We all know that some days time goes fast, and other days, it’s slow. But when you work in a postal facility, the relative nature of time isn’t important; it’s the time you actually worked. How does the Postal Service keep track of its workers’ time on the job?

Postal employees swipe their identification cards on card readers, and those swipes feed into the Postal Service’s Time and Attendance Collection System (TACs). They swipe when they begin their tour, swipe to go and return from lunch, and then swipe again at the end of their shift. For the Postal Service, tracking time is not only important for figuring out pay, it’s also vital for assigning costs and finding inefficiencies.

In a recent audit, we looked at the Postal Service’s timekeeping system. While our objective focused on timecard changes and adjustments, we found something interesting about the card readers. The Postal Service’s contractor for its time collection devices went out of business in August 2018. If it fails to replace them, the Postal Service will run out of serviceable units by the third quarter in fiscal year 2021.

The Postal Service’s current strategy focuses on doing whatever it takes to extend the life of the existing devices, but we recommended instead they start testing new and updated automated time collection devices.

How does your job keep track of your time?

Source/Comment Here: USPS Office of Inspector General