**Minutes of the**

**Mailers\' Technical Advisory Committee**

**January 20-21, 1999**

**Grand Hyatt Washington Hotel**

**Washington, D.C.**

**Welcome**

Jay Freitas, Postal Service Vice Chair, called the meeting to order and
welcomed the members. Joe Schick, Industry Chair, made administrative
announcements, including a request that work group sponsors and leaders
provide current information about the status of activities and a
completion report whenever a work group is dissolved.

**Financial Update**

John Ward, Controller, commented on the first quarter\'s financial
results. He noted that the fall mailing system was exceptionally
successful from a service perspective, enhanced by the delayed rate
implementation.

In short, the net income through the first quarter is \$611 million.
Operating revenues of \$14.6 billion grew at a 2.8% rate, but not at the
anticipated rate so that revenues were below budget projections by 1.2%.
In the product line, only Standard Mail (A) exceeded budget; Priority
and Standard (B) both lagged projections, as did International and
\"Other Revenues\". However, all except International showed positive
growth versus SPLY.

Mr. Ward noted that Standard A had exceeded First-Class Mail for the
first time, underscoring the increasing importance of advertising mail.
Finally, in comparing actual versus planned revenue growth, the delayed
rate increase did affect the first quarter results and that shortfall
should be offset as the fiscal year progresses.

Concerning the operating expenses, Mr. Ward explained that, although
expenses were slightly lower than budgeted, there had been a relatively
high 6.1% growth since last year, mainly because of about ten
service-related programs that were funded beginning about mid-1998. At
that point in time, expenses exceeded the 5% level. Many of those
programs should begin to return a positive impact on operating revenues
as the services begin to come on line.

The outlook for the rest of the year, Mr. Ward said, promise continued
service improvements, results from a challenging revenue growth plan,
positive results from new rate benefits in the R97 change and a
continuing program to control expenses.

During discussion, Mr. Ward expressed confidence that the Y2K financial
impact as planned is on track; and that the next rate increase should
not be on the agenda until after January 2001; and that management of
the labor force levels had been proceeding according to plan, peaking in
late 1998, then declining through retirement and other attrition.

Mr. Ward commented on the deficit reduction plan which had dramatically
reduced by over half the approximate \$9 billion deficit developed by
1994, a plan which includes a corporate philosophy to fund investments
through internal capital generation and not debt.

**Integrated Processing Facility Vision**

Sammy Seals presented a video that demonstrated the importance of the
planned Integrated Processing Facility that will handle and track all
mail regardless of size and shape. Coming out of the work of the Blue
Ribbon Steering Committee and responding the customer needs, the Postal
Service established a goal to create a more information-rich automated
process. The video demonstrated processes that were on line, processes
that are in test and evaluation, and processes that are now in
conceptual development. In the future, the Postal Service anticipates a
fully integrated transportation system (air and land) that will track
all mail in shipment.

**Holiday Mailing Season Update**

Pat Mendonca, Manager, Operations Process Support, reported on the fall
and holiday mailing season. Noting that two separate, but coordinated,
plans were developed for the fall mailing season (mainly advertising)
and the holiday mailing season (mainly parcels and First -Class Mail
correspondence), he pointed to an anticipated 5% historical increase in
volume. In fact, he said, it was about 8% with relatively strong surges
from some larger mailers. There was greater growth in letters (10%) than
in flats (6%). There was increased entry of mail at the SCF level,
especially for Standard (A).

Although there were significant delays in mail in 1998 because of the
UPS strike, the 1999 delays were maintained below the 1996 benchmark
year level, a good record.

Actions taken to improve service in 1999 included numerous meetings with
customers, hiring early in the year to insure an experienced labor force
when the season began, improved staff management (including pooling
casuals to meet labor agreement limits), and installing a metrics
monitor/management system for tracking. Equipment was moved as required,
including additional flats sorters (SPBS and LIPS) and extra space was
temporarily leased. There was a marked increase of mail transport
equipment. Finally, there was increased communications and improved
teamwork to respond to needs as they appeared.

