Delayed Mail 

Validation

Audit Report

Report Number 

NO-AR-17-011

August 10, 2017
Highlights Background

The U.S. Postal Service considers mail to be delayed when it 

is not processed in time to meet the established delivery day. 

Mail processing facilities are required to complete daily counts 

and self-report on-hand mail, delayed mail, late arriving mail, 

and mail processed after the processing cut-off time. Mail 

processing personnel are to complete daily mail counts by 

7 a.m.

Mail processing facilities use the Mail Condition Reporting 

System (MCRS) to report their daily mail count, providing 

the Postal Service with a standardized national view of mail 

conditions at processing facilities. MCRS information is 

available to management officials at all levels for analysis, 

forecasting, and planning.

We judgmentally selected eight Processing and Distribution 

Centers (P&DC) for review based on changes in their delayed 

mail reported from fiscal year (FY) 2014 to FY 2016. We 

conducted our observations at the Brooklyn, NY; Dallas, 

TX; Greenville, SC; Louisville, KY; Mobile, AL; Omaha, NE; 

Southern Maryland; and South Suburban, IL, P&DCs in 

February 2017. 

Our objective was to determine the accuracy of the 

Postal Service’s delayed mail reporting.

What the OIG Found

We found that the Postal Service was not accurately reporting 

delayed mail. 

We determined that five of the eight P&DCs we visited did 

not accurately count on-hand delayed mail. Specifically, we 

determined that there were more than 572,000 on-hand delayed 

mailpieces during our two days of observations; however, 

the P&DCs only reported about 369,000 on-hand delayed 

mailpieces (or about 64 percent) in their MCRS reports for 

that time period. This occurred because employees were not 

properly supervised and trained in counting and reporting 

delayed mail.

In addition, P&DC management did not have procedures in 

place to periodically reconcile MCRS entries to actual on-hand 

mail volume to ensure accuracy. According to Headquarters 

Network Operations management, there was no formal training 

for conducting daily mail counts and reporting delayed mail.

Additionally, the eight P&DCs did not include all late arriving 

mail in their MCRS reports. According to the Postal Service’s 

Mail History Tracking System (MHTS), the eight P&DCs had 

about 1.8 million late arriving mailpieces during the week 

of our observations; however, the facilities only included 

121,000 of them (or less than 7 percent) in their MCRS reports. 

We projected that nationally from March 1, 2016, through 

February 28, 2017, mail processing facilities underreported late 

arriving mail by about 2 billion mailpieces. 

Five of the eight P&DCs we 

visited did not accurately count 

on-hand delayed mail.

Delayed Mail Validation

Report Number NO-AR-17-011 1
Further, the eight P&DCs did not report all mail processed after 

the established cut-off time for completing mail processing 

in their MCRS reports. Based on data in the Postal Service’s 

Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW), the P&DCs processed 

about 7.5 million mailpieces after their cut-off time during the 

week of our observations; however, they only included about 

868,000 mailpieces (or less than 12 percent) in their MCRS 

reports. This mail is not necessarily delayed; however, it should 

be included in the MCRS report as a processing plan failure. 

Mail processing facilities are not required to report information 

from MHTS or EDW in their MCRS reports; however, using this 

information would provide P&DC management with a more 

accurate view of current mail conditions. 

When mail condition reports are not accurate, management 

uses incorrect information to make decisions on staffing, 

mail processing equipment use, preventative maintenance, 

and the transportation of mail. These decisions affect the 

Postal Service’s ability to meet its mail service commitments. 

Headquarters Enterprise Analytics management said they 

are planning to replace the MCRS with the Informed Visibility 

system to capture daily mail conditions. An initial pilot has been 

conducted and as of August 2017, the next pilot is on hold 

while the Postal Service simplifies mail condition calculations. 

We plan to look at the Informed Visibility system’s delayed mail 

reporting in future audit work.

