States and/or Europe for electronic computation may be helpful: -Freedom to separate computer display from the meter. — Prospects of providing multiple product capability. pulser. These incentives must be balanced against the first cost of an elecemnic computer versus a mechanical computer. Although the claim cannot be made that the costs are equal, there is reason to believe that the cost effectiveness of an installation using electronic computers will be superior to one with conventional pumps, and also that the cost trend of electronic components is more favorable than that. of mechanical computers. Various equipment manufacturers and gasoline marketers have conducted extensive experiments with electronic computer systems. In mid-1973, there are sufficient systems in use to identify, as experience is gained, certain characteristics of electronic computation. Some highlights as interpreted by the writer are these, again sourcing information from both the United States and Europe: -The computational and control circuits are dependent upon the the use of integrated circuit devices, and the displays are electronic rather than mechanical. -Computation and displays are digital rather than analog, and the displays use numerals of the 7-segment type. -Either central price setting for an entire installation or individual price setting at each computer module is used, and the selection is largely dependent upon installation requirements. --Although there has been some use of computers without inter locked price per gallon displays, it is now clear that price per gallon displays must display the price set into the computer logic for that transaction. -Servicing will be done by replacing components rather than repairing them at the site, and diagnostic equipment usable by service personnel is required. -Presuming that sufficient attention is devoted to circuit engineer ing, equipment packaging, quality control, and avoidance of component infant mortality, the reliability of electronic computation promises to be superior. -Consideration of safety and visual requirements lead to substan tially different design configurations of the island dispensing point, and the potential of electronic computation is unlikely to be realized by the direct substitution in a pump of the normal mechanical computer with an electronic computer. Finally, a significant lesson learned by developers of electronic equipment for service station use is this: new and different technology inevitably means reinterpretation of regulatory standards such that the basic characteristics of the new technology will be beneficial. To the developer, this means a willingness to work closely with the authorities in order to substantiate that application of new technical approaches will, in fact, serve the public. With the authorities, there has been exhibited a willingness to recognize the value of new technology despite the complications this must present to the authorities in administering their functions. The type of exchange represented this session is invaluable in coping with the advent of electronics in gasoline measurement and marketing, and I appreciate being asked to take part. WEIGHTING ON THE MAIL by ARTHUR SMITH, Director, Office of Retailing, Customer Services Group, U.S. Postal Service, Washington, D.C. Thank you for inviting me here today. Weighting on the Mail is really a provocative subject. In preparing for my talk on weights and measures, I was reminded of one of my favorite postal cartoons. It shows a clerk with a cage of canaries on the scale in front of him. In each hand the clerk has a stick with which he is beating on the sides of the cage, all the while saying, "Fly, damn it, fly.” That's quite a departure from the one with the butcher's thumb on the meat scale ! In the two years since the Postal Service has assumed control over the old Post Office Department, we have taken a hard look at postal weights and measures systems and have made some startling discoveries. Distressing is probably a better word. Your committee seemed surprised that we were not aware of the problems. Seems they called them to our attention in the cold” days. In any event, I want you all to know that we are rectifying our weights and measures problems. And, that is the main part of my discussion. Before I do get into the specifics of weights and measures in the post office, I want to let you know that we have made substantial progress in all areas of improving postal services ... to a measurable degree ... and that we are continuing to make progress. Most people I talk to are not aware that compared to other nation's postal services, ours is better in nearly every measurable way. We deliver local first class mail overnight consistently about 95 percent. Within the continental United States nearly all first class letters are delivered within two or three days. No other country can match that speed of service in comparable distance. As an example, England's postal system takes up to two days to deliver letters throughout that country—a country the size of one of our New England states. Postal customers in this country marvel at being able to get a letter from Germany in two or three days, and they are dismayed because it sometimes takes that long for a letter to go from coast to coast. Well . OF COMM KARTMENT TION 392 don't praise Germany too highly. Remember, our postal system takes that