IPC Certification of Excellence and Operational Surveys
Certification Assessments ensure postal operators adhere to the highest standards. They are given in recognition of management and staff working at international sites that provide excellent service quality.
IPC’s Certificate of Excellence in the Management and Processing of International Letter Mail is awarded to member postal operators reaching the required standards. To earn IPC’s Certificate of Excellence, the operator must first have achieved a minimum level of mail service performance and then must adapt its management and processing of international letter mail to conform to the high levels agreed upon by all IPC members. The certification process guarantees consistency, transparency, independence and pro-active management across all participating members.
Independent, external experts, led by the IPC Certification Manager, conduct assessments of Offices of Exchange that:
- meet minimum standards for quality of service,
- actively use CAPE*Vision in daily operations and monitoring, and
- participate effectively in the IPC Performance Centre Operations activities.
Certification Process
The assessment team first sends to the Office of Exchange (OE) a questionnaire, which covers work organization, quality management and interface relationships. A total of 417 to 428 points are available. An OE must achieve a minimum of 90 percent in each of the three categories to achieve certification for the first time. Renewal of a current certificate requires a higher standard.
The certification questionnaire acts as a self assessment tool for the OE staff. When they are satisfied that they meet the criteria an assessment team conducts an on-site inspection of all OE functions, including inbound and outbound operations as well as Air Mail Unit operations. The team examines how the OE handles the international mail within offices of exchange and how it interfaces between these offices and the domestic part of the mail pipeline and the international transport, respectively.
Operational Surveys
Operational Surveys are a basic tool postal operators use for upgrading international letter service. The on-site surveys focus on those aspects of operations that could affect drops in performance levels that have been identified in the monthly IPC Performance Alerts the OE has been receiving. The surveys also propose steps the OE could take to improve day-to-day operational procedures for accepting, preparing, processing and handling outbound and inbound priority letter mails. The survey team also reviews how well the OE interfaces with the domestic network as well as with the airport ground handlers and the carriers.
On the last day the survey team is on site, the exit report is presented to the management, identifying opportunities for improvement, and recommending corrective or preventive actions. To encourage rapid response to suggestions and to quickly improve service quality, the survey team and the operations managers agree on dates when accepted recommendations will be implemented and nominate the person who will be responsible for implementing the changes. After the survey, IPC sends a formal report to the operations managers in the surveyed postal operator, and IPC and the operator can agree on setting up a follow-up visit to the operational areas surveyed within a couple of months to verify that the plan has been implemented.