What the OIG Recommended

We recommended management require formal training for all 

personnel involved in supervising, conducting, and reporting 

daily mail counts; ensure P&DC management periodically 

reviews the accuracy of MCRS reports; and improve the MCRS 

by integrating data from the Mail History Tracking System and 

Enterprise Data Warehouse.

The eight P&DCs did not report 

all mail processed after the 

established cut-off time for 

completing mail processing in 

their MCRS reports.

Delayed Mail Validation

Report Number NO-AR-17-011 2
Transmittal Letter

August 10, 2017

MEMORANDUM FOR: ROBERT CINTRON

VICE PRESIDENT, NETWORK OPERATIONS

 

FROM: Michael L. Thompson

Deputy Assistant Inspector General 

 for Mission Operations

SUBJECT: Audit Report – Delayed Mail Validation 

(Report Number NO-AR-17-011)

This report presents the results of our Delayed Mail Validation Audit (Project Number 

17XG014NO000).

We appreciate the cooperation and courtesies provided by your staff. If you have any 

questions or need additional information, please contact Margaret B. McDavid, Director, 

Network Processing, or me at 703-248-2100.

Attachment

cc: Postmaster General

 Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President

 Corporate Audit and Response Management

Delayed Mail Validation

Report Number NO-AR-17-011 3
Table of Contents

Cover

Highlights......................................................................................................1

Background................................................................................................1

What the OIG Found..................................................................................1

What the OIG Recommended....................................................................2

Transmittal Letter..........................................................................................3

Findings........................................................................................................5

Introduction ................................................................................................5

Summary....................................................................................................6

On-Hand Delayed Mail...............................................................................7

Late Arriving Mail .......................................................................................9

Plan Failure..............................................................................................10

Planned Changes to Delayed Mail Reporting..........................................11

Recommendations......................................................................................12

Management’s Comments .......................................................................12

Evaluation of Management’s Comments .................................................12

Appendices.................................................................................................14

Appendix A: Additional Information ..........................................................15

 Background ...........................................................................................15

 Objective, Scope, and Methodology ......................................................15

 Prior Audit Coverage..............................................................................17

Appendix B: Management’s Comments...................................................18

Contact Information ....................................................................................21

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Report Number NO-AR-17-011 4
Findings

The Postal Service considers 

mail to be delayed when it is not 

processed in time to meet the 

established delivery day. Mail 

processing facilities are required 

to complete daily counts and 

self-report on-hand mail, delayed 

mail, late arriving mail, and 

plan failure.

Introduction

This report presents the results of our self-initiated audit of Delayed Mail Validation (Project Number 17XG014NO000). Our 

objective was to determine the accuracy of the U.S. Postal Service’s delayed mail reporting. See Appendix A for additional 

information about this audit.

The Postal Service considers mail to be delayed when it is not processed in time to meet the established delivery day. Mail 

processing facilities are required to complete daily counts and self-report on-hand mail,1

 delayed mail, late arriving mail,2 and plan 

failure3

. Mail processing personnel are to complete daily mail counts by 7 a.m.

Mail processing facilities use the Mail Condition Reporting System (MCRS) to report their daily mail count, providing the 

Postal Service with a standardized national view of mail conditions at processing facilities. MCRS information is available to 

management officials at all levels for analysis, forecasting, and planning. The amount of delayed mail is not included in the Postal 

Service’s National Performance Assessment as a performance indicator.

We judgmentally selected eight Processing and Distribution Centers (P&DC)4

 for review based on changes in their delayed mail 

reported from fiscal year (FY) 2014 to FY 2016. See Table 1 for the P&DCs selected for review.

Table 1. P&DCs Selected for Review

BROOKLYN, NY, P&DC

DALLAS, TX, P&DC

SOUTH SUBURBAN, IL, P&DC

SOUTHERN MARYLAND P&DC 

RURAL P&DCs

GREENVILLE, SC, P&DC

LOUISVILLE, KY, P&DC 

MOBILE, AL, P&DC

OMAHA, NE, P&DC

URBAN P&DCs

Source: Office of Inspector General (OIG) analysis and Census Bureau.