Tracking performance included monitoring responsibility for delays at
entry points and at delivery points, and there was a special readiness
provided by an early warning system, using DSAS and focusing on
historical peak volume days (September 25, October 29-30, November 6 and
25). There was an independent review of the September-February time
frame, which consisted of an inspection process that looked at movement
of mail, the transportation efficiency, adherence to policies and
procedures relating to mail processing (e.g., color coding mail to
indicate processing time limits), and general observations that could
contribute to better service in the future.

Mr. Mendonca stated that during the holiday season there were a number
of specific improvements relating to encoding, added transportation on
peak days, and daily monitoring of the Areas and the Performance
Clusters.

At the conclusion of the presentation, the Postal Service received a
round of applause from MTAC members because of the successful fall and
holiday mailing season.

**Impact of OSHA on Trailer Loads**

Chuck Doria, Manager, BMC Operations, explained the implications of the
recent legislation that exposed the Postal Service to the requirements
of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. He detailed one
instance that came from the transportation side of the business, when a
warning was issued with regard to an alleged trailer loaded in an unsafe
manner at the Seattle BMC. The financial exposure to fines is
substantial, up to \$70,000 per incident. Multiple incidents result in
increasing punitive actions on the part of OSHA, and the USPS is looked
on as a single corporate entity. Therefore, the Postal Service must look
at the possibility of refusing to accept a shipment that is deemed
unsafe.

Draft safety guidelines were developed (and distributed to MTAC members
at the meeting) and Mr. Doria requested comments and suggestions.

**Mail Transport Equipment Service Center Network Program**

Paul Seehaver, Executive Director, MTSEC, described the MTE Service
Center network design, the roll-out schedule and early experience in
providing service. The new program provides for a geographically broad
base of subcontractors to provide MTE. The contracts with these
subcontractors requires a high level of quality assurance and a
sophisticated order/fulfillment service that insures order accuracy and
the development of a data base that will enhance future management of
MTE.

Postal Facilities will return MTE to a Mail Transport Equipment Service
Center (MTESC) in a mixed container, where the various pieces will be
separated and inspected for quality and serviceability. The MTESC will
repack (on pallets) and shrink-wrap sack and pouches, trays and sleeves,
and containers for later shipment. Customers will place orders with USPS
Area Mail Transport Equipment Specialist, who will pass the order to a
\"consolidator\" subcontractor, who will notify the appropriate
subcontractor to ship the materials.

There are three standard ordering procedures \-- standing orders (which
are shipped on a regular pre-scheduled basis, usually daily); regular
orders (which will be shipped within 72 hours; and expedited orders
(which are shipped more rapidly). The transport fleet is dedicated to
the MTE effort, and not shared with other products, such a regular mail.

Chicago, New Jersey, Los Angeles and Greensboro are currently providing
service. The plan is to open additional MTESC's in March (Atlanta,
Denver and Memphis), April (Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Washington,
May (Cincinnati, Dallas and St. Louis, June (Detroit, Seattle and
Springfield), July (Des Moines, Jacksonville and Kansas City), and
August (Long Island, Pittsburgh and San Francisco).

The four operating MTESC\'s have experiences to share. There has been
over-ordering of MTE, mainly because customers are not used to receiving
materials promptly. There are fewer standing orders than anticipated,
perhaps because customers must learn to plan ahead. There continues to
be relaying of MTE to customers, which slows delivery and fails to
accurately describe the needs of those customers to the database.
Finally, the USPS has discovered that the amount of damaged and unusable
MTE exceeds original estimates. On the positive side, the quality of
finished goods is improving rapidly, and there is a clear reliability
for standing orders delivery.

