Who's Who in the Buildings Market 2005: U.S. Postal Service

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U.S. Postal Service
Washington, D.C.
(800) 275-8777
www.usps.com

Responsible for 34,640 facilities comprising over 300 million square feet of space, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) continues to deliver - everything from mail to services to green best practices. Eight Facilities Service Offices (FSOs), strategically located across the country, report to Facilities Headquarters in Arlington, VA, for functional guidance and policy establishment. With an objective of reducing design and guesswork, the USPS issues building design standards annually: a collection of design criteria, standard plans, and specifications applicable to new construction, repairs/alterations, expansions, etc. Most importantly, however, the organization tracks all project-related specifics - for continual process improvement - through a feedback system that helps tweak, adjust, and revise these standards once a project is complete. Four years ago, the group also developed its Facilities Single Source Provider program, in which a centralized “call system” consolidates all facility-related requests and information throughout the USPS network. Now, the facilities team is yielding a lot more work with a lot fewer resources, and real-time updates on project status appear seamless to internal customers. Another great “tool” (i.e. vision) is the organization’s Transformation Plan, in which the Postal Serv­ice submits its views on decisive responses to present and future challenges to ensure the USPS remains viable and vital to the American economy.