New NIH ID Credential - Restricted Local Access (RLA) Badge - Becomes Available in July  

As reported in the September 25 issue of DPSAC News, NIH will soon begin issuing a new type of identification credential, the Restricted Local Access (RLA) Badge, to NIH staff who fall into one of three categories:

With the NED team ready to release its next version of NED (v 3.6) on July 14, both DPSAC and the NED team want to make sure that the NIH administrative community is aware of the RLA-related changes that will be included in the new release. Below are excerpts from the July 7, 2014 e-mail from the NED team to NED users describing these changes:

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Reminder: NED v3.6 Release / Scheduled Outage 

What's Happening and When

The NED team will be releasing NED v3.6 the weekend of July 11 during which time the NED web portal (https://ned.nih.gov) will be unavailable.  Please log off the system no later than 7:00PM on Friday, 7/11. The NED web portal will be back online by Monday, 7/14, 7:00AM.

Please take a few minutes to read the information below to ensure you understand what will be happening at the end of the month.  The changes introduced in this release should not significantly impact your current NED workload, but it is important that you understand them. Most importantly, please do not hesitate to contact the NED team at [email protected] if you have questions or if we can help you prepare for what's coming. 

Overview

The NED v3.6 release includes support for a new type of NIH ID badge called an "NIH RLA (restricted local access) badge." The release also includes functionality requested by the NIH Division of International Services (DIS) that will cause NED to initiate the immediate revocation of a foreign national's ID badge based on their "alien authorized to work until date" (AAWUD). 

Additional Details

NIH RLA Badges

The new NIH RLA badge (like the HHS ID badge  

or PIV card) is a smart card that provides both logical and physical access to the badge holder. It looks similar to the HHS ID badge, but will have an orange stripe across the front.   

AOs/ATs will not explicitly request RLA badges in NED. As is the case today for HHS ID badges and NIH ID badges, NED will automatically determine who receives RLA badges based on business rules provided by the NIH Division of Personnel Security and Access Control (DPSAC).   

Per DPSAC, the following people will receive RLA badges:

• Short-term staff (at NIH less for than six months)
  

  The following NED classifications are exceptions to this rule
  and will continue to receive NIH ("legacy") ID badges:   

              - Volunteer (other than Special Volunteer)   
              - Volunteer (Clinical Rotator)   
              - Special Government Employee (SGE)
              - Tenant (both non-FDA and FDA)E)  
   
• Foreign nationals (non-US citizens)
• NIH summer interns (beginning in 2015)

RLA badges issued to foreign nationals will be for a maximum of three years. RLA badges issued to NIH short-term staff will be for a maximum of 180 days (approximately six months). NIH 2015 summer interns will receive RLA badges with a maximum expiration date of September 30, 2015.

Individuals receiving NIH RLA badges will go through a process similar to the current HHS ID badge process:

1. AO approves and sponsors a badge request in NED.
2. DPSAC enrolls the individual (performs identity proofing, captures fingerprints, takes the badge photo).
3. Personnel Security performs suitability review and adjudication.
4. NED authorizes badge issuance.
5. Access Control issues the badge.

For the process outlined above, NED will send e-mails similar to those it sends today for the HHS ID badge process. The ORS Division of  Personnel Security and Access Control (DPSAC) website also provides information about the new NIH RLA badge: http://www.ors.od.nih.gov/ser/dpsac/badge/Pages/Getting-RLA-Badge.aspx.

NIH will not replace HHS ID badges or NIH ID badges in the possession of foreign national and short-term staff currently working at NIH. Foreign nationals possessing an HHS ID badge will receive an NIH RLA badge when an AO approves a badge renewal or performs an action that results in the need for a badge re-issuance (e.g., legal name change or reporting a badge as lost).   

In the case of a short-term foreign national with an NIH ID badge, NED will initiate an RLA badge request when an AO approves an update that changes the length of the foreign national's appointment to more than six months.

AOs/ATs will have an important new task involving foreign nationals. Forty-two days prior to a foreign national's third anniversary of their date entered the U.S. (DEUS), NED will generate a "DEUS Third Anniversary Update" task and place in AO/AT Inboxes based on their SAC preferences.   

(Note that the NIH Division of International Services (DIS) will be responsible for entering a foreign national's DEUS in NED.)   

An AO/AT must run the task and verify the foreign national's position information by their three-year anniversary date. Failure to do this will result in NED initiating the revocation of the foreign national's ID badge early on the morning of their three-year anniversary date.  

Badge Revocation Based on Alien Authorized to Work Until Date (AAWUD)

Starting July 14, NED will initiate the immediate revocation of a foreign national's ID badge when they reach their AAWUD as recorded in NED.   

A foreign national's AAWUD represents the end date of their authorization to work at NIH that NIH Division of International Services (DIS) staff enters as part of a foreign national's ID badge authorization process.  

