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August 20, 2014 issue of the DPSAC NEWS
In This Issue
NIH Encourages Patients and Patient Visitors to Utilize the West Drive Entrance for Easy Campus Access
NIH Temporarily Unable to Issue 'Extended Visitor Badges' to Persons Requiring a Background Check
AOs Can Help Foreign Nationals Plan for Badge Renewal and Continuity of Access Privileges
DPSM Issues Revised Policies for Photography, Filming or Video-Recording Activities at NIH
NED Training Scheduled for October 14, 2014
Helpful Tips
FAQs
Safety Corner

   

 

Contact Us

 

Division of Personnel Security and Access Control (DPSAC),  

Office of Research Services  

 

Personnel Security 

Helpdesk: 301-402-9755

e-QIP: 301-402-9735

Appointment Line: 301-496-0051

E-mail: orspersonnelsecurity@ 

mail.nih.gov

 

Access Control

Helpdesk: 301-451-4766

E-mail: facilityaccesscontrol@ 

mail.nih.gov

 

       

        HHS logo small Logo Mark NIH Logo Mark    

NIH Encourages Patients and Patient Visitors to Utilize the West Drive Entrance for Easy Campus Access
         

The West Drive patient entrance to NIH, located off West Cedar Lane, directly north of the Clinical Center's main entrance and next to The Children's Inn, offers specially tailored campus access and services exclusively to the Clinical Center's patients, their family members and patient visitors as well as to blood and platelet donors. This entrance is designed for easy, quick access to the NIH for these individuals by providing one-stop security screening.
                   

NIH Revises Security Policies for Patient Visitors 

Beginning September 1, NIH will implement revised security policies that impact people visiting patients at the Clinical Center. Under the new guidance, a maximum of two individuals will be eligible for Extended Visitor Badges per patient. In the past, the number of badges issued to patient visitors was not limited.

The reason for these changes involves the required security check that must be conducted before an Extended Visitor Badge can be issued. In the past, all patient visitors were subject to a name check through the FBI's National Crime Information Center (NCIC). This criminal history check was free and allowed for expedient issuing of ID badges to patient visitors.

The FBI recently changed its policies for accessing the NCIC databases. NIH must now fingerprint individuals to obtain criminal history information. This fingerprint check currently costs $21.50 per person and will be charged to the sponsoring IC. 

Should issues turn up as a result of the FBI fingerprint check, the NIH Extended Visitor Badge may be revoked.
                 

Please note that patients and blood & platelet donors will not be fingerprinted and may be sponsored for a badge by their IC Research Member or from the Department of Transfusion Medicine, respectively.

NIH encourages patient family members and visitors to utilize the dedicated patient entrance on West Cedar Lane. This entrance is open 7 days per week from 6:00am - 10:00pm. At the West Drive entrance, specially trained staff members are on hand to assist incoming patients, patient relatives and patient visitors as well as blood and platelet donors in navigating the security and badging process and expediting access to the NIH campus.
               

Patient visitors beyond the two issued Extended Visitor Badges may also use the West Drive entrance to enter the NIH campus. However, they will need to obtain a Daily Visitor Badge at either the West Drive entrance or the Gateway Center.   

 

For more information about NIH Campus Access for Clinical Center patients and patient visitors, please visit the NIH Clinical Center website at: http://www.cc.nih.gov/about/visitor/patient_entrance.html.      

NIH Temporarily Unable to Issue 'Extended Visitor Badges' to Persons Requiring a Background Check

This notice first appeared in the July 23, 2014 issue of DPSAC News

 

Due to several issues experienced recently with our ability to access the FBI's criminal history database, we are temporarily unable to issue extended visitor badges to persons requiring a background check. ORS is working diligently to establish an alternate means of conducting the required criminal history checks. This alternative procedure is expected to be online in September.

 

Alfred C. Johnson, Ph.D.

Director

Office of Research Services

National Institutes of Health

301-496-2215

 

AOs Can Help Foreign Nationals Plan for Badge Renewal and Continuity of Access Privileges

In July, 2014, DPSAC began issuing Restricted Local Access (RLA) badges to foreign nationals and short-term staff. 

It was decided that foreign nationals and short-term staff currently possessing an HHS ID Badge or NIH Legacy Badge could keep their current badge until it had to be renewed or re-issued.  These individuals would get an RLA badge when their current badge went through the renewal or badge re-issuance process (e.g., legal name change or reporting a badge as lost).