During discussion, Mr. Seehaver explained some aspects of the logistics
related to the shipment and retrieval of MTE supplies, noting that there
will be a transition period to make adjustments to the use of dedicated
transport. He also commented on the planned improvement of some MTE for
structural reliability and for use in the robotic environment, such as
the MM and EMM trays, and the probability that some MTE, such as the use
of plastic versus cloth sacks, will continue, mainly for economic
reasons.

**Year 2000 Briefing**

Richard Weirich, VicePresident, Information Systems, updated information
provided at the September MTAC meeting

There are 156 are mission-critical systems (like payroll) and 120 have
been remediated and are back in service. There are 28 systems that will
be completed by the end of March, with the remaining 8 set for
completion by July.

Remediation has been progressing on all information systems. Of 347
systems at the national level, 302 are remediated and tested, 45 are in
progress.

In addition to the software programs, there are about 2,016 pieces of
hardware that require attention. At the moment, 1,609 are Y2K compliant,
with the remaining items scheduled for compliance by March. Also
critical are the mail processing systems and 43 mission-critical systems
have been identified around the country. Thirty-seven are in compliance
and are undergoing tests, and the remaining should be completed by
March.

There are also a large number of locally-managed systems in the field
(e.g., access control, fire protection) and there is a program in place
to bring these into compliance. Although there is no specific schedule
in place for this group of systems, none are critical and none would
cause serious disruption if Y2K problems emerge after the end of the
year.

There are 896 relatively mission-critical suppliers and only 19% have
indicated Y2K readiness. The remaining apparently have no clear Y2K
program and our approach will be to employ the influence we have as an
important customer to at first encourage, then to insist on a positive
effort to bring systems into compliance.

Financially, the FY 1998 budget was \$94 million, and so far in this
fiscal year (through AP4), the Postal Service has spent about \$87
million on the effort.

Finally, there is also contingency planning in place at the component
level to respond to unforeseen disruptions. There must be a fallback
strategy for mission critical systems (such as revenue generation,
movement of mail, employee payroll and supplier payments), even though
there is exceptional confidence that there will be no major problems.
There will also be increased communications with customers and suppliers
concerning their Y2K strategies, especially with regard to year-end
changes in the usual business routine.

**MTAC Year 2000 Working Group**

Josie Pribbenow , Industry Work Group Leader, explained that the mission
of the Working Group is to develop a sustainable mechanism for sharing
information about Y2K concerns between the Postal Service and MTAC
members that will enhance the efforts by all parties to prepare for
continuity of business through the Y2K transition.

The working group intends to provide continuing education for MTAC
members about the USPS Y2K program, to identify Y2K issues and concerns
in the mailing community in general, and to develop an information
resource from the mailing industry viewpoint concerning important
processes such as address management, mail handling (preparation,
acceptance and payment), induction and processing, the logistics of
collection and distribution, and customer support systems. To that end,
the working group has conducted an intense schedule of four
teleconferences, five full-day working group sessions and the conduct of
a vendor survey.

Bob Stephens, USPS Work Group Leader, reviewed the results of the work
groups efforts. He noted that it was clear a comprehensive efforts is
underway, with active participation and support from a broad spectrum of
Postal Service executives, and that real progress was evident. The value
of the independent verification process was clear to the group. Finally,
it is also clear that the process is particularly complex.

In meeting with more than fifteen USPS Headquarters program managers,
the work group took the information provided and created a series of
process flow diagrams that show, by color code, the status of each
process step in each of the major mailer/postal processes (address
management, mail preparation acceptance and payment, induction and
processing, collection and distribution logistics, and customer support
systems).

The color codes reveal several conditions of readiness: Y2K Ready
(gold), remediation complete/awaiting verification (green), remediation
in progress/not yet complete (yellow), no remediation in progress (red),
unknown status (pink), no remediation required (blue).

Using Address Management as an example, Mr. Stephens demonstrated that
each step in the process was identified in detail, charted in a flow
diagram, evaluated with the help of the Postal Service managers, and
assigned a readiness status (color). The diagram then reveals the status
of the Y2K remediation.

