Transportation Security
Administration
Client
Profile
The TSA is a component of the Department of Homeland Security and
is responsible for security of the nation's transportation systems.
With state, local and regional partners, the TSA oversees security
for highways, railroads, buses, mass transit systems, ports, and
450 U.S. airports. Some airports, including San Francisco
International Airport and Sioux Falls Regional Airport, utilizes
private security under contract with TSA for screening of baggage
and passengers. As of March 2007, the TSA employs around 43,000
transportation security officers (down from a high of nearly 60,000
in 2003), commonly referred to as "TSOs", formerly referred to as
screeners.
Executive
Summary
The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has
directed the Border and Transportation Security (BTS) Directorates
to field a solution for collecting biographic and biometric
information for non-immigrant visa holders entering and departing
at U.S. airports/seaports with International departure as part of
the United States Visitor and Immigration Status Indicator
Technology (US-VISIT) program. The objective of the US-VISIT Exit
program is to ensure that the visitors to the U.S. properly depart
the country in compliance with their immigration admission status.
In order to accomplish this objective, the US-VISIT Exit program
has been established nationally at all airport/seaport locations
with international departures. Working and coordinating with TSA,
port authorities, airlines and CBP, the US-VISIT-Exit program will
deploy self-service touch screen workstations in sixty-six major
U.S. airports and twelve major seaports with international
departures for the non-immigrant visa holders to report departure
data from the U.S. by capturing their travel document biographical
information and their two index fingerprints.
The scope of work that DYONYX performed on this project included development of enterprise architecture, organizational change management, operations, staffing, customer service to users of the US-VISIT Exit system, operations and maintenance support of 700 US-VISIT departure workstations, and data entry and collection operations at thirteen (13) U.S. airports and seaports with international departures where departure workstations are present. DYONYX developed proven methodologies that were vital elements of the program's success. We implemented a comprehensive strategy to incorporate the implementation of best practices including the monitoring of the daily flight boards; the verification of transactional uploads; execution of back-up export and transport of Data.
Operations
DYONYX provided comprehensive program management oversight of the
U.S. VISIT Exit program and manages the day-to-day operations. We
organized, directed, and coordinated planning and execution of all
project activities, and review the work of subordinates to ensure
that the schedule, standards, and reporting responsibilities are
satisfactorily achieved. Our Program Manager ensured that all work
on this task complies with contract terms and conditions, and
provides input for the monthly status and financial reports. DYONYX
workstation technicians provided preventive maintenance on
auxiliary equipment directly associated with the workstations,
which includes but is not limited to cleaning the fingerprint
scanners, touch-screen monitors, and general maintenance of the
workstations. We ensured installation of security certificates and
software upgrades (Windows and US-VISIT custom software) in
accordance with the documented procedures, including security
patches, and updates to anti-virus signature files. We were
responsible for contacting the IT technical maintenance support
contractor to report hardware or software problems or failures with
the US-VISIT Exit workstation within five (5) minutes of the
identification of the failure or problem.
Organizational Change
Management
When fully implemented, DYONYX will provide approximately 650
bi-lingual and multi-lingual technical staff at approximately
sixty-six major airports and seaports. Currently, we have fully
implemented the program at thirteen major airports and employ 420
personnel in this activity. Our efforts have included defining the
staffing requirements for each location through analysis,
recruitment, and deployment. We conducted criminal records checks
and credit checks on each applicant. The background check included
local, state, and federal records. Each applicant had to meet the
minimum requirement of no criminal record; and, demonstrate
reliability through the credit report.
Airline
Security
To aid in the process of airline security, DYONYX provided
customer service support to assist non-immigrant visa holders with
the use of the US-VISIT Departure Workstation. We answered US-VISIT
related questions including visa requirements, the Exit process,
and questions concerning the proper use of the workstation,
provided preventive maintenance, reported technical problems, and
enhanced the traveler experience in complying with the US-VISIT
Exit departure requirements. We assisted non-immigrant visa holders
with the proper use of the US-VISIT Exit system, including how to
submit biographical and biometrical data using the embedded
document reader (3M-IT Pax Reader) and fingerprint scanner (Cross
Match Model 300 Verifier). We also provided information about the
US-VISIT program, and answered general questions about the
US.-VISIT Exit process, when necessary. DYONYX workstation
technicians also provided manual data entry support for travelers
using the US-VISIT workstation, if the document reader could not
read travel documents.
Vetting and
Matching
DYONYX provided support for visitors' biometrics (digital
fingerscans and photographs) which were checked against a database
of known criminals and suspected terrorists. At selected locations,
and when required by the government, DYONYX was responsible for
exporting/transferring the biographic and biometric data securely
stored locally on the exit workstation to an electronic media
(e.g., CD-ROM). DYONYX would then transport the electronic media to
the nearest location in the airport or seaport with data
connectivity to upload the data to the DHS network for completion
of the data transfer using a VPN solution. Repeatable processes are
absolutely essential to ensure quality and consistency across the
program. Our team developed standard operating procedures that
cover the entire program from recruitment to daily operations.
Significant Project Achievements
- Development of standard operating procedures for every aspect of the program.
- Development of a very effective recruiting and screening process to identify and pre-qualify candidates.
- Implementation of the pilot sites in a very effective and efficient manner to assist DHS in the proof-of-concept effort.
- Fielding a crew that understands the program, promotes the program, and believes in the program as a vital element of the security of the United States.
- Establishment of relationships within TSA, port authorities, airlines and CBP to develop an effective program for DHS.
To learn more, visit www.dyonyx.com
