Recommendations arising from the audit to the 1999 SQI monitoring system of the CTT

The audit made it possible to identify certain situations which can be improved. The following stand out from the recommendations made by the auditors:

i) To update flow charts.

Charts for normal and priority mail should be updated according to the most recent traffic information available.

The same should be done regarding the charts for the normal parcel service and the despatch service for newspapers, books and regular publications, in accordance with the SQIs associated with providing these services, as defined in the Universal Postal Service Quality Convention.

Following the proposed norm CEN prEN13850, related to measuring the length of time for sending mail, the flow charts for post should be updated every three years at the very least.

ii) To define postal flows among the various channelling regions for the types of mail tested, taking into account the characteristics of the mail tested (prepaid post, sealed post, weight scale, etc.).

iii) To increase the number of observations in the smaller post offices, within the scope of the SQI 5 monitoring - Time spent waiting in post office lines.

Post offices are divided into six levels of affluence, according to their size. The level 6 ones are the largest, and the level 1 the smallest. The number of samples per post office is equal to its level. Thus, in a level 1 post office only one sample is carried out.

iv) To apply a statistical weight when receiving objects so as to increase the reliability of the results obtained.

As certain objects that were tested were classified as invalid, and due to the existence of non-replies, the classification of replies considered to be valid may not correspond to the initial sample stratification.

According to the proposed norm CEN prEN13850, such situations should be corrected by weighting the valid replies. One can use real traffic flows and the characteristics of the test objects as weights.

v) To define procedures for correcting errors made by panellists, bearing in mind that one should eliminate the possibility of subjectivity taking place when correcting errors.

vi) To carry out controls regarding time spent waiting in line (SQI 5) by an outside entity, taking into account the need to guarantee sample transparency.

vii) To define the procedures for panel turnover.

It is thought that procedures regarding panel turnover should be defined. Taking proposed norm CEN prEN13850 into consideration, no place for inducting or receiving post should be used for more than 4 consecutive years.

In addition to the recommendations for improving the system, the auditors also recommended the purchase/development of a technological platform suited to the needs of the system in terms of security and versatile development. According to the auditors, IT implementation presents certain characteristics which may possibly condition the results of the trial postal system:

- the absence of procedures establishing the conditions for changing existing access codes;

- the possibility of users accessing "key" fields in the system, thus allowing them to change said system;

- every work post has a trial postal programme installed on the hard drive. It is thus necessary to carry out system updates separately for each work post, thereby running the risk of various versions being used on the different personal computers.