PIV Card renewals will trigger badge deactivation for foreign nationals 
Due to limitations in the HHS card management system, AOs who are in the process of renewing the PIV Card of a foreign national after July 1 will cause the individual's current PIV card to be immediately deactivated.

Currently, NED displays the following message to an AO or AT when they change data that will result in the revocation of a person's PIV Card:

Warning: This update contains changes that if approved, will result in the immediate revocation of the individual's current ID badge and require the issuance of a new badge. The individual will need to be re-enrolled per Division of Personnel Security and Access Control (DPSAC) policy.  Please ensure this is the action you desire prior to approving this update.

When an AO completes the process in NED for any employee, contractor or affiliate in NED, NED automatically notifies the individual to begin the process to receive a new ID badge. Unfortunately, in the case of foreign nationals, by the time they receive this notification from NED, their current badge will have already been revoked, resulting in the loss of their physical access to NIH facilities and logical access to NIH information systems.

AOs and foreign nationals should work together to avoid loss of access privileges
To help mitigate this problem, the HSPD-12 Program Office is recommending that foreign nationals make their badge enrollment and issuance appointments on the same day as the sponsorship action to help avoid any interruption to physical or logical access due to a deactivated badge.

To accomplish this, DPSAC is recommending that AOs reach out to their foreign national customers before starting the badge renewal task and explain the importance of picking up their new RLA badge on the same day that their PIV card is revoked.

By coordinating the timing of these two activities, the AO can help foreign nationals obtain their new RLA badges quickly and avoid any interruption to their access privileges at NIH.    

AOs/ATs will have an important new task involving foreign nationals
As reported earlier by the NED Team, forty-two (42) 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 the task in the AO/AT inboxes based on their SAC preferences.  
 
(Note: 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)
AOs and ATs should also be aware that the new NED release 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 when they reach their "Alien Authorized to Work Until Date" (AAWUD) as recorded in NED.
 
A foreign national's AAWUD represents the end date of their authorization to work at NIH that 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.

 

DPSM Issues Revised Policies for Photography, Filming or Video-Recording Activities at NIH

The Division of Physical Security Management (DPSM), ORS, ensures that physical and engineering security initiatives at all NIH facilities work in concert with the NIH operational security program to provide the most secure environment possible for the NIH. This includes electronic security, surveillance systems, and locks.*
 
Photography, Filming, or Video Recording at the NIH

Permitted Activities:
Individuals may take photographs, films or videos, for personal or news purposes on the grounds of the NIH controlled properties to include entrances, lobbies, foyers, corridors, and auditoriums in use for public meetings, except when contrary to security regulations or signs as indicated below. 

Advertising/Commercial - Photographs and similar activities for advertising or commercial purposes may be taken only with
the advance written approval of the Director of the NIH.


(It is strongly recommended this written approval be possessed by the individual taking the photos/films/video at the time when they are taken.  If their actions are questioned by police officers and/or security guards, the written approval should be presented to the police officer/guard as proof of authorization.) 

 

Patients
A person may take photographs of a patient only with the informed consent of the patient (or the natural or legal guardian) and of the Director of the Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center or authorized delegate.

(It is strongly recommended this written approval be possessed by the individual taking the photos/films/video at the time when they are taken.  If their actions are questioned by police officers and/or security guards, the written approval should be presented to the police officer/guard as proof of authorization.)

 

Construction & Renovations
All employees, contractors, and visitors are restricted from photographing, filming, videotaping ongoing construction and renovation sites without the written approval of the ORF assigned project officer.


(It is strongly recommended this written approval be possessed by the individual taking the photos/films/video at the time when they are taken.  If their actions are questioned by police officers and/or security guards, the written approval should be presented to the police officer/guard as proof of authorization.)

  1. Where Prohibited by Signage: All employees, contractors, and visitors are restricted from photographing, filming, videotaping where prohibited by signage, without the written approval of the Director of the Division of Physical Security Management (DPSM)as described under the "Procedures to Request Permission from DPSM."           

Enforcement

Violations of this policy may result in a reprimand, expulsion of the requestor from the NIH premise by the Division of Police or be subject to a fine of not more than $50 or imprisonment of not more than thirty days or both, for each violation (40 U.S.C. 318c).

