USPS logo LINK — USPS employee news Printable

Expert advice

Employee devises delivery improvements

Chicago Letter Carrier James Robinson reviews records in a database, part of a project to boost efficiency.
Chicago Letter Carrier James Robinson reviews records in a database, part of a project to boost efficiency.

Letter Carrier James Robinson recently helped the Postal Service increase efficiency in Chicago District, where he has delivered mail for almost 30 years.

Robinson served on a team tasked with strengthening address management in the district. The effort was part of the Lean Six Sigma business improvement initiative.

The project aimed to increase the volume of mail in three Chicago District delivery zones processed through Delivery Point Sequencing (DPS), in which the automated processing system sorts mail into delivery sequence order.

Robinson’s contributions included verifying addresses in a database. The team also toured plants to see how mail was being processed.

Additionally, the team presented its project to USPS leaders.

“I was a little nervous at first,” said Robinson. “But after listening to the other people on the call, I was able to relax and speak from what I experienced. Then it just started flowing.”

The project has increased DPS volume in the targeted zones to 91 percent, from the mid-80s in 2015, and reduced costs by more than $200,000.

The improvements will be implemented throughout the district.

Post-story highlights