplace violence to their Threat Assessment Team.
$0
Open
Agree
4
Develop and implement a process to verify outcome memos are timely provided to applicable facility managers and maintained accordingly.
Require annual training for personnel responsible for reporting mail conditions to improve mail condition reporting accuracy.
$0
Open
Agree
2
In coordination with the Vice President, Technology Applications, create a line item for recording Priority Mail Express in the Mail Condition Visualization system.
$0
Closed
Agree
3
In coordination with the Vice President, Technology Applications, update policies and manuals related to condition reporting to include newly established categories and mail conversion rates in the Mail Condition Visualization system and Handbook M-32.
$0
Open
Agree
4
Reinforce inventory controls to ensure scanners are signed out and returned.
$0
Open
Agree
5
Develop and implement periodic reviews of scanner inventory.
$0
Open
Agree
6
Require a documented transportation review that tracks the root cause and planned mitigation tactics for facilities not meeting their transportation goals.
$0
Open
Disagree
7
Reiterate processes to ensure accountability over staff and contractors responsible for safety policies regarding wheel chocks, strapping of loads, and securing and locking mail being transported in trailers and cargo vans.
Automate Postal Service Form 1571, Undelivered Mail Report, for delayed mail reporting in the Delivery Condition Visualization system and require carriers to use the automated format at the end of the day to report undelivered mail.
$0
Open
Disagree
2
Develop a process to identify delivery units with a high risk of unreported or underreported delayed mail, and follow up with district management to enforce compliance.
$0
Open
Disagree
3
Develop and provide a standard work instruction that lists and links to the applicable reports and tools unit managers are required to use to monitor daily scanning compliance.
$0
Open
Disagree
4
Add instructions to the beginning of the certification screen in the RADAR system notifying supervisors of the current procedures for conducting arrow key certifications and have the system automatically generate a report notifying the U.S. Postal Inspection Service of any missing keys.
$0
Open
Disagree
5
Develop and implement program controls within the RADAR system to prevent managers from inputting inaccurate arrow key information.
$0
Open
Agree
6
Develop and implement a plan for district management to conduct targeted arrow key inventory reviews on a regular basis until new technological initiatives are fully implemented.
Develop an automated process to validate the accuracy of monthly recycling reports, invoices, and checks submitted by contractors, including a process to validate supporting documentation maintained by contractors.
$0
Open
Agree
2
Provide oversight of cardboard mail transport equipment inventory to ensure processing facilities only maintain a seven-day supply, and document facilities with exceptions to the policy.
$0
Open
Agree
3
Require processing facility management to annually certify proper cardboard mail transport equipment recycling and reuse business practices are in place and employees are aware of and following these practices.
$0
Open
Agree
4
Direct Plant Managers to enforce proper cardboard mail transport equipment recycling and reuse practices.
$0
Open
Agree
5
1) Perform a cost benefit analysis for baling cardboard at all processing facilities, 2) provide balers for facilities identified to have a positive benefit, and 3) for the facilities that cannot accommodate a baler, document the approved deviations.