 

Suspicious Photography/Filming/Videoing

All suspicious photography/filming/videoing should be reported immediately to the NIH Police. Examples would include:

  1. A person trying to go unnoticed as they take photos/films/videos
  2. A person taking photos/videos of a sensitive area from outside a security checkpoint
  3. Anyone avoiding eye contact or other people as they take photos/videos or make notes, a person showing too much interest in a sensitive area, etc.

NOTE: DPSM utilizes surveillance monitoring and recording capabilities at various locations in support of security operations. All individuals working or visiting at any of the NIH owned or leased facilities are subject to video surveillance in public areas and controlled spaces.

 

* DPSM is responsible for creating and maintaining NIH policies relating to Photography, Filming and Video Recording at NIH. These policies are posted on the DPSM website at: http://www.ors.od.nih.gov/ser/dpsm/Pages/default.aspx.  

 

NED Training Scheduled for October 14, 2014  

 

The HSPD-12 Program Office will be offering basic and advanced NED classes on Tuesday, October 14, 2014. This training is designed to help beginners and advanced users quickly master NED in a hands-on computer lab environment. All classes are FREE!   

 

Important new information related to Extended Visitor Badge changes are coming 
Effective 1 September, 2014, only PIV-sponsoring AOs will be able to sponsor individuals for Extended Visitor Badges. All persons sponsored for a badge must have their fingerprints taken prior to badge issuance. ICs sponsoring individuals for a badge will be charged $21.50 for each fingerprint check.   

 

   


How to Enroll

The NED courses are posted on the CIT Training site where visitors can view availability for any class and receive a confirmation immediately after registering. The catalog of NED classes is posted at:    

http://training.cit.nih.gov/coursecatalog.aspx under "General Seminars."

 

When you see a course you want to take, just click on the course name (listed in the right column of the table). You'll be taken to the HHS Learning Management System (LMS) where you can register for the course online.

 

To log onto the HHS Learning Management System you can use either your PIV card and PIN or your NIH credentials. If you experience any difficulties accessing the LMS, please contact the CIT Training Program at 301-594-6248 or send an e-mail to: cittraining@mail.nih.gov. 

 

Helpful Tips
AOs who clear employees, contractors or affiliates for separation or transfer --  must collect that person's PIV Card (HHS ID Badge) and/or any other NIH-issued cards (e.g., RLA Badges) and return it, unaltered, to DPSAC once they have deactivated the individual's NED record.

Alternate Logon Tokens (a.k.a., ALT Cards) should not be returned to DPSAC. Rather, they should be returned to the appropriate IC's ALT Coordinator. A list of the ALT Coordinators for each IC can be found on the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) website at: https://ocio.nih.gov/Smartcard/Pages/ALT.aspx#distributor.

When using the new PIV Card readers -- remember to remove your PIV card from its protective holder and hold the PIV card flat against the card reader until it signals - with a green light and beep - that the gate has opened. Pulling the PIV card away too quickly may result in a misread.  

Know someone who could benefit from a subscription to DPSAC News? -- have them contact Lanny Newman (newmanl@mail.nih.gov) with a request to be placed on the DPSAC News mailing list.

ICs that want to add Lifecycle Work Station (LWS) operators to the approved roster -- send a written request to Richie Taffet at: taffetr@mail.nih.gov. Your request should include the new operator's name, their IC, their NED number, as well as the operator's e-mail address, building/room and phone number.

Once Mr. Taffet has approved the request, he will forward the name(s) to HHSIdentityAdmins@deloitte.com to complete the approval process, add the name to the LWS operator roster and inform the IC that the individual is now approved to operate the LWS.
 

Need to make changes to the LWS operator directories? -- drop an e-mail to Lanny Newman, newmanl@mail.nih.gov, and let him know what needs changing (e.g., adding new operators or LWS locations, removing operators, etc.). Remember, before a new operator can be added to the LWS directory, s/he must first be approved by Richie Taffet (see preceding Helpful Tip).  

  

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.    

 


FAQs

Q. Does the RLA badge apply to special volunteers from FDA? They currently have a legacy badge but require access to CRIS.
 

A. HHS will not allow NIH to issue an RLA to someone who has a PIV card (even if the PIV is from another OpDiv). However, NIH can issue an Alternate Logon Token (ALT) card to someone who has a PIV card from a different OpDiv. This has been done for people from FDA.   