Ms. Pribbenow concluded the presentation, discussing the work groups
concerns and recommendations. She noted that commitment on the parts of
both MTAC customers and the Postal Service was a high priority. The work
group recommended creating a public information resource (e.g., a web
page) on which continuous updates are entered, and include a
communications link so that information can flow to and from mailers
about business continuity planning considerations and guidance. The
resource should include information on how customers can test their own
Y2K systems and make it possible for cooperative tests to be made to
insure that the customer interface will function properly. Finally, the
work group should continue its efforts to support its own
recommendations and to identify new issues and concerns.

**Mail.dat Work Group**

Todd Kintopf, Industry Work Group Leader, noted that with the
cooperation of the Operations Process Support, there has been a clear
improvement in deliveries during the fall season. He stated that it is
time to sunset the work group and, within a month, the final
recommendations will be approved by the work group.

Dan Minnick noted that the mail.dat was implemented on January 10th. The
work group had concluded that the next version must respond to the
Postal One requirements and the needs of manifest mailers, who had not
benefited from the current versions. The solution was the creation of
version 98-2 with four new \"suffix\" records, which do not affect the
current users of 98-1. There will be meetings in February to finalize
these additions to the mail.dat program.

**DirectLink Work Group**

Mr. Minnick reported that Postal One is ready to release Phase 1 of the
electronic environment, which would include information access for mail
owner, mailing facility and the Postal Service. The second advantage is
data collection, which allows retrieval of information without relying
on the paper forms previously used. The implementation is in the spring
for a few sites, about fifty sites by mid-summer, and perhaps as many as
200 largest DMU sites. This would provide full electronic capability \--
electronic information access, data in lieu of hard copy, electronic
acceptance and verification, electronic transportation management and
interface, and electronic payment processing.

**Administrative Announcements**

The meeting was recessed until the following day at 8:00 a.m.

**Minutes of the**

**Mailers\' Technical Advisory Committee**

**January 20-21, 1999**

**Grand Hyatt Washington Hotel**

**Washington, D.C.**

John Wargo welcomed the MTAC members and commented on the excellent
annual report in preparation. That report, he said, illustrated the
qualitative accomplishments of the MTAC during the last year. In the
future, he suggested that a quantitative element to each accomplishment
be included, if it is possible to actually demonstrate the net financial
benefit of the programs. He recommended that MTAC begin working with the
USPS Communication Group to allow this quantification on a quarterly
basis.

Mr. Wargo commended the MTAC for its broad interest in the entire
mailing community\'s needs, as evidenced by the success of the Small
Mailer Information Work Group. He expressed appreciation for the value
of MTAC\'s contribution.

**Remarks by the Chief Operating Officer, Clarence Lewis**

Mr. Lewis expressed appreciation for being able to visit MTAC. Noting a
concern, he assured the MTAC that he would continue to work for improved
access to the Postal Service executive level management, especially
during the MTAC meetings.

Mr. Lewis attributed the success of the fall mailing season to
aggressive planning, continuous monitoring of conditions and the
willingness and ability to respond to mailer and field requirements. A
similar planning effort will begin in April and lessons learned will be
applied to this year's fall mailing season. Mr. Lewis indicated that
improvement of Periodicals service is a priority and observed that MTAC
will play a vital role in this effort.

A specific goal on the agenda is improvement of periodicals service, and
the efforts of MTAC are important in this area.

Mr. Lewis indicated that the negotiated agreements between the Postal
Service and the American Postal Workers Union and the Mailhandlers
Union, the first since 1987, includes a fair economic package.

Mr. Lewis recognized the critical role that MTAC plays within the
mailing community as a consumer advocate and a consultant group that
provides valuable technical advice. He observed that the USPS is the
largest and most efficient postal service in the world but must
recognize and respond to major challenges such as technology
improvements, legislative reform, new products and services and the
evolution of the Postal Service as a business.

