|
|
DPSAC News
A bi-weekly newsletter from the Division of Personnel Security and Access Control
|
Providing timely information to help keep NIH safe and secure |
|
January 13, 2021 Issue of DPSAC News
In this issue:
- Resources for Completing the Position Designation Tool (PDT)
- NED Badge Tracking Status Spotlight: Individual Corrected Background Investigation Paperwork
- Visitors Arriving at NIH Bethesda Campus for Credentialing Appointments Asked to Present DPSAC Confirmation Email at Gateway Center or CVIF
- FAQ: EOD Date Required in NED to Schedule Appointment for Badge Pickup
- FAQ: Using the Same PDT File for Multiple People
- AOs Who Wish to Obtain Sponsor Authority
|
|
Resources for Completing the Position Designation Tool (PDT) |
|
It has been nearly one year since the Position Designation Tool (PDT) was incorporated into the NIH Enterprise Directory (NED). The PDT is the official mechanism used to determine the required background investigation for a position in the Federal Government. This tool provides the ability to identify any national security or public trust responsibilities associated with a position. Given that we are close to the one-year anniversary of using the PDT at NIH, DPSAC wanted to remind the administrative community about the resources available for learning how to use the tool.
-
DPSAC website: The DPSAC website has a dedicated page for the PDT. It can be accessed here. To navigate to the PDT page from the DPSAC home page, simply hover your mouse over the “Resources” menu and the first choice in the drop-down menu is “Position Designation Tool.” This page contains an abundance of helpful information explaining what the PDT is, how to get questions answered and outlines the four steps to completing the PDT.
-
PDT Video Tutorial: OPM created a short 6-minute video tutorial showing how to access and complete the PDT. It can be found here.
-
NED/DPSAC PDT Training PowerPoint Slides: The NED Team partnered with DPSAC to develop training slides to guide people on using the tool properly. Those slides can be accessed by clicking here.
-
NED/DPSAC PDT Training Webinar: The NED Team and DPSAC co-delivered several webinars where they reviewed the PDT and how to use it. To view a recording of a session, please click here.
-
PDT Training by the Defense Counterintelligence & Security Agency (DCSA): DCSA provides instructor-led training courses on how to properly designate a position and complete the PDT. DCSA is the expert on the use of this tool. Their training is highly recommended. To view a list of upcoming courses, please visit https://www.dcsa.mil/mc/tec/upcoming_courses/ and click on the section called “Position Designation Tool (PDT).”
Once you have completed the PDT, DPSAC recommends taking one final look over the form to ensure there are no obvious errors or omissions. For example, if you are completing the PDT for someone who will be caring for animals and the final version of the form says the person is an IT person with supervision or control of IT systems, there might have been an error made on the form. One final check can save a lot of time and work as DPSAC must review the submitted forms and reach back to AOs when errors are made
|
|
NED Badge Tracking Status Spotlight: Individual Corrected Background Investigation Paperwork |
|
In 2020, NED began to include badge tracking status messages related to the completion of background investigation paperwork. Prior to authorizing an individual’s ID badge, DPSAC must ensure that all required forms for the background investigation are completed fully and accurately. This part of the process usually entails several back and forth communications between DPSAC and the individual and this is where it may get confusing following the NED badge tracking statuses.
Once the individual makes all necessary corrections to their investigation paperwork, NED will display a status message that reads “Individual corrected background investigation paperwork.” Ideally, when DPSAC completes their final review, and the individual completes Enrollment, the badge process will continue progressing and NED should display the message “Waiting for individual to pick up new ID badge.”
However, other times the process may appear to get stuck at the same NED tracking status for extended periods of time. DPSAC routinely fields questions from the administrative community about why the badge request seems stuck at the “Individual corrected background investigation paperwork” for several weeks or longer.
In these instances, the answer is usually the same. While the person has completed all the necessary corrections on the investigation forms and DPSAC completed their final review, the individual has not yet completed the enrollment (fingerprints/photograph) process; therefore, the NED status will display both “Awaiting Individual Enrollment” and “Individual corrected background investigation paperwork” until Enrollment is completed. Once Enrollment is completed, the NED status will update to “Waiting for Individual to pick up new ID Badge.”
