A widely-redacted audit report, titled Planning and Deployment of the Matrix Regional Sorter, issued September 5 by the USPS Office of Inspector General, focused on another example of the agency’s recent shoot-ready-aim behavior.
Background and findings
As the OIG described the machine:
“ … The MaRS is a package sorting machine designed to increase package processing capacity and efficiency while using less floor space, a critical factor to the success of implementing the Postal Service’s network transformation and increasing their share in the growing package market. “The Postal Service spent over [redacted] to design and deploy the first two MaRS from concept to testing to meet the needs of its changing network. The Postal Service expects the MaRS to improve efficiency through labor savings by consolidating processing operations and processing up to [redacted] pieces per hour. This rate is over eight times greater than what other comparable machines in the Postal Service’s inventory are capable of processing. The Postal Service used contractors to build the MaRS and provide initial operational, maintenance, and training support. The first MaRS started operations at the Atlanta and Chicago RPDCs in November 2023. The Postal Service expects to save over $200 million in labor over a [redacted] for each facility where a machine is deployed.
“The MaRS is a large machine taking up approximately [redacted] square feet., or the size of [redcacted]. While this is extremely large, the Postal Service noted in its analysis that it would take eight of the next comparable high-capacity package machines using over two times the square footage to match the MaRS capacity. The MaRS works off a large conveyor system that consists of [redacted] where mail can be inducted, and multiple lanes that travel via a system of belts to sort packages based on their destination. Mail enters the machine directly from the trailer docks, travels a system of conveyor belts, enters a scanning tunnel, and finally gets routed to a destination bin to be transported or sent to additional processing operations.”
“Finding #1: Planning and Deployment. Generally, the Postal Service quickly and effectively executed the planning and deployment of the MaRS to help meet its package sorting demands at the Chicago and Atlanta RPDCs. However, the Postal Service did not adequately plan and prepare for Postal Service maintenance personnel to accept maintenance responsibility from contractors, didn’t define maintenance tasks, and overestimated the achievable efficiency of the machine. …We found that the Postal Service did not adequately plan to take over maintenance of the MaRS from contractors by the end of the contract in March 2024. Postal Service personnel did not shadow the contractors, as expected, to gain the knowledge and skills needed to take over the MaRS maintenance responsibilities. …
“To cover the shortfall, the Postal Service extended the MaRS maintenance contract to September 2024, with the possibility of additional extensions. Extending the contract for maintenance of the MaRS will result in the Postal Service incurring additional, unplanned costs totaling about $2.2 million. …
“The Postal Service did not define specific maintenance tasks to be performed on the MaRS, how often maintenance should be performed, or create instructions on how to maintain the MaRS. … We also observed indicators that basic maintenance was not being performed, such as dirt/debris being left on the machine and scanners.
“These issues occurred due to lack of management oversight. Postal Service management did not verify the contractor and its own maintenance staff were performing their assigned maintenance tasks on the MaRS. Additionally, the contractor stated that management did not always honor the maintenance windows.
“The Postal Service is not able to consistently achieve its expected processing efficiency of the MaRS. … The Postal Service has been unable to meet the expected rate because the rate was calculated assuming mail would constantly flow to the machine and be evenly distributed … . Additionally, we noted conveyor belts get overloaded with mail, which can negatively impact the processing rate as it takes time to clear and process the packages on the congested belts.”
Finding #2: MaRS Performance Resulting in Damaged, Delayed and Lost Packages. The operation of the new MaRS created [redacted] damaged packages. Specifically, we found damaged packages on the MaRS and significant debris on and around the MaRS.
“Management on site indicated they do not know the root cause of why so much mail was damaged. However, we observed the MaRS at the Atlanta and Chicago RPDCs and noted overcrowded conveyor belts … that increased the chances of packages being damaged. We found employees inducted mail on the MaRS that has a higher chance of being damaged … . …
“Currently, the Postal Service does not have a process to track the number of mailpieces damaged by mail processing equipment; therefore, neither the OIG nor the Postal Service is able to determine the exact number of packages damaged on the MaRS. We did note that from January to May 2024, the number of hours spent on rewrapping mail increased by 61% at the Atlanta and Chicago RPDCs, compared to the same period last year.
“… We found the MaRS conveyor belts frequently got congested with packages. Further, we observed mail continuing to flow into congested points creating build up on the machine, causing packages to get crushed or fall off the machine. The Postal Service set up netting in some high-risk areas to catch falling packages, but the netting was not always adequate to hold the amount of mail falling out. Additionally, we found areas where packages were overflowing and falling, but no netting was in place, creating a significant safety hazard for employees below. … These issues occurred due to a lack of mail flow management on the MaRS and failure to stop the machine or communicate to stop the machine when necessary. … However, we found there is no communication plan in place that would inform all MaRS operators when a downstream issue occurs that would require them to stop or pause operations.”
“Finding #3: Rehandled Mail. The Postal Service can improve efficiency and reduce the number of mailpieces being resorted on the MaRS. … Mailpieces that are rerun on the MaRS are at risk of getting “stuck in a loop” on the MaRS. In March 2024, [redacted] packages were sorted 11 or more times while stuck in a loop and recirculating for three or more days on the MaRS. This included [redacted] mailpieces that circulated the Atlanta MaRS over 100 times and for over 30 plus days.
“The resorted mail was due in part to belts getting overloaded and mailpieces stacking on top of one another, causing the machine scanners to not be able to read the barcodes. …
“Another reason mail was resorted on the MaRS was due to employees loading mail onto incorrect conveyor belts causing the mail to have to be resorted. … Employees in the area stated that not everyone was trained to know what conveyor was for mail to Atlanta versus mail from Atlanta.”
“Finding #4: Lack of Local Management Oversight. … We found employees at the Chicago and Atlanta RPDCs incorrectly processed Priority Mail Express using the MaRS. The employees should have separated out the Express mail before entering it on the machine as these packages require a separate sorting process to ensure the express service is met.
“Additionally, during our observations we identified mail scattered around the MaRS and laying on the floor after operations have ended at both the Atlanta and Chicago RPDCs. We found packages under the scanners, under the platform on the workroom floor, and stuck in the structure of the machine. … We found packages sitting under the machine for many days before being reprocessed and delivered.
“These issues occurred due to insufficient staff training and a lack of management oversight. Employees putting mail onto the conveyor system did not receive the training necessary to fully understand the requirements for removing mail that cannot or should not be sorted by the MaRS. …”
The OIG offered nine recommendations, with which “management generally agreed.”
Observations
After reading enough OIG reports, a theme starts to emerge: a lack of training for employees and managers, inadequate supervisory staffing, and poor management oversight.
As noted earlier, this is an extension of the Postal Service’s recent shoot-ready-aim approach to putting new operations (machines or facilities) in place. Getting the assignment done fast, but without adequately considering corollary requirements – like training and staffing – has become the hallmark of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s hasty implementation of wholesale changes to the Postal Service’s networks.
Though DeJoy treats any criticism as hostility, he would help his cause by ensuring that whatever he wants done is executed in a way that avoids the needless problems repeatedly being found easily by the OIG.
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