Escort-OnlyInstructions.docx.pdf

Escort-Only Instructions Region 5 Contractor Security

**Failure to properly complete/submit all items outlined in these instructions WILL delay and/or prevent the Applicant from being approved to work on a GSA contract.**

Roles and Definitions

Applicant: Person who is to be escorted. An approved Applicant may only be escorted once under each contract. Each escort period may not exceed 15 consecutive calendar days.

Approver: The Office of Mission Assurance (OMA) will provide approval or disapproval for all requests within Region 5 with the exception of emergency work. The GSA Supervisory Property Manager is authorized to provide approval to work at sites under his or her control in an emergency situation.

Escort: Person who will be escorting the Applicant if the Applicant is approved to work. An escort may be any person with an Enter on Duty Determination from the office of Personnel Management. Examples of these individuals include: GSA employees, other Government agency employees, GSA contractors, and Federal Protective Service contract guards.

Escort-Only Contractor Information Worksheet (CIW): The form completed by the Applicant and sponsor to document who will be escorted, who will be providing the escort, and the timeframe in which the Applicant will be escorted. Refer to “Appendix A” for further information.

Sponsor: GSA employee requesting approval for the Applicant to be escorted. Typically, the Sponsor will be the COR, Project Manager or Property Manager.

General Escorting Guidelines Escorting Timeline and Limitations

● An approved Applicant may be escorted for one escort period that may not exceed 15 consecutive calendar day under each contract which he or she works.

● If an Applicant must be on-site for longer than 15 consecutive calendar days throughout the full duration of a contract, he or she must apply for a full security clearance and must wait for an Enter on Duty determination from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) before being allowed to work at the site.

Routine Requests for Escort Approval

Submitting the Escort-Only Contractor Information Worksheet (CIW) for Approval

1. The Applicant receives the CIW from the Sponsor and completes Section 1 of the form in its entirety. If the Applicant is to be escorted by a GSA contractor, the contractor must also complete Section 4 of the form.

a. All information in Section 1 must match the ID being used to access the building, including full middle name.

b. If the Applicant does not have a middle name, “NMN” must be used in the “Middle Name” field.

c. If the Applicant is not a U.S. citizen, the immigration information must be completed.

This includes: country of citizenship, port of entry, date of entry, registration number, etc.

d. If a contractor is escorting the Applicant, the full Social Security Number must be listed in Section 4.

2. Upon receipt of the CIW from the Applicant, the Sponsor reviews the section(s) completed by the Applicant for accuracy and completeness.

3. If the section(s) completed by the Applicant are complete and accurate, the Sponsor completes Sections 2, 3, and 5. If a Government employee or separately contracted guard will be escorting the Applicant, the Sponsor shall also complete Section 4.

a. If a Government employee or contract guard will be escorting the contractor, the Social Security Number is not required in Section 4.

4. After Sections 1 through 5 are completed in full, the Sponsor submits the CIW to the Office of Mission Assurance (OMA) at r5clearances@gsa.gov.

a. CIW’s must be encrypted with a password to protect all Personally Identifiable Information (PII) when being submitted to OMA. The CIW and the password must be submitted in two separate emails with different subject lines. See Appendix B for further instructions.

b. When emailing the CIW to R5clearances@gsa.gov the Sponsor must include the following in the subject line: “Escort CIW for (Insert Operating Division - Chicagoland, SILIN, Ohio, MI or MN/WI)”

Review of CIW

1. Once the CIW is sent by the Sponsor, OMA will complete the review of the form by the end of the following business day.

2. The information on the CIW is reviewed against existing information within the GSA Credential and Identity Management System (GCIMS)

3. Approval to be escorted will be denied if any of the following conditions exist:

a. The Applicant is found to have an Unfavorable status in GCIMS as a result of a prior investigation

b. The Applicant has already applied for and is awaiting a suitability determination from

OPM.

c. The Applicant has already been escorted under the contract number provided on the CIW.

4. After the review is completed, OMA will respond via email to the Sponsor with approval or disapproval of the Applicant. If approved, the escorting can begin.

http://h/ mailto:R5clearances@gsa.gov

Emergency Requests for Escort Approval

In the event of an emergency, the Supervisory Property Manager has the authority to provide verbal approval for contractors to be escorted. Once the emergency situation is resolved, the Applicant and Sponsor must complete the CIW following the same requirements included in the section above with the following exceptions:

1. The Sponsor must include “Emergency” in Section 2 under the “Contract Number.”

2. Once all sections are completed on the CIW, the Supervisory Property Manager will send the form to OMA with explanation that his or her verbal approval was given to begin escorting due to an emergency.

3. OMA will record the escorting in GCIMS based on this information.

Policy Point of Contact

For questions on the process please contact Connie Chidester at 312-886-0611 or connie.chidester@gsa.gov.

mailto:connie.chidester@gsa.gov

Appendix A: Escort-Only CIW

The Escort-Only CIW is be located on the OMA Google Site at https://sites.google.com/a/gsa.gov/gsa-region-5-contractor-security-clearances-portal/ under the left tab labeled Current Security Clearance Forms and on the FMSP website at (add link once available). A sample of the form is below:

https://sites.google.com/a/gsa.gov/gsa-region-5-contractor-security-clearances-portal/

Appendix B: Creating an Encrypted Document Using WinZip Encryption

1. Highlight and right-click on the file

2. Select WinZip

3. Click on “Add to Zip File…”

4. Enter the file name when prompted and

5. Select “Encrypt files”

6. Click “Add”

7. Enter the password for the file and click “OK”

8. The file can now be sent to OMA. The password must be sent in a separate email with a separate subject line to r5clearances@gsa.gov.

mailto:r5clearances@gsa.gov