HHS ID Badge/PIV Card Rollout Scorecard

Here are the most recent NIH badging statistics provided by HHS as of  

March 15, 2013.  

Sponsored: 38,339    Enrolled: 37,971   Issued: 37,570*

*This figure represents 98.0% of individuals who have been sponsored.

NIH to Complete Transition to PIV Card + PIN Login by March 2013  

By the end of March 2013, most NIH employees, contractors and affiliates will have transitioned to using their PIV Card (aka HHS ID Badge) and their PIN to log in to their Windows computers while connected to the NIH Network.*   

Beginning in the Spring of 2012, the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) began coordinating this 3-stage transition with the help of designated Points of Contact from each IC, and with the Division of Personnel Security and Access Control (DPSAC), the HSPD-12 Program Office and NIH leadership.

For the first two stages of the process, 22 Institutes and Centers were divided equally into two groups. Both groups of ICs were able to meet their deadlines, transitioning to PIV Card/PIN login by August 31, 2012 and December 29, 2013 respectively. A final group of seven ICs and the OD are on track to complete the transition to PIV Card/PIN login by the March 29, 2013 deadline. 

In all, more than 33,300 employees, contractors and affiliates will be using the more secure PIV Card/PIN login system to access the NIH Network from their Windows computers.  

OCIO Launches Revamped HHS Smart Card (PIV Card) Website

Individuals requiring additional information on using their smart card (HHS ID Badge/PIV Card) with their computer can turn to the newly redesigned HHS Smart Card website (http://smartcard.nih.gov) recently launched by the Office of the Chief Information Officer.  

This website offers simplified navigation tools and a user-friendly interface to easily locate information on the use of the PIV Card for logical access to NIH computers and information systems. Sections on secure e-mails, digital signatures, HHS ID Badge maintenance, and technical resources are included. Try it out!  

One of the challenges facing badge holders who are new to PIV Card login will be remembering to take their card out of the card reader and placing it in their card holder before leaving their office.    

Early in the process the OCIO developed and distributed "Forget Something?" poster artwork to the HSPD-12 Points of Contact (POC) for each IC. Many ICs have displayed these posters in offices and near elevators. Your POC can supply you with this artwork so you can print up additional posters as needed.  

Also, the HSPD-12 Program Office installed "Forget Something?" lawn signs near the vehicle exits on the NIH campus and at other remote facilities. The rationale for these signs is that it's probably easier to turn around inside the perimeter and retrieve your badge from your card reader than it is to wait in line at the NIH Gateway Center or its equivalent on other campuses for a visitor badge.   

Get in the Habit 

DPSAC is recommending that individuals get in the habit of removing their PIV Card from the card reader immediately after logging in and placing it back in their card holder.  

Note: removing your PIV Card from your card reader will not log you off your computer! However, after a period of inactivity, whether your PIV card is inserted in your card reader or in your card holder, your computer will log you off and you'll have to log back in with your PIV Card and PIN.

Make an 'Appointment' With Yourself  

In your Outlook calendar, schedule a recurring 'meeting' toward the end of your workday that reminds you to take your PIV card with you.  

Hopefully one of these tools will save you a trip to the NIH Gateway Center or its equivalent on other campuses.      

* Everyone will need to keep their passwords up to date since some applications will still require a username and password for login.    

Some individuals who qualify for an exemption will still be able to use their username/password to log in to the NIH network from their Windows computer.

"Summer Student Badge Policy for Access to Facilities and Information Systems" is a handy one-page guide that outlines the process for ensuring that Summer Students have the access needed to perform their duties. This access includes both physical access to NIH-managed facilities, and logical access to NIH computers and information systems.

Visit http://www.ors.od.nih.gov/ser/dpsac/badge/Pages/students.aspx  to view this guide as well as additional information about Summer Student policies, including processing Summer Students at remote locations, foreign Summer Students, and FDA Summer Students. 

Access Card Utility: A Convenient Tool for 'Cert' Renewals...IF...You Know Your PIN

If your IC has added the Access Card Utility (ACU) application to your 'Programs' folders, you will be able to renew your expiring digital certificates from your Windows computer.*

If you do not know your PIN, however, you will need to make an appointment with one of your IC's LWS operators or with a DPSAC badge issuer on the main NIH campus (or your local Badge Issuance Office) to renew your PIV card's expiring digital certificates.   

