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.
Apply population change factors, such as projected growth and trends of sorting and delivery center locations, as part of its Financial Rigor Tests for the investments.
$0
Open
Disagree
2
Perform inspections and complete route adjustments where needed as part of the required annual process within the year prior to estimating the Financial Rigor Tests related to sorting and delivery center investments.
$0
Open
Disagree
3
Require tracking, reconciling, and reporting of operating costs throughout the Sorting & Delivery Center project, with adjustments to investment calculations for significant changes; and delegate responsibility for the oversight of financial performance over routes related to the project.
Execute a plan to provide stable leadership at the Indianapolis Regional Processing and Distribution Center.
$0
Open
Agree
2
Staff management positions at the Indianapolis Regional Processing and Distribution Center to authorized levels.
$0
Open
Agree
3
Continue to work with local management and staff to improve employee availability at the Indianapolis Regional Processing and Distribution Center to meet the national goal.
$0
Open
Agree
4
Revise projected savings and identify opportunities to improve efficiency of operations in the Indianapolis, IN, region.
$0
Open
Disagree
5
Optimize usage of mail processing equipment at the Indianapolis Regional Processing and Distribution Center, including potential redeployment of underused equipment to facilities that need additional mail processing.
$20,101,122
Open
Disagree
6
Strengthen inventory controls over surface visibility scanners and evaluate implementing an automated system.
$0
Open
Agree
7
Direct the Indianapolis Regional Processing and Distribution Center Processing and Logistics managers to review daily scan data to identify problem areas and correct issues to achieve current scanning goals.
Provide remedial or refresher training to management handling grievances in areas of concern to include topics such as, but not limited to, knowledge of national bargaining and local agreements, grievance arbitration procedures, responding to union requests for information, and contending with challenges from union representatives.
$0
Open
Agree
2
Develop a platform to share best practices identified by individual districts on grievance management and require each district to provide a plan to implement applicable best practices.
$0
Open
Agree
3
Require the use of the Overtime Administration tool at facilities with high or recurring overtime grievances, unless restricted by local agreements.
$83,165,820
Open
Agree
4
Require and reiterate training for supervisors on proper administration of overtime, including, but not limited to, overtime desired lists, equitable distribution of overtime, and craft jurisdiction rules.
$0
Open
Agree
5
1) identify high or recurring grievance payment locations, 2) require applicable local management in those locations to develop and implement an improvement action plan to reduce grievances, and 3) monitor grievance progress in those locations.
$0
Open
Agree
6
Develop guidance to 1) identify which management positions have the authority to enter into local agreements, 2) include risk management practices such as expiration dates, legal review, or mandatory periodic review clauses, for management responsible for negotiating future local agreements, and 3) create a digital repository for local agreements.
$0
Open
Disagree
7
Develop and maintain a national repository for local memorandums of understanding for standardized ease of access by and for all levels of local management.
$0
Open
Agree
8
1) Develop automated controls in the Grievance and Arbitration Tracking System to add system-required fields for justification statements on decision letters, and 2) provide refresher training for supervisors on requirements for proper completion of decision letters.
Establish a common framework with roles and responsibilities for deferred maintenance that applies throughout the organization, standardizing what is considered deferred maintenance and the process for prioritizing and addressing it.
$0
Open
Disagree
2
Prioritize and track all deferred maintenance and associated costs, including capital and maintenance projects, and begin addressing its backlog of maintenance in order of priority.
$0
Open
Disagree
3
Establish procedures, responsibilities, and accountability mechanisms for staff and supervisors to periodically review and validate all data including "estimated cost" within the maintenance system, for completeness and accuracy.
$0
Open
Disagree
4
Ensure that the maintenance system has functionality and reporting capabilities to assist project managers with identifying outstanding maintenance calls and alert supervisors of maintenance calls without periodic updates or resolution.
$0
Open
Agree
5
Establish a policy requiring project managers to provide local management with periodic status updates on reported maintenance issues and document statuses until resolved.
$1,104,129
Open
Disagree
6
Develop a maintenance issue reporting culture through the creation of a communications campaign to raise awareness of prioritizing the reporting of maintenance and safety issues to all employees.
$0
Open
Disagree
7
Improve oversight of its local self-assessment programs by assigning staff to conduct periodic reviews of assessments for facilities under 6,500 square feet and establishing an escalation process to obtain annual assessments from larger facilities for review.
$0
Open
Agree
8
Address all building maintenance, safety, and security issues identified during site visits.
Develop processes and requirements for routinely collecting excess and underutilized space data across its property portfolio and include accountability mechanisms for ensuring this data is collected on a regular basis.
$0
Open
Disagree
2
Develop processes to periodically assess and verify the accuracy of excess and underutilized space data and update in the designated system of record.
$0
Open
Disagree
3
Develop and implement a comprehensive strategy for managing excess and underutilized space, which would include processes for identifying space at properties throughout the network, centralized tracking and reporting, and corrective action plans (such as for renting, disposing, or repurposing).
$0
Open
Disagree
4
Verify the calculation used to determine Potential Usable Excess Workroom Square Footage is correct and accurately incorporates the number of delivery routes in an office.
$0
Closed
Disagree
5
Verify that all rooms and spaces reported in the Real Asset Management Program Out-leasing module are properly coded.
$0
Open
Agree
6
Reconcile property space data across all modules within the property management system to verify consistency and accuracy of the data.
$0
Open
Disagree
7
Take immediate action to comply with the Federal Property Management Reform Act of 2016 reporting requirement related to space available for use by federal agencies.
Develop and implement a plan to fill the vacant positions needed at the Santa Clarita Processing and Distribution Center.
$0
Open
Disagree
2
Develop and implement a plan to confirm mail processing and logistics employees effectively communicate, especially during peak dispatch hours, at the Santa Clarita Processing and Distribution Center.
$0
Open
Agree
3
Develop a plan to remove excess mail transport equipment from the docks and verify these are removed timely to maximize capacity at the Santa Clarita Processing and Distribution Center.
$0
Open
Agree
4
Properly reconcile the Surface Visibility scanners in Ethos and at the facility and take measurable actions to retrieve all lost scanners at the Santa Clarita Processing and Distribution Center.
$9,040
Open
Agree
5
Provide oversight and verify employees sign in and out Surface Visibility scanners at the Santa Clarita Processing and Distribution Center.
$0
Open
Agree
6
Secure scanners and verify only authorized employees can enter the Surface Visibility scanner room at the Santa Clarita Processing and Distribution Center.
$0
Open
Agree
7
Verify all drivers are securing trailer cargo and are using wheel chocks at the Santa Clarita Processing and Distribution Center.
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
Closed
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
Closed
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
Closed
Agree
4
Communicate to staff each year the acceptance procedures for day-old poultry prior to the start of peak shipment season.
$0
Closed
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
Closed
Agree
10
Revise Publication 52 to define when day-old poultry should be disposed of as an injurious item.
$0
Closed
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.