Enrollment is another required step in the process to get an ID badge and can be completed in parallel with the completion of background investigation forms. In the event someone has not yet completed Enrollment, NED will prevent the badge request from moving forward to issuance. When reviewing the badge status page in NED, be sure to look for any messages in bold font. These are the active status messages for the person. In the screen shot below, you can see how there are two messages in bold. One is “Individual corrected background investigation paperwork” and the other is “Awaiting Individual Enrollment.”
|
|
Visitors Arriving at NIH Bethesda Campus for Credentialing Appointments Asked to Present DPSAC Confirmation Email at Gateway Center or CVIF |
|
When an applicant schedules a credentialing appointment with DPSAC (e.g. Enrollment/Badge Issuance/ Prescreening/Certificate Renewals), s/he receives immediate confirmation of the appointment in the form of an email. Recently, DPSAC has added verbiage to this email asking applicants to present a copy of the confirmation appointment email to security screeners upon arrival at the Gateway Center (or CVIF). This new requirement is intended to simplify and expedite the security screening process for these individuals and for the screeners on duty.
The revised appointment confirmation email now contains the following notice:
For customers obtaining credentialing (i.e., Enrollment or Badge Issuance) services at the NIH Main Campus, Bethesda, Maryland:
***Prior to your arrival to the NIH, please print a copy of this email or have it ready to be presented
on your smart phone. Once you have arrived, present this message to the Security Guard or Police Officer at the NIH’s Gateway Center or Commercial Vehicle Inspection Facility (CVIF) to ensure you are expedited through the security screening process. Failure to do so may result in delays or possible denial of entry to the NIH. ***
Note: Applicants/Customers who already have access to campus can ignore the new message.
Should an applicant have questions about this process, s/he can call the DPSAC Case Review and Customer Service Branch Help desk at: 301-402-9755.
|
|
Q. One of our new employees was advised that she could not schedule her badge pickup until her EOD date. Is that accurate?
A. NED will not allow an ID badge to be issued prior to the EOD date provided in the system. If the person has completed the requirements to receive an ID badge, NED will state “Waiting for EOD date: [date inserted here].” If they choose to pick up the badge a day later, or a week later, that’s fine.
The DPSAC main office in Building 31, Room 1B03 on the Bethesda campus is open daily and is by appointment only. If all appointments are booked on a particular day, the new employee would schedule badge pickup for the next available day, once again, on or after their EOD date, but not before.
Q: We hire a lot of contract staff for the same position. They have the same duties and type of access to NIH resources (facilities and computer systems). Can they all use the same PDT?
A. Yes. The final output of the PDT is a PDF file that shows the required background investigation for a given position. It does not include an individual’s name or other personal information. If you are hiring multiple people for the same position, you can use the same PDT file for each person. You can simply save the PDF file of the PDT to your computer or network drive and upload it to the NED record of each person.
|
|
Avoiding Additional
Delays in Processing
New Hires
Processing times are often delayed due to reasons outside of DPSAC control, which include, but are not limited to:
- Incomplete or not submitted OF-306
- Candidate response time
- Issues requiring clarification by the candidate
- Untimely submission of initial e-QIP or corrected e-QIP
How the AO and HR communities can assist:
- By ensuring all required documents have been uploaded into HR's 'Onboarding Manager' prior to establishing a NED account
- By entering candidates as early as possible but no later than 8 weeks prior to their Entry on Duty (EOD) date
- By working with DPSAC to ensure candidates respond in a timely manner to inquiries
|
|
Administrative Officers (AOs) who wish to obtain sponsor authority must complete the sponsor training. To access the training module, click on: Sponsor.
Upon completion, the AO should sign and email a copy of the certificate found at the end of the training module to Alex Salah at: salaha@ors.od.nih.gov. Upon receipt of the certificate, Mr. Salah will authorize the AO as a Sponsor.
Note: ONLY individuals with an Administrative Officer role in NED are eligible to be HHS ID Badge/PIV Card Sponsors.
|
|
Are there topics you would like to read more about in future issues of DPSAC News?
|
|
A biweekly e-newsletter from the National Institutes of Health, Office of Research Services, Division of Personnel Security and Access Control (ORS/DPSAC) to keep its readers informed of personnel security and access control policies and practices designed to safeguard the NIH and its workforce. DPSAC is responsible for verifying personal identity, validating suitability, reviewing background checks, authorizing facility access and issuing ID badges for NIH personnel.
Department of Health and Human Services
National Institutes of Health
Office of Management
Office of Research Services
Division of Personnel Security and Access Control
|
|
Keep up with the latest NIH updates |
|
|
|
|
|
|
