Postal Service gears up for Y2K

May 21, 1999

Web posted at: 1:12 p.m. EDT (1712 GMT)

by Tom Diederich

(IDG) -- The U.S. Postal Service is evaluating numerous technology projects -- suspending some and axing others -- to cut costs, reduce redundancies and ensure that the year 2000 issue won't hamper mail delivery come Jan. 1.

"We have a couple of things going on now," said Postal Service spokesman Norm Scherstrom. "We're kind of tightening our belts -- individual managers have been asked to look into their own areas and determine where they can make cuts. And then we have a Y2K remediation effort going on, so we're not going to bring in any new systems."

The Postal Service has spent about $600 million gearing up for 2000 in the past three years, employing an additional 2,000 people assigned to the Y2K issue, according to spokesman Mark Saunders.

"We're focusing on mission-critical systems that involve mail processing, transportation, delivery," Saunders said. "[Postal officials] set priorities, and keeping the mail moving is the top priority. Looking at theY2K initiative, they are making sound business decisions that are not dissimilar from other organizations."

Some of those decisions include project cuts and suspensions, he confirmed. Saunders said the Postal Service wouldn't name the targeted programs.

One Postal Service vendor was talking, however. Electronic Clearing House Inc. said the Postal Service has suspended its electronic money order processing pilot. The project, launched in 1995, was in the testing phase in Dallas, according to company spokeswoman Donna Camras. "We were in the process of working on software enhancements, but now everything has been temporarily put on hold," she said. "They haven't given us any idea of how long the delay will be, but we know that they're still interested." Wishful thinking? Saunders said he couldn't confirm or deny that claim because the situation in general is "fluid." "[Postal officials] are being very tight-lipped about it," Saunders said. "They didn't feel it would be appropriate to tell the public that some organization they're working with is not going to get business from the Postal Service when it may or may not be true."

-- Norm (nwo@hotmail.com), May 21, 1999

Answers

Go back just a couple of months and review the congressional testimony of the USPS Inspector General on the Y2K status of the Postal Service. Very detailed and very grim.

-- Don Florence (dflorence@zianet.com), May 21, 1999.

Hi norm,

Well they're spending the money (good!), and they started earier than many (good!), and they are apprently at the right level of management attention (finally!).

So, let's see how effectively they test their resulting "fixes", and when they test, and whether they test all installtions.

See, the FAA publicists (and its administrator) thinks that if you fix one computer - all the rest are fixed too - by some sort of magic. Now, the workers know differently, they have more than 4500 more "actions" to go, but the publicist writing this press release that the press (and you) loudly hail - don't know that.

So, I'm convinced they are trying. I'm not convined they will succeed - yet. Wait until the USPS announces all systems have been tested, all systems in all offices remediated, and the FAA has all airports working., remediated, and updated. Then maybe the mail can get delivered - if the trucks have fuel. and the Post Offices have light.

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), May 21, 1999.

Robert:

From my experience, what you write is only partially true. If you have a whole lot of identical systems and they all have the same problem, that first one is a real bear. It takes a lot of time and real expertise to find out what's wrong, and what to do about it, and test whatever you do about it as thoroughly as you can.

But implementing the same fix to all the others isn't in the same ballpark. You write up detailed procedures and hand them to people who can follow directions, even though they didn't have the qualifications to find the problem and determine the procedures in the first place. Time, effort, and cost for subsequent applications of the determined fix are only a small fraction of the original.

The key questions are: (1) Just how identical are these other systems with respect to the fix procedures?; (2) How many systems need this fix and how long will it take?; (3) If the fix entails a hardware change, how long is the lead time to get the new hardware and how common are the skills to make the change?

In practice, the answers to these questions allow for a *very* wide range of effort level and required time. And yes, these are matters that a reporter wouldn't know to ask about and are neither likely to be understood by the average reader, nor volunteered by the reporter's source.

Like almost everything else y2k, the level of detail is both critical and unavailable (and often unknown by anyone). Impact levels, however determined, will probably be some highly skewed bell curve. Estimating total impact involves integrating under the far end of a curve we can't even define. Gives me the willies.

-- Flint (flintc@mindspring.com), May 21, 1999.

I just got hired to work at a small post office and I can tell you that I have not heard a single word on being in compliace for y2k. I keep thinking about all the transportation options the USPS such as planes ect.Any one got a pony and a some saddle bags?? When you think about all the bar codes and all that they use and I see much miss- sent mail when I work already.... It could get worse. Just a word from someone who is looking for answers too but none are there.

-- PMR (worker@USPS.com), May 22, 1999.

My small town post office (only 3 teller windows, only ever 2 manned at a time if that) is getting all new computers next week. If my small ass town is getting new computers to get in line with Y2K it gives me hope. These will be the first new computers for this office in 14 years! The system they are using right now is not even serviced any longer so when something breaks they have to go through a salvage system to get a "new" one

-- In the post office every day (heavypostal@user.com), May 23, 1999.

ahh ya big phoney toss pot.

you just posted as u are all mental midgits.

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), May 23, 1999.