**Remarks by Deborah Willhite, Senior VP, Government Relations**

Ms. Willhite discussed the pending postal reform legislation in HR 22.
The USPS has developed amendments to the legislation that will support
the postal reform, and still benefit the Postal Service. The legislation
provides for the split of business within the USPS into competitive and
non-competitive segments and, at some future point, for the development
of a private law corporation. There are price caps for the
non-competitive side and equal markup provisions for the competitive
side.

The amendments submitted to the House committee provide for increase
pricing flexibility, sunset equal cost coverage, provide a workable cost
test and raise the ceiling for experimental services, and provide a
reasonable baseline for rate increase, and provides for financing of the
competitive fund. There is also an effort to clearly define how the
legislation would actually work in practice, since legislative
\"intent\" is not always clear from a simple reading of the bill.
Finally, there are some minor issues that require attention relating
more to the administrative functioning of the Postal Service (e.g.,
membership on the board of directors). Additional hearings are scheduled
in the next few months, at which the Postal Service, as well as others
(e.g., UPS, FedEx, some major mailers and others) will be invited to
testify about proposed amendments. It is important for the Postal
Service to aggressively protect its interests during this unusual period
in Congressional history, especially is areas of innovation (e-commerce,
the retail program, the Mexico money order program, Pack & Ship) and in
specific areas such as non-profit rates and the seeming surprise of the
rate increase.

During discussion, Ms. Willhite commented on the x-factor in price cap
calculations since it is arbitrary and allows no rational Postal Service
input. Concerning the private law corporation, Ms. Willhite suggested
that it would eventually take over all competitive business. The
universal service products and services would not be affected or
included. However, there is some confusion as to how that body, audited
by the Inspector General, could obtain investment capital in the
commercial markets that require independent audit.

Concerning postal reform, in general, there seems to be an inevitable
trend to move the Postal Service into a more competitive structure, and
HR 22 seems to be a first step in that direction. The Postal Service
must continue to seek compromise on issues that would tend to restrict
or constrict, and to develop a structure that will survive the
evolutionary nature of the postal reform movement.

**Work Group Update \-- First Class**

Chuck Fattore stated that there were no work groups under his aegis, but
that there had been suggestion regarding QBRM, flats preparation, CAS
issues which may or may not result in formal work groups being
organized.

**Work Group Update \-- Standard B**

**Parcel Service Improvement Work Group**

Phil Parizino reported that the work group had reviewed internal
communications being developed by the Postal Service. There is an
expedited package service video and a series of short videos related to
\"moments of truth\" in delivering Standard A service commitments. The
work group discussed service issues, noting that there seems to be some
disconnect between the Business Service Network and the area of the
Postal Service responsible for solving delivery service problems.

**Parcel Select**

Karen Tucker, Expedited Package Services at USPS, discussed a new
\"brand\" program called Parcel Select. Relying on the provisions of the
current rate structure, this program develops a direct competition with
the major commercial small package delivery services. Parcel Select
offers an alternative service provider and lower rates. The rate
structure is based on the point in the system at which parcels are
deposited (DBMC, DSCF, DDU), providing customers with reduced rates when
deposited closer to the final destination.

Delivery is assured (not guaranteed) within 3 days if deposited at the
BMC level, in 2 days at the SCF level, and 1 day at the delivery unit
level. The service is targeted at commercial shippers \-- single
deposits of more than 100 packages, absence of time critical delivery
requirements, small packages (low weight). The program is aimed at new
business such as catalogs, printing and publishing, e-commerce, direct
mail, video production, manufacturing and wholesale trade. Consolidators
are an important prospect for this service.

The longer term goals of Parcel Select is a discount of about 25% over
commercial services, delivery confirmation, proof of delivery, security
and fraud protection, and real time shipment control information \-- and
ultimately guaranteed delivery.

