ISO 9001 – Everything is Connected – A Postal Story.

In the late 1990’s I worked for the Quality Department at US Postal Services headquarters. I taught Process Management and Quality Improvement classes, then facilitated improvement projects with the same groups. We formed teams and were accountable for implementing and maintaining improvements.

In the late 1990’s I worked for the Quality Department at US Postal Services headquarters. I taught Process Management and Quality Improvement classes, then facilitated improvement projects with the same groups. We formed teams and were accountable for implementing and maintaining improvements.
At the time, USPS had annual revenues of $65B with about 750,000 employees. Leadership was pushing long-needed changes. Marvin Runyon was the CEO-Postmaster General when I arrived in 1997, and Bill Henderson succeeded him in 1998. The HQ feeling – at least for many of us – was that anything was possible, and it was a fun time to be a change agent!
The “USPS Enterprise Map” was perhaps the biggest cross-functional effort of that time. We were charged with re-defining the highest level processes from a stakeholder and customer-centric view.
Twenty-eight “Level 1” processes were defined, including “Setting Direction”, “Acquiring Customers and Developing Custom Services”, “Developing and Managing People” and “Ensuring Compliance”. Also included were three moving-the-mail type processes such as “Originating Mail” and “Using the Network”.
Each of these Level 1 processes were cross-functional and required communications and agreements for turn-around times, addressing risks, and position-based roles and ownership. (The development of new Level 2 and Level 3 processes followed later with various teams to re-establish more detail, with Level 3 at the “Work Instruction” level.)
This silo-busting approach was very different than the department by department process that had been the norm. With a charter from the CEO-Postmaster General, we redefined the entire organization in terms of Level 1 cross-departmental processes and their owners, those interconnections/handoffs, inputs, outputs, objectives, metrics, and resources needed. Communication schedules were established within each process to review on-time performance and to address risk and opportunity, by asking “What did/could happen to delay the process?” and “How to mitigate?”. Continuous improvement mechanisms were set in place.
It can’t be overstated that EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED! As we facilitated discussions between department heads or their reps, we discovered that the handoffs and departmental protocols were grossly outdated. We knew that you have to start at the top levels to make lasting improvements.
By defining each process, its objectives, inputs and outputs, it became clear that each input is the output of another process. Even “Setting Direction” had inputs from the Board of Governors and other customer and stakeholder groups. Outputs fed other processes. We defined each of these inputs and outputs through group discussions with “connected process” owners. These were BREAKTHROUGH discussions in that problems had not been “constructively” discussed before. This was a sustainable improvement. Silos were busted!
Level 1 defined the highest level process objectives, inputs, and outputs, and those became the basis for new Level 2 processes that dove deeper to eliminate non-value added steps, define data flows and elements, and streamline steps and hand-offs. Level 3 was detailed at the work instruction level.
At the time, paper-based communications, like Form 0-13 “Buck Slips” were the norm, and were often formally replaced by electronic means- including time stamps and easier distribution. Expectations and time targets were re-established. It created new and shared objectives, a common vocabulary, and reduced rework.
This new integrated system was based on scheduled communications among process owners. Changing markets and technologies require changing requirements, new business, and delivery models, and other market opportunities and threats. A process was now in place to more effectively deal with changes across departments. Email and e-communications would continue to reduce First-class mail revenue – but that risk was somewhat mitigated by “right-sizing”, “coopetition”, and “last mile” strategies led by later Postmasters General Jack Potter and Pat Donahue (but that’s another story).
We built an interactive business management system in 1998-99 that would be compliant with ISO 9001:2015 in terms of risk planning, process management, and continuous improvement. This process approach is now recognized as a best practice for ANY size organization, and it’s exactly what ISO 9001:2015 requires!

For your company Management Reviews are an ideal place for these process discussions. Performance indicators may focus on issues that have already happened. But are you planning for likely scenarios ahead? Do Sales, Operations, and Shipping communicate well. How about your key suppliers? They are also part of your extended enterprise success. Planning for risk within and between these processes is key.