To combat rising fuel prices, the Pacific Area recently launched a Lean Six Sigma (LSS)

project to streamline its transportation network and cut costs.

The LSS team, led by San Francisco District Manager Rosemarie Fernandez, kicked off

the project by developing a standardized mapping system to visually show inter-plant

transportation activity.

But collecting mapping data from separate and complex multiple data sources was

time-consuming and could have delayed the project’s progress.

To keep the project rolling, the team created a “Quick Win,” a single-source

transportation matrix with specifics about each route, trip, and leg that included cost,

frequency and utilization. The matrix also showed flow intensity and capacity utilization

among operational pairings.

Using this tool, the team soon recognized overlapping and redundant transportation

routes, underutilized trips and trip frequencies not warranted by current mail volumes.

Using the LSS team’s recommendations, four districts revised the transportation network,

with projected annual savings expected to reach $1.2 million. The team’s findings now are

being shared with other districts to help produce additional savings and improved

customer service.

The USPS Continuous Improvement department coordinates LSS projects with areas

and districts. Later today, at 3 p.m. ET, Continuous Improvement will host a webinar  about this Pacific Area LSS project. All employees are welcome to listen to the presentation.