In-Office Cost System Sampling Processes

The In-Office Cost System (IOCS) is the primary probability sampling system the U.S. Postal Service uses to attribute the labor costs of clerks, mail handlers, city carriers, and supervisors related to handling the mail. Data collected from IOCS enables the Postal Service to allocate labor costs to each mail category. The accuracy of product cost allocation is vital because the Postal Service is mandated to ensure all products cover their costs.The IOCS is designed to supplement accounting system labor cost data by sampling mail handled by employees. Specifically, an IOCS reading is an observation that represents a snapshot of an employee’s work activities at selected points in time throughout the year. In fiscal year (FY) 2019, IOCS sampled readings cost the Postal Service over $14 million and included 214,789 in-person readings, 339,318 telephone readings, and 20,869 missing or cancelled readings.