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MDD Timecard Tracking Test

In the May and August 2021 issues of the Postal Record, NALC discussed how the Postal Service routinely updates the software used by the Mobile Delivery Device (MDD) and Mobile Delivery Device Technology Refresh (MDD-TR). One of these updates includes a feature titled the Timecard Tracking Test.

The article also touched on a report issued by the USPS Office of Inspector General (OIG) in December 2020 pertaining to the Electronic Badge Reader (EBR), which is used by most carriers to make daily clock rings. As noted by OIG, the company which manufactured the EBR went out of business in August of 2018. According to OIG, there are approximately 21,000 remaining EBRs in use and USPS believes serviceable units will be exhausted by the end of 2022.

With the EBR becoming obsolete, the Postal Service must create a new method to record timekeeping. In June 2021, the Postal Service advised NALC of software update Version 7.35. This update enhanced functionality of the MDD/MDD-TR and included the Timecard Tracking Test. The Postal Service is currently testing an application on the MDD/MDD-TR which allows the device to accept clock ring entries. Clock rings are then transferred to the Time and Attendance Collection System (TACS) application.

During this test, carriers will scan their identification badges prior to recording time entries. City carriers will be able to access the timekeeping workflow via the On Street menu. City carriers will record their “Begin Tour,” “Out for Lunch,” “Return from Lunch,” “Move,” and “End Tour using the MDD.

NALC will be closely monitoring this test to ensure that usage of the MDD/MDD-TR to make time entries is compliant with all contractual and handbook provisions. For a more complete description of the Timecard Tracking test see Director of City Delivery Christopher Jackson’s article in August edition of The Postal Record at www.nalc.org/news/the-postal-record/2021/august-2021/document/DCD.pdf.