**Changes to DMM E612.4.6 \-- R-97**

Tom Devine clarified some of the issues related to bound printed matter
deriving from the last rate change, R-97. Except for single piece
mailings (which must weigh at least a pound), Standard B bound printed
matter of less than a pound affords savings. It must be marked as bound
printed matter, special standard, library mail or parcel post.
Unendorsed, undeliverable as addressed mail Standard A is disposed of,
but Standard B is handled as if endorsed \"forwarding service
requested.\"

During the first 12 months, the piece is forwarded within the postal
zone without charge, but postage due to addressee is charged elsewhere.
If addressee refuses piece, it is returned to sender with a charge for
postage to addressee and back to sender. No address change notice is
issued to sender.

After 12 months, the piece is returned to sender with the new address
(or reason for non-delivery) and a single piece rate is charged. The
addressee can refuse any Standard B piece and file a form to discontinue
forwarding of all Standard B mail. The sender then gets the piece back
with a new address. Sender has no choice except to endorse piece
\"change service requested\" and the piece would be returned immediately
with a new address. The exceptional address format (e.g., Janet Doe or
Current Resident) can be used on Standard B and the mail is delivered as
addressed, not forwarded and no returned.

**Rate Increase and Nonprofit Mailers**

Ashley Lyons, Marketing Systems, discussed the results of the adverse
effect of the rate increase on nonprofit mailers. The cause of the
relatively large increase for nonprofits rests in the formula used to
calculate the rate, a product related to cost of managing nonprofit mail
and the markup on commercial class rates. In the past, the calculation
worked out well \-- in 1994, the commercial increases 14% and the
nonprofit increased 3.9%; and in classification reform showed a slight
commercial decrease in rates of 2% and the nonprofit rate dropped 9.4%.
However, the calculation with 97R resulted in a commercial increase of
3.5% and a nonprofit increase of 8.7%. This situation was created when
Congress passed the Revenue foregone Reform Act of 1993, and the formula
became part of that Act.

Although analysis shows that the cost of handling nonprofit mail is less
than the cost of handling commercial mail (by a gross average of about
two cents), there was still an increase in the cost of handling that
mail since the last rate case. Mr. Lyons reiterated that there is no
leeway in the way the formula is calculated, which resulted in the
increase.

The Postal Service is aware, he said, of the discontent in the nonprofit
mailing industry and is amenable to providing the beginning of a forum
to begin discussing the situation. The MTAC may be an appropriate group
to initiate that discussion.

There was a brief, but animated, discussion that included observations
that the cost data is developed within the Postal Service and
distributed on a limited basis to the public, that the Postal Service
might provide some explanation of the rationale for costing nonprofit
mail, and that postal reform might well include some mechanism to reduce
the impact of rate changes on the nonprofit industry.

**Work Group Update \-- Periodicals**

**Periodical Service**

Tom Tulley reported that the work group used a process management
approach to survey facilities. The group met with area VP\'s to update
them on progress. There is dramatic improvement in areas that have used
process management. There is a data collection effort underway to make a
progress report possible. The work group is planning additional programs
for the Postal Forum. Finally, for the IS group, there is a measurement
program to demonstrate the ability of the Postal Service to track a
periodical through the system. Mr. Tulley invited qualified mailers to
participate.

**Publications Watch**

Joanne Miller reported that the work group had conducted numerous
meetings with field offices and other interested management. The thread
of opinion that comes out of these meetings is that the work group can
do little to be a communicator of the problem or to even identify the
problem and arrive at recommendations for solution. The Publication
Watch can identify when a publication arrives at the delivery unit and
when it delivered to the home, but that is not sufficient information to
solve the problem. However, Publication Watch can be a tool that can
help solve the problem if other measures are put in place. Among other
things, the publisher can enter the system with a password to check on
delivery information. If a problem is identified, the publisher can
contact special teams in the Postal Service to attempt to provide some
relief.

