**Highlights of the**

**Mailers\' Technical Advisory Committee**

**August 4-5, 2004**

###### U. S. Postal Service Headquarters

**Benjamin Franklin Room**

**Washington, D.C.**

**First Day**

###### WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 4

**Welcome/Introduce New Members**

**Bob O'Brien, Chair, Industry**

**Marty Emery, Vice Chair, Postal**

Bob O'Brien announced a new Work Group #90, Improving the Change of
Address System for Colleges and Universities, led by Thom Roylance and
Jim Wilson..

Bob O'Brien also announced that CASS software and Merlin had been
harmonized so that CASS would accept valid 9999 coding, reject invalid
9999 coding, and Merlin would conform to the same criteria.

Marty Emery welcomed a new member organization, Custom Publishing
Council, (Lori Rosen, Executive Director) and new member organization
representatives -- Celena NuQuay, American Forest & Paper Association;
Nicole Bowman, Fulfillment Management Association; and Chet King,
Florida Gift Fruit Shippers Association. New MTAC representatives
include Bruce Woodward and Carol McCarthy, Custom Publishing Council;
Dennis Farley, Red Tag News Publications, Inc.; Erv Drewek, Agricultural
Circulation Association; Bernie Schraml, Fulfillment Management
Association; Stephen Hart, Envelope Manufacturers Association; Brian
Euclid, Chamber of Commerce of the United States; and Tony Fowler,
Florida Gift Fruit Shippers Association. Mr. Emery announced a new MTAC
Steering Committee member from the Postal Service, Pritha Mehra.

**Postal Automated Redirection System (PARS)**

**Dave Williams, Mgr. Systems**

**Integration Support, Operations**

Dave Williams described the Postal Automated Redirection System (PARS)
that will automate, for the first time, the redirection of mail pieces
for which change of address orders have been submitted or are
undeliverable as addressed (UAA) for any other reason. About 16% of U.S.
residents move every year, resulting in 43 million change of address
orders affecting 2 billion pieces of mail.

Tested at three locations for two years, deployment of Phase I -- 86
system sites, 49 Processing and Distribution (P&D) Centers, 15 remote
encoding centers and the National Customer Support Center \-- should be
complete by November 2004.

The equipment scans mail class, mailer endorsements and both return and
recipient addresses at a rate of 30,000 pieces an hour. Finally, PARS
will automate the creation and processing of Form 3547, which has
required thousands of hours of manual handling in the past.

The service quality and efficiency of PARS depends on the mail piece
preparation -- return address at the top left, endorsements in specified
locations, and readable print.

[Please click here to view the
presentation](../../MTAC0804/MTAC%20MAILPIECE%20DESIGN%20FOR%20PARS%20AUGUST%204%202004.PPT)

**National Postal Forum (NPF)**

**Marty Emery, Mgr. Customer & Industry Marketing**

Marty Emery announced a greatly expanded Postal Forum (September 19-22).
The Postmaster General will deliver the keynote on Monday; Tuesday will
center around a program on automation, technology and new products and
services; and Tim Russert will be featured on Wednesday's program. There
will be a number of special symposiums, including marketing, remittance
mail, packaging, government, periodicals and small business, as well as
13 business tracks and over a hundred workshops (more than half of which
are brand new), as well as six professional certificate programs.
Networking opportunities include a golf tournament, two exhibit hall
receptions, a PCC gala event, and a closing ceremony at the
Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. The web site is
[www.npf.org](http://www.npf.org/).

[Please click here to view the
presentation](../../MTAC0804/NPF%20MTAC%20Briefing%20110p.ppt)

**Automated Package Processing System (APPS)**

**Scott Bombaugh, Mgr. Material Handling, USPS Engineering**

Scott Bombaugh described APPS, a system that will handle packages and
bundles from near letter size to a single piece up to 25 pounds,
measuring up to 22"x18"x15. Seventy-four installations should be in
place by the fall of 2005.

For bundles, APPS relies on optical character recognition (OCR) to read
addresses and optional endorcement lines (OELs). Current read rates for
bundles are 80%. OCR scan problems are caused by obscuring of print by
straps and banding, polywrap seams, polywrap opacity and specular
reflection, and the tightness of the plastic against the address. An
upcoming Federal Register notice will address requirements for polywrap
materials, placement of the address label and an optional bundle label.
Other issues being considered (but not included in the upcoming Federal
Register notice) \--a special barcode, use of OCR-friendly fonts and
type size, addition of redundant information in the OEL code for
confirmation and elimination of dashes.

[Please click here to view the
presentation](../../MTAC0804/APPS_without_images%20130p.PPT)

**NCOA^LINK^**

**Jan Caldwell, Mgr. Address Management**

Jan Caldwell announced that the NCOA^LINK^ program is proceeding on
schedule and that the earlier NCOA data process would end in the fall
(by September 30, 2004). There are currently a number of licensed
participants (11 certified interface developers, 6 licensed software
distributors, 4 full service bureau licenses, and 5 limited service
bureau licenses) and more in the pipeline. Reports from users have been
positive -- match rates are similar and acceptable, and throughput has
been satisfactory.

