Tuesday, April 23, 2024
The Postal Service’s digital detectives are marking a milestone
For 30 years, employees at the Remote Encoding Center have deciphered illegible addresses
The USPS Remote Encoding Center in Salt Lake City — the first such center in use and the last one still standing — celebrated 30 years of service last week.
The center receives digital images of letters and packages with illegible addresses from other postal facilities around the country. More than 730 employees work at the center, doing the detective work of determining where the poorly addressed mailpieces are supposed to go.
Each day, the center — which operates around the clock, 365 days a year — receives about 2.3 million address images.
“We have a big impact by connecting people, businesses and customers,” said Barbara Batin, the center’s manager.
At their height in the late 1990s, the Postal Service had 55 remote encoding centers, or RECs, nationwide. But a big decline in people sending handwritten letters, and dramatic advances in optical character recognition technology, made the rest of the centers redundant.
For example, in the 1990s, USPS processing machines were able to read fewer than half of the addresses that went through them. Today, about 99 percent are readable.
In 2014, the Salt Lake City Remote Encoding Center became the only one still open.
The center took on tasks from closing RECs that could be considered challenging, such as change-of-address mail and deciphering addresses from more exotic locales.
“We stuck around because we were able to make changes. We had supervisors and managers who knew what needed to be changed,” said Ryan Bullock, the center’s operations manager.
Johanna Luckau, the center’s senior manager, said the Salt Lake City team “worked hard to adopt new practices to increase speed, accuracy and efficiency.”
The center marked its anniversary April 18 with a celebration where employees shared memories, and all staffers received a thank-you message and a lanyard created for the occasion.
“I feel quite fortunate — not many people can stay with an organization and still love their job after 20-plus years,” Luckau said.
On the Job
A strong sense of place
This retail associate is blooming where she’s planted
My name is Aaliyah Smith and I’m a part-time flexible retail associate in Loveville, MD, about 55 miles south of Washington, DC.
My older sister is a postal worker, and she would always come home and talk about it. I graduated high school on June 1, 2022, and came straight to work for the Postal Service.
In Loveville, I sort mail and flats, take care of packages, make phone calls and do all the reports that need to be done. I also work at the nearby Leonardtown Post Office.
Often, I’ll just hand someone their mail and they’ll say, “I didn’t even tell you my box number!” I’ll say, “You didn’t have to!” I’ve learned the whole Loveville Post Office and who has what box.
You get a wide variety of customers looking for the Loveville postmark around Valentine’s Day. People will also mail valentines from out of state. My hand sometimes gets tired from canceling stamps — especially when they bring in 500 wedding invitations! — but it’s fun.
I get in the spirit, too. I love decorating and anything to do with being creative, so I decorate the Loveville Post Office for any holidays I can.
When I’m not at work, I like to fish and go four-wheeling. My family lives close by and we do things together. I don’t think I would ever move away. I’m pretty content here.
“On the Job,” a column on individual employees and their contributions to the Postal Service, appears regularly in Link.
USPS observes Earth Day
The organization is highlighting its commitment to sustainability
The Postal Service will celebrate Earth Day on Monday, April 22.
Under the Delivering for America plan, the organization is taking steps to enhance sustainability throughout its network and day-to-day operations.
This includes establishing broad goals earlier this year to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, divert waste from landfills, increase procurement of renewable energy and boost recycling by 2030.
Employees can support these efforts by following the proper procedures for recycling paper and disposing of used batteries, light bulbs and other items, and reducing energy and water consumption and waste.
The usps.com Sustainability page has more information, including a brochure that can be downloaded, while the Environmental Affairs and Corporate Sustainability Blue page has details about the organization’s individual programs and initiatives.
USPS is nominated for two licensing excellence awards
The Postal Service received two nominations in the Licensing International Excellence Awards this year.
USPS is in the running in the category Best Brand — Corporate, along with Dr. Scholl’s, Girl Scouts of the USA, Hershey’s, Kodak and Scotts Miracle-Gro.
True Crime Stories, a Postal Inspection Service-branded game, was nominated in the Best Licensed Product — Toys, Games, Novelties, Role Play (ages 8+) category.
“The USPS Licensing team has strategically connected USPS to new generations and markets, exemplified by its digital stamp art NFT initiative, a children’s book featuring its iconic character called ‘Mr. ZIP’s Windy Day,’ and the first-ever interactive detective game, True Crime Stories,” the organizers wrote on the awards website.
The winners will be announced May 20.
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The Postal Service’s digital detectives are marking a milestone
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On the Job
A strong sense of place
This retail associate is blooming where she’s planted
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USPS observes Earth Day
The organization is highlighting its commitment to sustainability
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Brief
USPS is nominated for two licensing excellence awards