1 Total inventory of all available mail.

2 Volume of mail received after the latest time the facilities can process it to meet service standards.

3 Occurs when mail is entered into an operation prior to the latest time it can be processed, but is completed after the processing cut-off time.

4 We selected four rural and four urban P&DCs for review. We identified rural and urban populations by ZIP Code based on Census Bureau data and the Postal Service’s 

Delayed Mail Validation

Report Number NO-AR-17-011 5

Address Management System. We classified a P&DC as rural or urban based on the majority of the population segment they serve.
We projected that nationally 

from March 1, 2016, 

through February 28, 2017, 

mail processing facilities 

underreported late arriving mail 

by about 2 billion mailpieces.

We conducted unannounced observations on February 8 and 9, 2017, at the Greenville, SC; Louisville, KY; Mobile, AL; and 

Omaha, NE, P&DCs; and on February 22 and 23, 2017, at the Brooklyn, NY; Dallas, TX; Southern Maryland; and South Suburban, 

IL, P&DCs. 

Summary

We found that the Postal Service was not accurately reporting delayed mail. We determined that five of the eight P&DCs we visited 

did not accurately count on-hand delayed mail. Specifically, we determined that there were more than 572,000 on-hand delayed 

mailpieces during our two days of observation; however, the P&DCs only reported about 369,000 on-hand delayed mailpieces (or 

about 64 percent) in their MCRS reports for that time period. This occurred because employees were not properly supervised and 

trained in counting and reporting delayed mail.

In addition, P&DC management did not have procedures in place to periodically reconcile MCRS entries to actual on-hand 

mail volume to ensure accuracy. According to Headquarters Network Operations management, there was no formal training for 

conducting daily mail counts and reporting delayed mail.

Additionally, the eight P&DCs did not include all late arriving mail in their MCRS reports. According to the Postal Service’s 

Mail History Tracking System (MHTS),5 the eight P&DCs had about 1.8 million late arriving mailpieces during the week of our 

observations; however, the facilities only included 121,000 mailpieces (or less than 7 percent) in their MCRS reports. We projected 

that nationally from March 1, 2016, through February 28, 2017, mail processing facilities underreported late arriving mail by about 

2 billion mailpieces. 

Further, the eight P&DCs did not report all mail processed after the established cut-off time for completing mail processing in their 

MCRS reports. Based on data in the Postal Service’s Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW),6 the P&DCs processed about 7.5 million 

mailpieces after their cut-off time during the week of our observations; however, they only included about 868,000 mailpieces (or 

less than 12 percent) in their MCRS reports. This mail is not necessarily delayed; however, it should be included in the MCRS 

report as a processing plan failure. 

Mail processing facilities are not required to report information from MHTS or EDW in their MCRS reports; however, using this 

information would provide P&DC management with a more accurate view of current mail conditions. 

When mail condition reports are not accurate, management uses incorrect information to make decisions on staffing, mail 

processing equipment use, preventative maintenance, and the transportation of mail. These decisions affect the Postal Service’s 

ability to meet its mail service commitments. 

Headquarters Enterprise Analytics management said they are planning to replace the MCRS with the Informed Visibility (IV) 

system7 to capture daily mail conditions. An initial pilot has been conducted and as of August 2017, the next pilot is on hold 

while the Postal Service simplifies mail condition calculations. We plan to look at the IV system delayed mail reporting in future 

audit work.

5 An online application that provides diagnostic tracking by individual mailpieces.

6 The repository intended for all data and the central source for information on retail, financial, and operational performance.

7 A system that will be a real-time, single source for all mail and mail aggregate information, leveraging data to provide business intelligence for Postal Service functional 

groups and the mailing industry.

Delayed Mail Validation

Report Number NO-AR-17-011 6
On-Hand Delayed Mail

Of the eight P&DCs we visited, we concluded that five under reported their on-hand delayed mail in their MCRS reports. 