* Older versions of the ACU may be referred to as Desktop Card Utility or DCU.  

If an LWS is not available in your IC or your immediate area, and you work in the greater Bethesda or Rockville area -- please call 301-451-4766 or 301-402-9755 to schedule an appointment with the Division of Personnel Security and Access Control located in Building 31, Room B1A26 or in Building 10, South Lobby, Room 1C52. Both locations are on the NIH main campus. If you work outside the Bethesda/Rockville area, contact your local badge issuance office.   

Renew your PIV Card's digital certificates before they expire -- the Department will notify you by e-mail 42 days before your certificates expire reminding you that you must renew your certificates. In the notification you will be advised to contact a Lifecycle Work Station operator in your IC. You will need up-to-date certificates in order to log in to your Windows computer and/or to use certain computer applications. Note: 'cert' renewals cannot be performed prior to the 42-day window.   

Important: ICs purchasing a new LWS should make sure that the following HHS BPA Contract information is specifically listed on the order form:

Contract Name:  HSPD-12 System Integration Services (SIS) Contract

Contract No. / Order No.: HHSN316201200018W / HHSN27600001  

Contractor Name: Deloitte Consulting LLP (DUNS #019121586)

ICs using a Government Purchase Card for the purchase of LWSs are advised that the credit card will not be billed until the equipment is delivered. Delivery of LWS equipment may take up to 10 weeks.

FAQs

Safety Corner

Understanding the Proper Use of Fire Doors

This article was prepared by the Division of the Fire Marshal, ORS 

If you are located in one of the many research laboratories on the NIH Bethesda Campus, it is very likely that the door you use to enter and leave your laboratory is a "fire-rated" door. Doors you use to enter stairwells located in your building are also fire doors.  

Fire doors are typically of steel or solid wood construction and are provided with specially tested components including closers, latching hardware, and fire-rated glass view windows.  

These doors protect openings created in "fire barriers" which are constructed to separate laboratory work areas from corridors and stairwells from other parts of a building. However, they can only perform their job when used and maintained properly.

To maintain proper use of a fire door:  

• Keep the door closed at all times. The simple action of closing a fire door will help contain the products of a fire (e.g., heat and smoke) within the laboratory while protecting adjacent areas and the exit route. In addition, keeping the door closed at all times will help maintain air pressure in laboratory work areas that is negative with respect to the corridor as required by fire and safety codes.

• Don't prop open the door with wedges or by bending the closing mechanism. Aside from possibly rendering the fire door inoperable due to physical damage, propping open fire doors will allow products of combustion to migrate into other areas and contribute to the spread and severity of the fire.

• Don't install metal "kick plates" higher than 16 inches from the bottom of the door. Larger kick plates act as a heat sink which could reduce the door's fire resistance.

• Don't store equipment or combustibles against the fire door. As part of their listing/certification requirements, fire doors are tested in a furnace as part of a fire rated wall assembly. Their ratings are slightly less than that assigned to the wall in which they are installed and they are considered the "weak link" in the fire wall. To pile items in front of a fire door may result in these materials igniting if a fire were to occur on the other side of the door. This could create a hazardous condition in the corridor not only for those exiting the building, but also for fire and emergency response personnel entering the building to extinguish the fire.

• Avoid blanking off hardware. If it is determined by the Division of the Fire Marshal that one of the fire doors installed in your laboratory is not required by the National Fire Codes and your wish to render it inactive, submit a work request to the Office of Research Facilities, through your Administrative Officer, to have the fire door removed and the wall cavity filled to maintain the fire barrier. This will then allow storage in the laboratory at that location.

• Don't nail or screw signs or other items to the fire door. Creating holes or cracks in a fire door may void the fire protection rating and require replacement of the fire door. Signs may be attached to fire doors provided they are small (less than 50f the area of the fire door) and attached with adhesive (to areas other than the fire rated glass view window).

If you have any questions concerning the proper use, installation or modification of fire doors please contact the Division of the Fire Marshal, Office of Research Services, at 301-496-0487.