# Presentation: 761792

## Restoration of Standard Letters & Periodicals (Letters and Flats)to New OrleansUpdate

**MTAC – May 18, 2006**

**Notes:**
Here this morning to talk about  restoration of Standard Letters and Periodical (letters and Flats to New Orleans)

Before I do that, I think it’s important to take a very brief look back to August of last year when Hurricane Katrina rocked all of our worlds.  
My focus will be primarily on New Orleans as that continues to impact us today.

## Postal Operations Cease in South Florida

**Thursday**
**August 25, 2005**

**Postal Operations Cease in South Florida**

**Time Line Of Events**

**Notes:**
On August 25th Hurricane Katrina make landfall in Florida and forced us to cease Postal Operations in that area.

## Louisiana Declares State of Emergency

**Louisiana Declares State of Emergency**

**Friday & Saturday**
**August 26 - 27, 2005**

**Time Line Of Events**

**Notes:**
A day later the center of Katrina moves away from Florida and gained new strength heading for the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, and the Florida panhandle.

The Governor of Louisiana declared a state of emergency.

## Time Line Of Events

**New Orleans Orders Voluntary Evacuation**
**Postal Operations Cease in New Orleans**
**Hurricane Katrina hits east of New Orleans**

**Sunday-Monday**
**August 28-29, 2005**

**Time Line Of Events**

**Notes:**
On August 28th, President Bush declared a state of emergency for Louisiana and New Orleans residents began evacuation procedures.

The Postal Service ceased operations in New Orleans.

A day later, on August 29th, Hurricane Katrina made landfall east of New Orleans. 

As if that  wasn’t enough to deal with...we got even more....

## ...first Katrina...then Rita...then Wilma

**Time Line Of Events**

**Notes:**
First Katrina

Then Rita

Then Wilma

## Time Line Of Events

**Greatest Impact Was In New Orleans**
**Embargoed Standard & Periodicals **
**Into ZIPs 700, 701, 704 & 706**

| Periodicals and Standard Mail Embargo | September 
2005 | May
2006 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 700 | All | 70032, 70038, 70040,
70041, 70043, 70050, 70075, 70082, 70083, 70085, 70091, & 70092 |
| 701 | All | All |
| 704 | All | Restored |
| 706 | All | 70631, 70632, & 70643 |

**Time Line Of Events**

**Notes:**
As all of you know, the greatest impact from the hurricane’s was in New Orleans. And, the levee’s breaking in New Orleans made matters worse.  

The situation was catastrophic enough that we were forced, in September, to place an embargo on Standard Letters and Flats  and Periodicals Mail.  All 5-digit ZIP Codes in 700, 701, 704, and 706 were embargoed.  We did this to limit the mail going into New Orleans to only essential mail such as social security checks, insurance claim forms, pharmaceuticals, etc.
The essential volume alone posed challenges because we were faced with a very high amount of non-deliverable pieces.

We had no way of knowing who was actually receiving mail or not.  Whether at a physical address or picking up at a satellite location.

So, this leads to where we are today – almost nine months later.  The embargo today impacts 12 5-digit ZIP Codes in 700, all 5-digits in 701, and 3 5-digits in 706.  

## Time Line Of Events

**Postal Operations begin in New Orleans**

**Friday**
**April 28, 2006**

**Notes:**
A massive restoration program has been underway in New Orleans.  In fact, on April 28th, the Postmaster General announced that Postal Operations would begin again in New Orleans.

We all know the role mail plays in establishing a sense of normalcy in peoples lives.   Bottom line, people like receiving mail every day.  We’ve heard from the New Orleans resident that they would like to start getting their periodicals and other daily mail again.  And, we know that all of you are eager to start sending your Periodicals and Standard Letters back into New Orleans.  

## New Orleans Mail Restoration Program announced

**New Orleans Mail Restoration Program announced**

**Monday**
**May 1, 2006**

**Time Line Of Events**

**Notes:**
So, our recovery team worked closely with Address Management to establish a way to allow you to begin mailing Standard Letters and Periodicals (letters and flats) back into New Orleans.  

We knew what ever process or program we established, it had to ensure the volume of non-deliverable mail was kept to a bare minimum.  So, we established an address cleansing program which was announced on May 1st.

## New Orleans Address Cleansing Program

**Embargo in place to limit the volume of non-deliverable mail**
**Initially no way to identify who was picking up their mail and who was getting delivery**
**Put aggressive process in place with carriers to identify those actually receiving mail**
**Carriers flagged all addresses not receiving mail as Non-Delivery (No-Stat)**
**AMS updated systems mid-March to reflect Non-Delivery Status**
**Non-Delivery volume needed to come out of the equation to allow Standard & Periodical Mail back into New Orleans**

**Situation**

**Notes:**
As you know, the embargo limited the volume of non-deliverable mail going into New Orleands.

Even with the embargo in place we had no way of identifying who was actually receiving delivery – either at a residence, or by picking up at a satellite location.