Specifically, we determined that there were more than 572,000 on-hand delayed mailpieces for the two days of our observations. 

However, the P&DCs only reported about 369,000 on-hand delayed mailpieces (or about 64 percent) in their MCRS reports 

(see Figure 1). 

Figure 1. Delayed Mail Totals

Source: MCRS and OIG observations.

The four rural P&DCs had more than 409,000 on-hand delayed mailpieces and only reported about 325,000 of them (or 

79 percent) and the four urban P&DCs had more than 162,000 on-hand delayed mailpieces and only reported about 44,000 of 

them (or about 27 percent). See Table 2.

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Report Number NO-AR-17-011 7
Delayed mail was inaccurately 

reported due to employees 

not being properly supervised 

and trained on the procedures 

for counting and reporting 

delayed mail.

Table 2. Delayed Mail Reported Compared to OIG Count

Facility Type of Facility

Delayed Mail 

Reported in MCRS Total Delayed Mail

Percentage of 

Delayed Mail 

Reported

Greenville P&DC Rural 472 472 100.00%

Louisville P&DC Rural 320,120 369,170 86.71%

Mobile P&DC Rural 4,061 39,720 10.22%

Omaha P&DC Rural 343 343 100.00%

Rural Facility Totals 324,996 409,705 79.32%

Brooklyn P&DC Urban 9,903 10,876 91.05%

Dallas P&DC Urban 3,169 3,169 100.00%

South Suburban P&DC Urban 30,831 148,227 20.80%

Southern Maryland P&DC Urban 0 495 0.00%

Urban Facility Totals 43,903 162,767 26.97%

Grand Total 368,899 572,472 64.44%

Source: MCRS and OIG observations.

Mail processing facilities are required to complete daily counts and self-report on-hand mail and delayed mail and enter the 

information into MCRS.8

We verified our totals with local management, who agreed with the OIG counts and concurred that there were inaccuracies in 

reporting delayed mail. Management at the Louisville, Brooklyn, and Southern Maryland P&DCs took corrective action when we 

identified delayed mail not accurately reported on MCRS and amended their reports.

Delayed mail was inaccurately reported due to employees not being properly supervised and trained on the procedures for 

counting and reporting delayed mail. In addition, management did not have any procedures in place to periodically reconcile 

entries made into MCRS to actual on-hand mail volume to ensure accuracy. According to the Operations specialist, there is no 

formal training on how to conduct daily mail counts and report delayed mail. 

Failure of Postal Service employees to accurately count and record all on-hand delayed mail in MCRS affects the facility’s 

operational decisions. Accurate information is needed to make decisions on staffing, mail processing equipment use, preventive 

maintenance, and the transportation of mail. 

8 Mail Condition Reporting System User’s Guide, Section 3, MCRS Basics, dated April 2011.

Delayed Mail Validation

Report Number NO-AR-17-011 8
Late Arriving Mail

The eight P&DCs did not include all late arriving mail in their MCRS reports. According to the Postal Service’s MHTS, the eight 

P&DCs had about 1.8 million late arriving mailpieces during the week of our observations. However, the facilities only included 

about 121,000 mailpieces (or less than 7 percent) in their MCRS reports. Specifically, the four rural P&DCs had more than 

1.5 million late arriving mailpieces, but only included about 10,000 of them (or less than 1 percent) in their MCRS reports. The four 

urban P&DCs had more than 326,000 late arriving mailpieces, but only reported about 111,000 of them (or 34 percent) in their 

MCRS reports (see Table 3).

Table 3. Late Arriving Mail Reported Compared to Total Late Arriving Mail

Facility Type of Facility

Late Arriving Mail 

Reported in MCRS

Total Late 

Arriving Mail

Percentage of 

Late Arriving Mail 

Reported

Greenville P&DC Rural 0 245,934 0.00%

Louisville P&DC Rural 0 84,011 0.00%

Mobile P&DC Rural 10,183 136,694 7.45%

Omaha P&DC Rural 0 1,034,020 0.00%

Rural Facility Totals 10,183 1,500,659 0.68%

Brooklyn P&DC Urban 111,108 224,088 49.58%

Dallas P&DC Urban 0 2,321 0.00%

South Suburban P&DC Urban 0 54,114 0.00%

Southern Maryland P&DC Urban 0 45,741 0.00%

Urban Facility Totals 111,108 326,264 34.05%

Grand Total 121,291 1,826,923 6.64%

Source: MCRS and MHTS.