[Please click here to view the
presentation](../../MTAC0804/ncoalink%20mtac%20-%20230p.ppt)

**Address Quality Enhancement (WG #88**

**now called "Barriers to Address Quality")**

**Jody Berenblatt, Rick Arvonio & Jan Caldwell**

Jan Caldwell noted that the mission of the work group was to identify
barriers to quality addresses and barcodes, and not to devise solutions.
The name of the group has been changed to reflect this fact. The basic
goal is to identify and prioritize barriers that constrain the
achievement of the 90% delivery point sequence barcoding target set by
USPS by the end of 2005. The work group has identified 26 major problem
areas and the next step is to prioritize the issues. The next committee
meeting is set for September 8. The final priority list should be ready
to be reported at the next MTAC meeting

[Please click here to view the
presentation](../../MTAC0804/88a%20%20%20%20%20245p.ppt)

**Enhancing Confirm (WG \# 80)**

**Martin Bernstein and Vinnie DeAngelis**

Martin Bernstein announced major personnel changes on the Postal Service
side, with Paul Bakshi and Pritha Mehra moving on to new positions. He
introduced the new Postal Service work group leader, Vincent DeAngelis.
Mr. DeAngelis commented that the work group agreed to focus on reports,
the certification process and a more proactive communications process to
provide information to customers. The Confirm Reports, originally
launched in October 2003, do not yet meet the business needs of
customers. USPS -- with work group concurrence --is in the process of
redesigning the Confirm Delivery vs. Service Goal and In Home Window
reports to improve overall performance in terms of data accuracy, ease
of use and processing time. The new reports are targeted for completion
by October 2004. Mailers also reported on some recent problems with
receiving late data due to a redirection of the Confirm data flow. USPS
committed to addressing this issue immediately and resolving this
problem as soon as possible.

[Please click here to view the
presentation](../../MTAC0804/ConfirmMTACOverviewAug4-04-DeAngelis%20%20305p.ppt)

**Parcel Delivery Performance Measurement Effectiveness (WG \# 82)**

**Chris Finley and Bob Fisher**

Bob Fisher reported on the progress the work group is making to improve
use of data with improved service as an end product \-- Data Warehouse
is up and running within the Postal Service, to be made available to
customers in September; new shipment quality reports that match
submission of mail with the concomitant 8135 have been implemented; DDU
and BMC package service has reached new highs because of better data
use. Mr. Fisher mentioned action items \-- shipment arrival quality
measurements, incentives to improve service, and improved reports to
support all mail pieces and support the 8135 scans, a process to handle
start-the-clock when no 8135 is submitted and review of the BMC
start-the-clock procedures. Target implementation of recommendations is
the Fall mailing season, after which the work group will sunset.

[Please click here to view the presentation](../../MTAC0804/323mtac.PPT)

**Mail Irregularity Feedback (WG #55 now called**

**"Mail Improvement Feedback")**

**Joyce McGarvy, Susan Redman and Pat Killeen**

Joyce McGarvy announced that the name of the work group had been changed
to Mail Improvement Feedback. Pat Killeen discussed next steps \-- a
national training program in late August that will emphasize the
benefits of the system to Postal employees, as well as customers; an
internal test during August focusing on data collection and data entry,
issue status, resolution management and the BSN/BMEU data exchange
process, deployment beginning in September to be completed by November.
Ms. McGarvy noted that the work group would sunset, and a new follow-on
work group would look at reports, the ownership issues, and the general
functioning in the early months.

[Please click here to view the
presentation](../../MTAC0804/AUG%20MTAC.ppt)

**First-Class Business Mail Measurement System (WG #83)**

**Ken Metroff and Maryellen Clarke**

Maryellen Clarke reported that the work group has identified Confirm as
the most appropriate solution to First-Class Business Mail service
measurement. The work group will cooperate with Work Group #80
(Enhancing Confirm) to provide a vehicle for a national measurement
system that will identify mail service problems. The current work group
will sunset and a follow-on work group will participate in the
implementation process once Work Group #80 has completed its work on
reports and certification.

[Please click here to view the
presentation](../../MTAC0804/MTAC_%2383%20General_Session_Aug04.ppt)

**Second Day**

###### WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5

**Announcements**

**Joyce McGarvy, Industry Vice Chair**

Joyce McGarvy announced that Steering Committee elections resulted in
the following: Sue Taylor (First-Class), Val Scansaroli (Periodicals),
Anita Pursley (Standard), Jim Bowler (Package Services), Jim Schemmel
(Address Quality), and Peter Moore (Engineering and Technology).

Bob O'Brien invited Ernie Harris to accept the unanimous appreciation of
the MTAC members for the outstanding support he has provided since he
began his service.

**UPU Addressing Standard S42**

**Ruth Jones, Program Mgr. Intelligent Mail & Address Quality (IMAQ),**

**Mabel Grein, IT San Mateo-International Business Service Support
Center and**

**Joe Lubenow**

Ruth Jones described the Postal Service's participation in the Universal
Postal Union effort to develop an international addressing standard.
Established in 1874, there are 189 member countries. Through the UPU's
Standards Board, the POST\*Code Team is charged with creating an address
standard that can be used by any member country.