To avoid the inadvertent revocation of badges, it is important that the appropriate IC staff and/or the badge holder work with DIS staff to ensure that the foreign national's AAWUD in NED is correct and up to date. 

Sincerely,

NED Team

NIH Activates New PIV Card Readers at All Main Campus Perimeter Entrances

On Monday morning, June 30, 2014, NIH activated the new PIV card readers controlling access to all NIH main campus perimeter entrances.   

Throughout the week, extra guards stationed at all 13 vehicle entrances assisted drivers during the busy morning hours as they became familiar with the new process for entering the campus.

An informal survey of the guards by the Division of Personnel Security and Access Control (DPSAC) during the first week of activity with the new readers turned up few problems.  DPSAC staff reported that most individuals were able to enter the main campus without difficulty.

While traffic typically moved quickly at all entrances throughout the first week of operation, an occasional problem did pop up. Some PIV cards did not work either because they had broken antennas or they were expired. Guards handed individuals with non-working badges written instructions on how to obtain a replacement badge and directed them to the Gateway Center to obtain a visitor badge for the day.

Occasionally, guards had to remind drivers to remove their card from the protective holder and touch and hold the card flat against the surface of the reader until the gate opened. Also, some individuals discovered that the gate would not open if they pulled their card away from the card reader too quickly.

Other issues required some coaching: some individuals thought that touching the edge of their badge to the card reader should work. It didn't. The card has to be held flat against the surface of the card reader.

 

Some people apparently missed the multiple messages and video that included a warning that the old method of waving the card near the reader won't open the gate. In addition to holding the card flat against the reader, the card has to be held in place until the reader signals (with a beep and green light) that it's OK to proceed. 

There was also an isolated report of one gate quick-cycling and not giving the driver enough time to advance through the entrance. Technicians were quickly dispatched to that gate to fix the problem.

Why NIH has installed the new PIV Card readers

HHS mandated the installation of the new reader system at NIH to comply with Department security policies relating to Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12).  This is a government-wide policy that affects every federal agency.

For those who still may want to test their PIV Card  

Kiosks that allow you to test your PIV Card with the new readers will remain operational for a few more weeks. These kiosks are installed in the lobbies of Building 31 A and C wings, Building 45, Building 10 (Clinical Center) North and South, Building 38 (NLM loading dock entrance), and Bayview Research Center, Baltimore, MD.

Staff at 9609 Medical Center Drive ('Shady Grove') should be aware that the card readers in service at that building's entry portals use the same technology as the readers at the NIH main campus perimeter. If your HHS ID Badge/PIV Card works at your building entrance, it will work for campus entry. If the card doesn't work at your entrance, it will need to be replaced.

For the past three months, ORS has been sending a trained staff member to off-campus NIH buildings in and around Bethesda to enable PIV Card holders to test their cards with the new readers 'on site' rather than travel to the main campus. Individuals who would like to take advantage of this service will need to hurry. Friday, July 11 marks the final day that this off-campus service will be offered. The location and hours of operation are posted below:  

Location: 6707 Democracy Boulevard (lobby) -- for staff working in  

              6707/6701 Democracy Blvd & 6701/6705 Rockledge Drive

Date:      Monday, July 7 through Friday, July 11

Hours:     8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon

If your PIV Card is broken -- you will need to make an appointment with DPSAC's Facility Access Control ([email protected]  or 301-451-4766) or at other NIH Badge Issuance locations (including: Rocky Mountain Laboratories, MT; Research Triangle Park, NC; Bayview Research Center, Baltimore, MD; the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research) to have your badge reissued.   

Important: If you find that your PIV Card is broken and the card's expiration date is within 180 days, contact your AO for an early badge renewal.

Individuals with NIH Legacy badges should still be able to use their badges to access the NIH campus.  

* DPSAC reports that some of the early PIV Cards may contain broken or defective antennas that would normally transmit the signal needed to operate the new PIV Card readers. The PIV Card contains two antennas: the old PIV Card reader uses the antenna that operates by proximity; the new reader uses the other antenna, receiving the card's data only if that antenna is in physical contact with the reader.    

News Briefs

New e-QIP Policy Becomes Effective October 1, 2014

Effective 1 October 2014, DPSAC will no longer issue PIV cards (HHS ID Badges) to individuals who have not completed their Electronic Questionnaire for Investigative Processing (e-QIP) and had DPSAC staff review the documents for submission to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).   

This new Federal policy stipulates that NIH employees, contractors and affiliates must have completed their e-QIP forms to obtain a PIV card.  If DPSAC determines the application forms are incomplete, the documents will go back to the individual for completion.   

Individuals who do not complete their e-QIP prior to their Entry on Duty (EOD) day will not receive a PIV card until the e-QIP on-line questionnaire and associated release forms are reviewed and released by DPSAC to OPM.