To estimate the amount of under reported late arriving mail nationwide, we multiplied the percentage of unreported late arriving 

mail from the week of our observations and MHTS by the total amount of mail volume reported in EDW. We projected that 

nationally from March 1, 2016, through February 28, 2017, mail processing facilities underreported late arriving mail by about 

2 billion mailpieces. We estimated that about $85.1 million of Postal Service revenue is at risk due to underreporting late 

arriving mail.

Mail processing facilities are required to complete daily counts and self-report late arriving mail and enter the information into 

MCRS9 but are not required to include information from MHTS in their MCRS reports. Late arriving mail has the potential to 

become delayed mail which can adversely affect Postal Service customers, harm the brand, send mailers to competitors, or cause 

the Postal Service to lose revenue. Failure of Postal Service employees to accurately record late arriving mail in MCRS hinders 

management’s ability to identify and correct the root causes.

9 Mail Condition Reporting System User’s Guide, Section 3, MCRS Basics, dated April 2011.

The four rural P&DCs had more 

than 1.5 million late arriving 

mailpieces, but only included 

about 10,000 of them (or less 

than 1 percent) in their MCRS 

reports. The four urban P&DCs 

had more than 326,000 late 

arriving mailpieces but only 

reported about 111,000 of 

them (or 34 percent) in their 

MCRS reports.

Delayed Mail Validation

Report Number NO-AR-17-011 9
Mail processing facilities 

are not required to include 

information from the EDW in 

their MCRS reports; however, 

using this information to report 

plan failure would provide 

P&DC management with a 

more accurate view of current 

mail conditions.

Plan Failure

The eight P&DCs we visited did not report all mail processed after the established cut-off time for completing mail processing in 

their MCRS reports. Based on data in the Postal Service’s EDW, the P&DCs processed about 7.5 million mailpieces after their cutoff time during the week of our observations; however, they only included about 868,000 mailpieces (or about 12 percent) in their 

MCRS reports. Specifically, the four rural P&DCs ran more than 1.7 million mailpieces past the established clearance time, but 

only reported about 839,000 (or about 48 percent). The four urban P&DCs ran less than 5.8 million mailpieces past the established 

clearance time, but only reported about 29,000 (or less than 1 percent) in their MCRS reports (see Table 4). This mail is not 

necessarily delayed; however, it should be included in the MCRS report as a plan failure.

Table 4. Plan Failure Mail Reported Compared to Total Plan Failure

Facility Type of Facility

Plan Failure Reported 

in MCRS Total Plan Failure

Percentage of Plan 

Failure Reported

Greenville P&DC Rural 0 265,810 0.00%

Louisville P&DC Rural 633,290 879,399 72.01%

Mobile P&DC Rural 0 243,735 0.00%

Omaha P&DC Rural 206,031 371,816 55.41%

Rural Facility Totals 839,321 1,760,760 47.67%

Brooklyn P&DC Urban 25,040 2,377,541 1.05%

Dallas P&DC Urban 3,169 549,589 0.58%

South Suburban P&DC Urban 0 2,593,513 0.00%

Southern Maryland P&DC Urban 495 235,017 0.21%

Urban Facility Totals 28,704 5,755,660 0.50%

Grand Total 868,025 7,516,420 11.55%

Source: MCRS and EDW.

Mail processing facilities are required to complete daily counts and self-report plan failure and enter the information into MCRS.10

Mail processing facilities are not required to include information from the EDW in their MCRS reports; however, using this 

information to report plan failure would provide P&DC management with a more accurate view of current mail conditions. Failure of 

Postal Service employees to accurately record all mail processed after the established cut-off time for completing mail processing 

in MCRS hinders management’s ability to identify and correct the root causes. 