An address standard is a specification that establishes a common
language and a very precise description of the composition of an address
that can serve as a regulation, rule or guideline. Standards are a
prerequisite to efficient postal operations on the national and
especially on the international level.

The building blocks of a standard address template are the "elements"
that are used to fill the template, relying on what is called "rendition
instructions." An element is the smallest meaningful part of an address
-- e.g., first name, last name, street number, apartment number,
state/region, codes. The template is a map of how to place the elements
to create a meaningful address that can be used by any member country.
The rendition instructions designate elements that are mandatory and
others that may be optionally applied

Joe Lubenow discussed the IDEAlliance standardization program, Address
Data Interchange Specification (ADIS), developed in parallel with the
UPU's system. Fully compatible with the UPU's templates and rendition
instructions, it is focused on national and international business mail.
Mr. Lubenow noted that standards provide remarkable benefits to both the
Postal Service and the mailers, including the idea that, if mailers
maintained addresses in a standard format (that is, at the element
level), creation of mailings would be easier and less costly, and it
would be much less expensive to integrate the Postal Service's various
electronic systems with the mailer's own systems.

[Please click here to view the
presentation](../../MTAC0804/MTAC%20Aug%2005%20805a.ppt)

[Please click here to view the
presentation](../../MTAC0804/MTAC-UPU-ADIS-2004%20%20joe.ppt)

**Coding Accuracy Support System (CASS) Refinements & Awareness (WG \#
89)**

**Joe Lubenow, Ruth Jones and Wayne Orbke**

Ruth Jones reported on this new work group, which will evaluate the CASS
program -- goals, methods and results from the perspective of removing
barriers to address quality related to CASS. Working in cooperation with
Work Group #88 (Address Quality Enhancement now renamed "Barriers to
Address Quality"), the work group will look at consistency, the role of
industry, and the relationship of CASS to other address quality tools.

**Improving the Drop Shipment Process (New WG \# 87)**

**Anita Pursley and Cynthia Mallonee**

Anita Pursley commented that the work group has focused on process and
system improvements for drop shipment and assessment of the impact of
the Department of Transportation service hours change that increased the
number of driver hours allowed, but decreased the total hours on duty
(which now includes loading/off-loading time as part of the allowance).

A new drop ship appointment system, FAST (Facility Access and Shipment
Tracking), will eventually replace DSAS. Cynthia Mallonee described
FAST, which will eventually encompass all mail incoming to the Postal
Service so that accurate and complete facility mail arrival profiles can
be created. The FAST Internet site will allow mailers to submit more
detailed information about their mailings (makeup, sorts, etc.) that
will allow more efficient handling of shipments. FAST will be assessable
through PostalOne!, and will be capable of taking mailing information
from mail.dat. All FAST users will be required to register with
PostalOne!, though FAST users need not be full PostalOne! participants.
The work group will design a pilot test, develop a time line and
identify test participants.

[Please click here to view the
presentation](../../MTAC0804/MTAC%20Aug%205%20900a.ppt)

**Consistency of Mailing Standards& Business Mail Acceptance (WG #86)**

**Sue Taylor, Pritha Mehra & Sherry Freda**

Sue Taylor reported that the work group has reviewed most of the
inconsistencies identified in mailing standards and in business mail
acceptance. The focus has been on the DMM (currently under revision),
address correction service, Merlin acceptance, and communications.
Communications vehicles have been identified, enhancements discussed and
the work group will now look at developing a communications plan.

[Please click here to view the
presentation](../../MTAC0804/MTAC%20Week%20%20Aug%205%20%20920a.ppt)

**PostalOne! Postage Payment & Statements -- Approach & Design (WG \#
84)**

**Dan Minnick and Larry Goodman**

Larry Goodman announced that the software to eliminate the legacy permit
system will be released on 8 August. He commented that the vision for
Postal One! continues to be to streamline the acceptance process, to
create visibility for mailings, and to create an electronic process for
documentation and postage statement processing. Mail.dat will continue
to be supported for those mailers who use that system. Dan Minnick
stated that the next step is to look at periodicals at the next meeting,
which may be scheduled during the Postal Forum.

**Flat Mail Preparation Optimization (WG \# 81)**

**Joe Lubenow and Marc McCrery**

Marc McCrery discussed work group accomplishments -- the sorting scheme
that allows consolidation of two or more 3-digit ZIP Codes within a
single 3-digit bundle consistent with our processing schemes;
facilitation of moving certain firm bundles directly to destination
delivery unit (DDU) pallets which avoids an internal sort; a number of
proposals for the Automated Package Processing System (APPS) process
that will be presented in a Federal Register Notice shortly (dealing
with visibility of the address label and the banding and shrinkwrap
materials used); and new optional endorsement line (OEL) designs that
are now being tested.

[Please click here to view the
presentation](../../MTAC0804/flat_op%233%20Marc%201025a.ppt)

## Adjournment 

## 

## The meeting adjourned at 10:30 a.m.