From FedBizOpps.com: 

The U.S. Postal Service is conducting market research to identify companies with an interest and capability to provide a mail stowage and retrieval system for its delivery fleet of Long-Life Vehicles (LLV). This will be done in conjunction with implementation of a new Flats Sequencing System (FSS) program whereby large envelopes, magazines, catalogs and circulars will be sorted for letter carriers who must now manually sequence the mail before leaving the office for their routes. As the FSS program is implemented, the plan is to purchase mail stowage and retrieval systems for up to 18,000 LLVs. Deployment would start July 2008 with delivery completed by July 2010.

The LLV mail stowage and retrieval system will be used to assist in loading and unloading mail in the delivery sequence of the route. The system should be sufficiently flexible to accommodate all mail trays (letter/flats) and parcels, and light enough to have only minimal impact on the load carrying capacity of the vehicle. An average daily volume of mail handled by a letter carrier will consist of approximately 18 trays of mail (Letter/FSS flat trays) and 12 parcels. During peak volume periods, the daily volume of mail could be 25% to 50% higher on an infrequent basis.

The man who first allowed letter carriers to wear shorts passed away December 7. Anthony Louis Mondello was general counsel of the U.S. Civil Service Commission from 1968 to 1975, and according to his obituary in the Washington Post, he “helped to make federal workplace rules more compatible with a changing society”.

It was Mr. Mondello who made the decision to permit Postal Service employees to wear short pants in hot weather. He also eliminated McCarthy-era loyalty oaths as a condition of employment and worked to discourage discrimination based on sexual orientation.

And there’s a lot more- Mondello was one of those unsung bureaucrats who in fact made a difference- the Post quotes a colleague who described him as “one of the most honorable guys I’ve met in my life”.

Anthony Mondello; Worked for Rights of Federal Employees

If the plot summary for tonight’s episode of Cold Case on CBS sounds familiar…

When a mailman is found dead in his home, several bags of undelivered mail are discovered, including a letter postmarked 31 years ago and is now a major piece of evidence in the 1975 case involving a missing girl.

… it’s because there was a similar, real life incident (minus the ‘major piece of evidence’ part) just last month in Massachusetts, when a letter carrier died of a heart attack in his apartment, which was found to contain “truckloads of undelivered mail “.

From WOOD TV in Battle Creek:

According to an article in the Colorado Springs Business Journal, the US Postal Service has apologized for poor service to businesses in the city’s downtown area. According to the story, local managers “initially said a reduction in the number of three downtown routes and carriers was the reason for the poor service”. The routes had been cut after inspections were carried out in the Spring, “an historically low-volume time.”

A USPS spokesperson told the Journal that steps would be taken to rectify the problem, including ”attempting to deliver all mail to business customers by 3:30 p.m. each day, providing additional postal staff to support timely delivery and re-evaluating downtown routes to ensure a high level of service”, as well as unspecified “changes to management”.

Press release:

CHICAGO, Oct. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — NAVTEQ (NYSE: NVT), a leading global provider of digital map data for location-based solutions and vehicle navigation, has been selected as the map data provider for inclusion with RouteSmart Technologies’ Carrier Optimal Routing (COR) solution, which was developed in partnership with the United States Postal Service (USPS). RouteSmart’s solution is designed to create more efficient USPS delivery routes and lines of travel, improve customer service and reduce daily operations costs.

USPS is responsible for the delivery of mail throughout the United States and plans to deploy and utilize this software nationwide to create more efficient and safe delivery routes. The NAVTEQ(R) map includes in-depth coverage for urban and rural areas together with comprehensive, field verified routing attributes. The RouteSmart optimization algorithms take advantage of the NAVTEQ attributes to accurately optimize delivery route data and to calculate and provide optimized travel directions.

The RouteSmart algorithms embedded in COR and the highly accurate and detailed map data from NAVTEQ will allow the USPS to optimize its delivery resources and to make route adjustments when necessary. NAVTEQ employs one of the industry’s most comprehensive map development and quality control programs for the highest levels of excellence and precision.

“The NAVTEQ map is critical to our ability to deliver quality solutions that meet the complex precision routing needs of our customers,” states Larry Levy, Vice President, RouteSmart. “The success of this project for the United States Postal Service points to the continued success of our collaboration.”

“RouteSmart’s solution takes full advantage of NAVTEQ data to deliver high quality results,” says Roy Kolstad, Vice President and General Manager – Business and Government Solutions, NAVTEQ. “We have a strategic relationship with RouteSmart and are excited about our collaboration on this important project for the United States Postal Service.”

About RouteSmart

RouteSmart Technologies is recognized as a world leader in the field of route optimization software solutions for the newspaper, postal, public works, and utility industries. A wholly-owned subsidiary of The Bowne AE&T Group ( http://www.bownegroup.com ) — a Mineola, NY based engineering and information technology firm with over 100 years of experience — RouteSmart Technologies is based in Columbia, MD, and has over 20 years experience serving clients within these industry segments. Current clients include the United States Postal Service, FedEx Home Delivery, Republic Services Group, and nearly 100 municipalities around the world who use the RouteSmart product to solve diverse, high-density residential routing problems. RouteSmart Technologies’ clients save hundreds of thousands of dollars annually by using RouteSmart software in their operations.

About NAVTEQ

NAVTEQ is a leading provider of comprehensive digital map information for automotive navigation systems, mobile navigation devices, Internet-based mapping applications, and government and business solutions. NAVTEQ creates the digital maps and map content that power navigation and location-based services solutions around the world. The Chicago-based company was founded in 1985 and has approximately 2,100 employees located in 139 offices in 25 countries.

NAVTEQ is a trademark in the U.S. and other countries.

Adrian MacNair at the Thought Mechanics blog notes the flap over ‘hate mail’ in Vancouver, and is disappointed that Canada Post has said it will deliver flyers sent by an Ontario religious cult that blame gays for, among other things, the spread of AIDS. MacNair muses:

I wonder how quickly CP would cease delivery if the headlines were based on peoples of more significant demographics:

“All Muslims worship Osama bin Laden as a father”
“There is a Zionist conspiracy to perpetrate the holocaust myth”
“Medical evidence shows that blacks are inferior to whites”

The Fight Against Hate Mail

From WKYC Cleveland: 

 ”Attempted Unknown” is a weekly video podcast hosted by Tim, a mail carrier for the US Postal Service. Each week Tim brings us his unique ideas, stories and photos from his mail route, found objects, and documentary subjects.