10 Mail Condition Reporting System User’s Guide, Section 3, MCRS Basics, dated April 2011.

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Report Number NO-AR-17-011 10
Planned Changes to Delayed Mail Reporting

The Manager, IV Development, said they are planning to replace the MCRS with the IV system to capture daily mail conditions. 

He said that the IV system will eliminate the need for manual counting by automatically determining on-hand, delayed mail, late 

arriving mail, and plan failure by P&DC through employee and machine mailpiece, container, and transportation scanning.

An initial pilot has been conducted and as of August 2017, the next pilot is on hold while the Postal Service simplifies mail 

condition calculations. We are not making recommendations concerning the planned IV system changes to delayed mail reporting 

because it is outside the scope of this audit. We plan to review the IV system’s delayed mail reporting in future audit work. 

The Manager, IV Development, 

said they are planning to replace 

the MCRS with the IV system to 

capture daily mail conditions.

Delayed Mail Validation

Report Number NO-AR-17-011 11
Recommendations

We recommend management 

require formal training for 

all personnel involved in 

supervising, conducting, and 

reporting daily mail counts; 

ensure P&DC management 

periodically reviews the accuracy 

of MCRS reports; and improve 

the MCRS by integrating data 

from the MHTS and EDW.

We recommend the Vice President, Network Operations: 

1. Establish and require formal training for all personnel involved in supervising, conducting, and reporting daily mail counts.

2. Establish a requirement for local management to review and validate the accuracy of the Mail Condition Reporting System 

reports at least every quarter.

3. Establish a formal process to integrate data from the Mail History Tracking System and Enterprise Data Warehouse, specifically 

delayed mail and mail processed after the processing cut-off time, into the Mail Condition Reporting System.

Management’s Comments

Management partially agreed with our findings and recommendations. Management disagreed with the other impact and the 

premise that an audit of eight P&DCs, which were judgmentally selected, is a statistically valid representation of the more than 

250 P&DCs in the postal network. Management also disagreed with how we define the terms “Rural P&DC” and “Urban P&DC” in 

the audit. 

Regarding recommendation 1, management stated they agreed with the recommendation and that the Postal Service has several 

initiatives in place or in development that will replace the Mail Condition Reporting System with a data-driven system, including 

Mail Condition Visualization (MCV). Management will provide training for the MCV at the local level. Additionally, management 

stated that training does not impact Revenue at Risk as suggested in the audit report. The target implementation date is 

September 30, 2017.

Regarding recommendation 2, management stated they agree that local management should validate the accuracy of mail 

condition reports. Management stated there is currently an established process and standard work instruction for reporting mail 

conditions at all P&DCs and the process is administered by the Manager, In-Plant Support, with overall responsibility assigned to 

the plant manager. The Postal Service will reissue instructions to the field regarding this process as well as the requirement for 

local review and validation. The target implementation date is September 30, 2017.

Regarding recommendation 3, management disagreed with integrating MHTS and EDW data into MRCS. The Postal Service 

stated that the Postal Service only uses MHTS for First-Class Mail (FCM) with identification tags, which does not account for all 

mail volume. Management added that MHTS cannot provide an accurate account of delayed mail as the system only provides the 

status of FCM at various steps in a processing operation. Additionally, management is currently developing a data-driven system 

to replace MCRS, which is currently known as MCV. 

See Appendix B for management’s comments in their entirety.

Evaluation of Management’s Comments

The OIG considers management’s comments responsive to recommendations 1 and 2 and corrective actions should resolve the 

issues identified in the report.

