Project Title: Scheduled Hours and Payments for Highway Contract Routes Start Date: Monday, October 19, 2020 Estimated Report Release Date: April 2021 Highway Contract Route (HCR) suppliers provide contracted transportation service based on established scheduled hours for the drivers to complete the trip. The times for the trip are manually entered in the system. Incorrect…
Background Late trips occur when various conditions cause a delay in the arrival or departure of transportation beyond the scheduled times. Late trip reason codes may include late processing, mail processing, contractor failure, and equipment failure. When trucks are late due to contractor failure, dock expeditors choose the reason code in the Surface Visibility (SV)…
Guidelines for interacting with HCR drivers during the COVID-19 pandemic
Objective The objective of our audit was to evaluate the accuracy of Surface Visibility scans and reporting for Highway Contract Route (HCR) and Postal Vehicle Service (PVS) trips. This audit was requested by the Postal Service’s Surface Logistics group. The U.S. Postal Service’s surface transportation network is managed locally and transports mail and equipment to…
Objective Our objective was to assess the Postal Service’s efforts to reduce transportation costs of Mail Transport Equipment (MTE) in the Mail Transport Equipment Service Center (MTESC) network. The MTESC network is a nationwide network of 14 contractor-operated facilities. MTESC facilities process, repair, store, and distribute MTE (containers, sacks, trays, flat tubs, sleeves, and pallets)…
Objective Our objective was to evaluate the Postal Service’s Highway Contract Route (HCR) Optimization Cost Savings methodology and the accuracy of reported savings for fiscal year (FY) 2017. The Postal Service implemented the Zero Base HCR initiative in FY 2014 (renamed HCR Optimization in FY 2017) to reduce surface transportation costs by identifying, adjusting, and…
Objective Our objective was to determine the effectiveness of the March 2017 Highway Contract Route (HCR) baseline fuel price per gallon (ppg) procedural guidance for all HCR contracts awarded or renewed between June 1 and October 1, 2017. The U.S. Postal Service uses supplier-operated HCR to transport mail and equipment between plants, post offices, or…
Objective Our objective was to assess the effectiveness of the U.S. Postal Service’s irregularity reporting process for highway contract routes (HCR) at the Chicago Network Distribution Center (NDC). Each NDC reports HCR irregularities using the Yard Management System (YMS). The YMS automatically creates a Postal Service (PS) Form 5500, Contract Route Irregularity Report, when an…
