USPS OIG: How Can the Postal Service Best Manage Building Occupancy Costs?


building-occupancy_notextProject Title:
Reliability of Postal Service Building
Occupancy (Cost Segment 15) Data
Start Date:
March 17, 2015
Estimated Report Release Date:
September 2015

The U.S. Postal Service needs to keep track of all the costs that contribute toward its overhead and groups them according to function. One of these groups, called Cost Segment 15, Building Occupancy, covers expenses for renting and leasing facilities (space provision); fuel and utilities (space support); communications; and improving facility-related working conditions and maintenance.

Once these costs are calculated, they are incorporated into the Annual Compliance Report (ACR). The ACR is produced within 90 days after the end of each fiscal year and it presents an analysis of costs, revenue, pricing, and quality of services for all postal products and services.

In 1999, the Postal Service surveyed approximately 750 out of 35,000 Postal Service facilities to calculate a nationwide average of square-footage regarding space use. This data was first used and introduced to the Postal Regulatory Commission in 2005. The Floor Space Survey plays a pivotal role in Cost Segment 15 by providing a national average of square footage data for Postal Services facilities. This data is used to help calculate the attributable costs for rents, fuels, utilities, and other space-related costs that vary within a Cost Segment 15.

In this review, we are evaluating the accuracy of space-related costs found in Cost Segment 15.

1. As plants close and new equipment is deployed, less facility space is used. How can the Postal Service collect data that reflects these changes?

2. Outside of the Floor Space Survey, are there other methods the Postal Service should consider to collect and maintain square-footage data for its operational facilities?

3. The Floor Space Survey process is costly and time consuming. Are there any automated processes the Postal Service could use to collect facility square-footage data?

Source: How Can the Postal Service Best Manage Building Occupancy Costs? | Office of Inspector General

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