 

The individual will need to be sponsored and approved, but the IC ALT Coordinator should be able to coordinate this process. The OCIO website https://ocio.nih.gov/Smartcard/Pages/ALT.aspx#distributor posts the ALT Coordinators for all ICs.

 

Q. What is the procedure for reporting a lost or stolen HHS ID Badge?

 
A. You should file a police report with the NIH Police, report your lost/stolen HHS ID Badge to Access Control (301-451-4766) and report your lost/stolen badge to your Administrative Officer (AO). The NIH Police must have your written report on file before you can be issued a replacement badge.  Your AO will need to enter the necessary information into the NIH Enterprise Directory (NED) to authorize a replacement HHS ID Badge (PIV Card).*  

 

Those who have not undergone the PIV process will need to schedule an appointment with Personnel Security to be fingerprinted and have their background investigation initiated.           

*Once the AO requests a replacement HHS ID Badge, the lost or stolen HHS ID Badge will be deactivated and will no longer work, even if it is found later.

    

Q. What is the procedure for obtaining a replacement HHS ID Badge for one that is broken?

 

A. Individuals whose badges are broken and who work at the Bethesda campus or nearby locations should bring their broken HHS ID Badge to the DPSAC Badge Issuance Center (Building 31, Room B1A26) or to the Badging Station in Building 10 (Clinical Research Center South Lobby) for a replacement.  

 

If a broken badge has not expired and the badge can be authenticated, Access Control will issue you a new badge. The expiration date on the new HHS ID Badge will be the same as the date on your broken badge.

 

Note: If you find that your PIV Card is broken and the card's expiration date is within six months, contact your AO for early badge renewal. Upon badge renewal, you will be issued a new HHS ID Badge with a new expiration date.

Individuals working at one of NIH's satellite facilities should contact their local badge issuance office for instructions on replacing their broken HHS ID Badge. Contact information for all badge issuance offices are posted at: http://www.ors.od.nih.gov/ser/dpsac/Pages/contactinfo.aspx.

 

Q.  What is the process for replacing a lost Alternate Logon Token or ALT card?

 

A.  The individual who lost the card should put in a ticket to the NIH Service Desk. This ticket will be routed to DPSAC staff who will terminate the lost ALT card and sponsor/approve the person for a new ALT card. DPSAC will then send the individual an e-mail stating that the new card is ready to be issued.

 

Once the individual has picked up the new ALT card from their IC ALT Coordinator, the ALT Coordinator will record the card as lost and record the newly-issued card.  

 

Safety Corner

Know How to Recognize and Report Suspicious Packages


'Safe Workplaces' Photo Contest
Reprinted from the August 15, 2014 NIH Record

Whether photography is a passion, hobby or just something you occasionally dabble in, the Office of Research Services, Division of Occupational Health and Safety (ORS/DOHS) invites you to help build and sustain a positive safety culture at NIH through photography.

Contribute to the effort by capturing/creating and sharing an image (or up to 3 images) depicting safe workplaces or activities-laboratory workers using personal protective equipment, crossing guards on busy streets, construction workers using safety gear, etc.

DOHS will share your photos with the NIH community through safety publications, pamphlets and posters. First, second and third place photographs will be framed and prominently displayed outside the ORS office; the images also will be featured on the ORS/DOHS web site. Winners will receive recognition and a framed certificate from NIH leadership.

The submission period lasts through Friday, Oct. 31. Also new this year will be an "In-Focus! Safe Workplaces for All" table at Safety Health and Wellness Day, Wednesday, Aug. 27, where you can get flyers and find out more about the contest. To learn more about the contest, rules, panel of judges, selection process and to submit your photo, visit: http://go.usa.gov/XEzY.

If you have questions, email ORSSafetyDay@mail.nih.gov or send written questions to NIH, OD, ORS, DOHS (Attn: NIH Mission First, Safety Always Questions), Bldg. 13, Rm. 3K04, 13 South Dr., MSC 5760, Bethesda, MD 20892-5760.


A biweekly e-newsletter from the Office of Research Services, Division of Personnel Security and Access Control (ORS/DPSAC) to keep you informed as NIH rolls out "Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12" (HSPD-12) establishing a common identification standard to better safeguard NIH and its workforce.