mail to its destination in this country. As a matter of fact, speed of foreign mail coming to this country is a result of speed in our system, not theirs. So, the person to thank for speed of foreign mail is your own postman. More importantly, we are able to move the mail with great speed without the tremendous subsidies most foreign postal systems enjoysubsidies coming from their national telegraph and telephone services. There is good reason for our improved service. That is the change in status from the old Post Office Department to the new United States Postal Service, a public-private corporation which is charged with making the postal services more modern and pay-as-you-go. Since we have taken over the management of what some folks claim is an unmanageable business, a lot of stories have been circulating about our performance. Many of these are unfriendly. Most of them are untrue. One of the more recent of these says that the so-called "fat cats" from industry have been given the top jobs in the new Postal Servicethat the men and women who worked long and diligently in the government service were simply passed over or thrown out. I hope I don't give the impression of being an old “fat (at." The fact is that I and a large percentage of the other people in headquarters are career employees. Almost all top field managers have come up through the postal ranks. Another concerns a heartless disregard for free expression of ideas. This is a scene wherein we are driving magazines and newspapers out of business because of unbelievable high postal rate increases. The facts belie the myth. The Magazine Publishers Association said that 160 magazines were sold, merged or discontinued from 1962 to 1972. In that time 753 new ones were started. The claims of rate increases made by magazine publishers use the misleading term of a 170 percent increase in postage costs. What does this mean in cents per copy? LIFE Magazine, when it folded last December, was paying about three cents per copy for postage. Further, the parent organization, Time, Inc., said that their 1970 expenditures for postage in 1972 were just 2.9 percent of operating expenses. Now, these two examples are not of much concern to you, insofar as you do not publish magazines, nor are you executives in the Postal Service. But, you surely understand the need for accuracy-perhaps more so than any other group that we might have the opportunity to talk to. Another inaccurate tale making the rounds is that we are supposedly not going to reach the break-even point until 1984 ... the Postmaster General is discouraged ... Congress is going to crack down ... the potential is there for a total breakdown in postal services. All untrue. DEPOSITED BY THE 2. The truth is that 1984 only comes into play as an important date because that is the time under Congressional mandate that we must become a break-even operation. This was set so mailers would have ample time to adjust for subsidy loss. Not that we are against subsidies, but we are for open subsidies that are not really a double burden to you—in the form of higher postage as well as higher taxes. Our suissidy from the taxpayers through Congress is being continually reduced. Why? Because we are able to more and more meet our own obligations. We are making the Postal Reorganization Act work ard no one, least of all the Postmaster General, is discouraged. We are undertaking great things—and have accomplished many others to make sure that your Postal Service will meet your demands today and in the future. We have made great gains in capital inventory and expenditures over the past two years—last June 30 we had $175 million of fixed assets on order, more than double the amount of the previous yearbut capital expenditures are not the only answer. In the old days (and unfortunately I can speak with authority on the old days) a post master was responsible to one of 15 regional directors: who in turn were responsible to a Deputy Assistant Postmaster General, etc. To put it bluntly, as long as the post master kept his nose clean and did not steal a letter or, more importantly, got along with his Congressman, his job was safe and he could do pretty much a he wanted. That kind of management could mean disaster. In fact, the President's ('ommission felt we were on the brink of it in 1970. Today, we have decentralized authority and have placed a sensible, workable management structure in the field a management structure in the hands of veteran postal officials. The changes we have made in two years are just a beginning. We are constantly improving our products and our services. How? Through new product development, through marketing, through research and development. Every change we are making has just one goal in mind. We want our customer's business and we are doing everything possible to deserve it. To otler some proof that we have become competitive, that we want your business and are willing to compete for it, we have told the President and Congress that we are willing to change some of the procedures that gave us the exclusive right of delivery of some types of letter mail. We feel that by directly facing this challenge we will have to either meet or beat any kind of competition. Overriding everything else we are doing is our commitment to Service wrvice that meets the needs of the customer as well as serrice at a cost that is both competitive and fair. |