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Report Number NO-AR-17-011 12
Regarding management’s disagreement with the other impact methodology, we selected sites that represent the geographic and 

population density and breadth of the U.S. to provide unbiased insight. We preferred this non-statistical approach in order to grasp 

the Postal Service’s degree of revenue risk exposure. Risk is inherently subjective and more rigorous statistical techniques would 

not appropriately capture this uncertainty. Our risk impact assessment tool is a well-established technique that assesses revenue 

that will be at risk if existing conditions continue. Our assessment that this risk is an other impact by definition does not conclude 

that the amount of possible loss will necessarily be incurred. Management’s comment that these are “monetary impacts” was 

neither stated nor implied in our findings.

Regarding management’s disagreement with the classification of rural and urban P&DCs, the Postal Service does not have a 

definition of rural and urban P&DCs. Therefore, we created our own definitions based on data from the Census Bureau and the 

Postal Service’s Address Management System. We classified a P&DC as rural or urban based on the majority of the population 

segment it serves in the Census Bureau’s rural or urban location classification.

Regarding management’s disagreement with recommendation 3, the Postal Service has not provided a date for implementing the 

new system. The Postal Service can implement our recommendation now in order to make MCRS reporting more accurate by 

using information readily available in EDW and MHTS. We agree that MHTS is only used for FCM with identification tags; however 

using this data provides a more accurate view of FCM that is delayed or at high risk of becoming delayed than the current 

process does.

We view the disagreement with recommendation 3 as unresolved and it will remain open as we coordinate resolution with 

management. All recommendations require OIG concurrence before closure. Consequently, the OIG requests written confirmation 

when corrective actions are completed. All recommendations should not be closed in the Postal Service’s follow-up tracking 

system until the OIG provides written confirmation that the recommendations can be closed. 

Delayed Mail Validation

Report Number NO-AR-17-011 13
Appendices

Click on the appendix title 

to the right to navigate 

to the section content.

Appendix A: Additional Information ..........................................................15

 Background ...........................................................................................15

 Objective, Scope, and Methodology ......................................................15

 Prior Audit Coverage..............................................................................17

Appendix B: Management’s Comments...................................................18

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Appendix A: 

Additional Information

Background 

The Postal Service considers mail to be delayed when it is not processed in time to meet the established delivery day. Mail 

processing facilities are required to complete daily counts and self-report on-hand mail, delayed mail, late arriving mail, and mail 

processed after the cut-off time. Mail processing personnel are to complete daily mail counts by 7 a.m. Each mail processing 

facility uses the MCRS to report its daily mail count. MCRS information is important to management officials at all levels for 

analysis, forecasting, and planning.

Prior OIG audits have included findings on inaccurate delayed mail reporting.11 In addition, various U.S. senators and 

representatives have expressed concern about the quality of mail service nationally and, in particular, in rural communities. 

From the beginning of FY 2014 through the end of FY 2016, the volume of delayed FCM improved by over 16 percent. However, 

during that same time, 2-Day and 3-Day External First Class (EXFC)12 service worsened by .29 percent and 4.64 percent, 

respectively. Volume and service scores for Delayed Standard Mail (rebranded in 2017 as Marketing Mail) both improved during 

the same period.

The amount of delayed mail at a facility is not included in the Postal Service’s National Performance Assessment as a performance 

indicator for management.

Objective, Scope, and Methodology

Our objective was to determine the accuracy of delayed mail reporting by the Postal Service. To accomplish our objective we:

■ Conducted unannounced site observations of daily mail counts to determine if P&DCs are accurately counting and reporting 

delayed mail.

■ Determined the amount of delayed mail not being included in MCRS reports.

■ Determined the amount of mail that is in transit to a facility and did not meet the critical entry time at the origin facility.

■ Determined the amount of mail as processed after the clearance times as measured by the 24-Hour Clock13 Indicators.

■ Evaluated and validated container to mailpiece conversion rates used in the MCRS.

To determine the sites for observations we:

■ Judgmentally selected P&DCs based on the percent of change in delayed FCM during FYs 2014 through FY 2016. 