**Strategic Executive Exchange Program**

Jack Widener noted that, although this program had been absorbed into
Art Porwick\'s bailiwick, this work group had proposed a week-long
university-based program. Opinions emerged that this approach would not
be viable, and an alternative was designed. The new program will be
two-day session in a retreat atmosphere, run by a professional
facilitator to maintain interactivity among the participants. One aspect
will be to develop personal relationships and networking contacts.

**Work Group Update \-- Addressing**

**Increase Coding of Colleges and Universities**

Noting that colleges and universities are not all nonprofit
organizations (there is about a 50-50 split), Tom Roylance noted that
these institutions are interested in a broad range of Postal Service
products and services.

The work group has identified several areas of consideration including
six address formats for consideration. There needs to be analysis of zip
codes (there are 218 unique zip codes for universities currently
identified). The address format should be compatible with private and
USPS databases.

Commercial mailers are particularly interested in a solution that will
allow prompt delivery to students and faculty and the ability to obtain
discounts. Although using a post office box number initially appeared to
be a solution, the problems of proprietary use of PO boxes by the USPS
makes it difficult to implement universally since there are private
subcontractors and university postal system involved.

**Work Group Update \-- Engineering**

**Maximizing Value of Planet Code**

Paul Bakshi began his report with a description of Confirm, which allows
a mailer to track mail by destination (outgoing mail) and origin (reply
mail). Since September, hardware for Confirm had been deployed at 60
plants, not increased to 271 plants with completion of the first phase
within about a month. Completion promises full origin confirm coverage
and at least 70% destination tracking. By the end of summer, 1,500 more
sites should be on the system.

There are three options for data retrieval \-- and FTP download to the
mailer, password access on the Planet Code section of the Postal Service
web site, and e-mail. In the future, for security, mailers may be able
to visit the Postal Service facility to download data directly.

Confirm is available for letter mail only, but by the end of the year
flats should included.

**DSAS Enhancements**

Rick Kropski explained that the DSAS process experienced a slight
displacement because of management changes in the Postal Service. MTAC
leadership intervened and the system continued to operate. Some changes
were made, including a geographical relocation to NCSC. The dislocation
caused a three-month setback in the schedule but the development process
continued.

Implementation begins with a test (February to April) by volunteer
mailers with rollout to 29 BMCs and 81 SCFs in July. By September, most
facilities should be in place. The old and new system will run in
parallel for a period of time (unfortunately including the busy fall
mailing season), which may result in some logistic problems. The old
DSAS system is not Y2K compliant and will be terminated before the end
of the year.

Providing some fall season statistics, Mr. Kropski pointed out that, at
the BMC level, 22% of appointments were no-shows, 27% were cancelled and
4% were unscheduled. At the SCF, 29% were no shows, 17% were
cancellations and 16% unscheduled.

During discussion, there was some question about whether the DSAS system
was really an appropriate service of the Postal Service as it now
exists, although the integration with other programs such as mail.dat
make suggest a real need.

**Presort Optimization**

Joe Lubenow explained that a Federal Register notice combining the
5-digit pallet plus package reallocation to provide further penetration
into the system (and both may be optional for the 1999 time frame). The
Postal Service is also considering allowing periodicals to avoid
creating additional sacks when this option is used.

**Information-Rich Mailpiece Barcodes**

No meeting was scheduled, Mr. Lubenow said, because action is somewhat
dependent on progress in the Planet Code work group. In time, a project
will be to define the information to be included in the barcode and to
determine the technical requirements of printing the barcode.

Robert Lindsay concluded the work group reports by noting that future
action will include creating a flat sorting work group to look at new
developments in equipment specifications. There will also be a work
group to look at package integrity, since there is still an unacceptable
level of broken packages and flats that move through the system.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 12:05 p.m.

Mr. Schick acknowledged the service of Yvonne Reigle and Chris Rebello,
and expressed his appreciation for the confidence of MTAC in electing
his to be the Industry Chair for the next year. He said that meeting
information would be available in mid-October.

**Adjournment**

The meeting adjourned at noon.