Our letter carriers came into play by identifying those addresses receiving mail delivery and flagging addressed not receiving mail as non-delivery..

By mid-March all addresses not receiving delivery were flagged in our Address Management System as non-delivery.

We knew the non-delivery addressed needed to come out of the equation if we were to allow you to mail Standard Letters and Periodicals (letters and flats) back into New Orleans. 

## New Orleans Address Cleansing Program

**Had to be universal and fair for all mailers – small and large**
**Must identify eligible addresses that could be mailed and delivered – keeping non-deliverables to the bare minimum**
**Easy for BMEU to determine if prepared according to exception guidelines**

**New Orleans Address Cleansing Program**

**Challenges**

**Notes:**
Once we realized we needed to remove the non-deliverable addresses from the equation we decided to develop an address cleansing program.  That in itself presented challenges. 
The biggest challenge being to develop and implement a new program in a 2-week timeframe.

And, make the program universal and a fair solution for all mailers – small and large.

Again, non-deliverables had to be minimized...and any guidelines or processes had to be easy for our business mail entry unit employees to determine if mailings were prepared in line with the instructions.

## New Orleans Address Cleansing Process

**Embargo remains in effect **
**Exception for Periodicals (Letters and Flats) and Standard Letters announced on May 1 **
**Mailer MUST utilize USPS address cleansing program**
**Same exception for Standard Flats targeted for June 1**

**Notes:**
So here are the guidelines:

The embargo remains in effect as posted on usps.com

We are making an exception to the embargo, which we announced on May 1st for Standard Letters and Periodicals (letters and flats)

The exception process, requires mailers to utilize the address cleansing process developed by Address Management.

We plan to open the exception process up for Standard Flats on June 1st.

## New Orleans Address Cleansing Program

**Process**

**Register with National Customer Support Center**
**Obtain a RIBBS account**
**Upload file containing header record and   11-digit point value for each address**
**NCSC processes file and returns files via RIBBS with a yes or no regarding each        11-digit**
**Advise BMEU mailing contains NOL embargoed ZIPs and identify container**

**Notes:**
So what does the process involve:
For purposes of time, I’m going to give the very basics.  However, I have left detailed instructions and frequently asked questions on the registration table outside the doors for those interested.  

First, you must register with the National Customer Support Center in Memphis and obtain a RIBBS account.

You can then upload your file, which must contain a header record and 11-digit values for all addresses within the embargoed ZIPs. 

Address Management will process your file and return it to you via RIBBS with a yes or no regarding whether you can mail to a particular 11-digit address or not.

When you enter your mailing at one of our acceptance units you must advise the clerk that your mailing contains mail for the NOL embargoed ZIPs and identify the container that mail is in for verification purposes.

For those who have questions about the process or particular concerns, Jan Caldwell and I will be available to talk with you during the break.

## New Orleans Address Cleansing Program

**Program Status As Of May 16**

**204 Registered Accounts on RIBBS**
**330 Files Submitted From 44 Mailers **
**252 Files Successfully Processed**
**78 Returned Due To Errors**
**986,440 Records Processed**
**351,968 Flagged Yes or Deliverable**
**396,783 Flagged No or Non-Deliverable**
**237,689 Flagged as C- Do Not Mail – NCOA processing required**

**Notes:**
Let me close by giving a status on the program usage as of Tuesday.

We have 204 Registered accounts on RIBBS

330 files were submitted from 44 mailers

252 of those files were successfully processed

We’ve processed over 986 thousand records

Of those records over 351 thousand were flagged as yes or deliverable
Over 396 thousand were flagged as no or Non-deliverable
And over 237 thousand were flagged as C/No meaning a change of address was filed  and the record requires NCOA processing, therefore it is non-deliverable.

## NON-DELIVERABLE VOLUME

**Program Status As Of May 15**

**NON-DELIVERABLE VOLUME**
**64.3% OF RECORDS PROCESSED**

**Notes:**
Given the number you just saw it’s important to note that of the 986 thousand plus records processed, 64.3 percent were identified as non-deliverable.  
That means that  over 634 thousand pieces of mail if entered into the system would be non-deliverable.  
Not only is that costly and inefficient to both of us, but it clogs the system and the majority of it will end up as waste.   Our goal with this process is to allow you to get mail to your customers who can actually receive it.  

## Questions regarding the 
Address Cleansing Process 
can be directed to the National Customer Support Center at:
1-877-640-0724

**Address Cleansing Process **
**can be directed to the National Customer Support Center at:**
**1-877-640-0724**

**Notes:**
If anyone has questions, Jan Caldwell and I will be available to address them during the break, or you can contact the National Customer Support Center at 877-640-0724.

Don’t forget to pick up a hand out as you leave.  

Thanks!