■ Stratified the universe of P&DCs into four quartiles based on changes in delayed mail volume during that same period 

(lowest 25 percent to the highest 25 percent change, whether an increase or decrease).14

11 For example, Omaha, NE, Processing and Distribution Center Customer Service Performance (Report Number NO-AR-16-011, dated September 23, 2016) and Mail 

Processing Operations at the Roanoke, VA, Processing and Distribution Center (Report Number NO-AR-17-003, dated January 17, 2017).

12 A component of the Single-Piece FCM measurement system, it is designed to measure service performance from a customer perspective. EXFC measures the transit 

time of single-piece FCM from deposit of mail into a collection box or business lobby chute to its delivery to a home or business.

13 A highly structured means to manage mail flows to achieve optimal service and efficiency while ensuring national consistency in processes.

14 We excluded P&DCs without EXFC scores from the four quartiles. 

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Report Number NO-AR-17-011 15
■ Selected an urban and rural P&DC from each of the quartiles (highest percentage of change and lowest percentage of change) 

to conduct observations (see Table 5). 

Table 5. Site Selections

Percent of Change P&DC Classification

Quartile 1 High South Suburban, IL Urban

Low Omaha, NE Rural

Quartile 2 High Mobile, AL Rural

Low Dallas, TX Urban

Quartile 3 High Brooklyn, NY Urban

Low Greenville, SC Rural

Quartile 4 High Louisville, KY Rural

Low Southern Maryland Urban

Source: EDW and OIG calculations.

We conducted this performance audit from February through August 2017, in accordance with generally accepted government 

auditing standards and included such tests of internal controls as we considered necessary under the circumstances. Those 

standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for 

our findings and conclusions based on our audit objective. We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for 

our findings and conclusions based on our audit objective. We discussed our observations and conclusions with management on 

June 20, 2017, and included their comments where appropriate.

We used computer-processed data from MCRS, MHTS, and EDW when performing our analysis. We assessed the reliability of 

computer-generated data by testing the existence of reported MCRS amounts by physical examination, evaluating data collection 

and reporting procedures; and interviewing agency officials knowledgeable about the data. We determined that the data were 

sufficiently reliable for the purposes of this report.

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Report Number NO-AR-17-011 16
Prior Audit Coverage

Report Title Objective

Report 

Number

Final 

Report Date

Monetary

Impact

(in millions)

Timeliness of Mail Processing at 

the Santa Clarita, CA, Processing 

and Distribution Center

Determine the cause of delayed mail 

at the Santa Clarita P&DC. NO-AR-17-007 4/6/2017 $1.1

Mail Processing Operations at 

the Roanoke, VA, Processing and 

Distribution Center

Determine whether consolidation 

of Roanoke P&DC mail processing 

operations into the Greensboro 

P&DC adversely affected customer 

service and whether a business case 

existed to support the Area Mail 

Processing consolidation.

NO-AR-17-003 1/17/2017 None

Omaha, NE, Processing and 

Distribution Center Customer 

Service Performance

Determine if consolidating the 

Norfolk and Grand Island P&DFs’ 

mail processing operations into the 

Omaha P&DC and Lincoln P&DF 

adversely affected customer service.

NO-AR-16-011 9/23/2016 None

Timeliness of Mail Processing at 

the Queens, NY, Processing and 

Distribution Center

Determine the cause of delayed mail 

at the Queens P&DC. NO-AR-16-010 9/20/2016 $2.2

Chicago District Processing 

Facilities’ Process for Mail Count 

and Color Coding of Standard Mail

Determine whether Chicago District 

processing facility employees 

accurately counted mail and applied 

color-code tags to Standard Mail in 

accordance with policies.

NO-AR-16-007 4/22/2016 None

Delayed Mail Validation

Report Number NO-AR-17-011 17
Appendix B: 

Management’s Comments

Delayed Mail Validation

Report Number NO-AR-17-011 18
Delayed Mail Validation

Report Number NO-AR-17-011 19
Delayed Mail Validation

Report Number NO-AR-17-011 20
Delayed Mail Validation

Report Number NO-AR-17-011 21

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