On October 19, 1995, six months after the Oklahoma City bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, President Clinton issued Executive Order 12977, creating the Interagency Security Committee (ISC) to address continuing government-wide security for federal facilities.
Prior to 1995, minimum physical security standards did not exist for nonmilitary federally owned or leased facilities.
The ISC’s mandate is to enhance the quality and effectiveness of physical security in and the protection of buildings and nonmilitary federal facilities in the United States.
The Interagency Security Committee’s policies, standards, and best practices are designed for Federal security professionals responsible for protecting nonmilitary federal facilities in the United States.
(Remembering the April 19, 1995 tragedy in Oklahoma when a truck bomb exploded outside of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building injuring hundreds and leaving 168 people dead. Courtesy of NBC News and YouTube. Posted on Apr 20, 2015)
The ISC standards apply to all nonmilitary federal facilities in the United States—whether government-owned, leased, or managed; to be constructed or modernized; or to be purchased.
This ISC standard defines the criteria and processes that those responsible for the security of a facility should use to determine its facility security level and provides an integrated, single source of physical security countermeasures for all nonmilitary federal facilities.
The Standard also provides guidance for countermeasure customization for federal facilities.
Approximately 350,000 federal facilities across the country require a comprehensive risk assessment methodology.
As such Facility Security practitioners must address the threats, consequences and vulnerabilities of 33 undesirable events identified in The Risk Management Process for Federal Facilities: An Interagency Security Committee Standard Appendix A: The Design-Basis Threat (DBT) Report, June 2017, 11th Edition.
The Design-Basis Threat Report defines an undesirable event as:
“An incident directed towards a Federal facility that adversely impacts the operation of the facility, the mission of the agency, or personnel.”
Facility Security practitioners must address the threats, consequences and vulnerabilities of all 33 undesirable events in order to deliver a comprehensive risk assessment of their federal facility.
However, very often facility security practitioners do not always take into account all of the undesirable events when conducting risk assessments due to lack of expertise or available resources.
This leaves their facilities vulnerable to risk, exposed to unnecessary expense, lacking in efficiencies and non-compliant with federal standards.
To mitigate these potential dilemmas, The Federal Risk Management Process Training Program (RMPTP), a Platinum Award Winner in the 2017 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program, has designed a training program utilizing The Risk Management Process for Federal Facilities: An Interagency Security Committee Standard and its appendices.
Since its inception, the training cadre has conducted over 30 training sessions and trained 671 federal security professionals across 68 agencies, grade ranges from General Schedule 6 through Senior Executive Service level on how to develop a federal facility risk assessment methodology and effectively conduct a federal facility risk assessment.
The Federal Risk Management Process Training Program, a collaborative effort of instructors from the Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), is the first Interagency Security Committee (ISC) certified training course offered to federal audiences to train security professionals on the risk management criteria and processes defined in The Risk Management Process for Federal Facilities: An Interagency Security Committee Standard, 2nd Edition, November 2016.
The Federal Risk Management Process Training Program educates the participants on the criteria and processes of:
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Determining a Facility Security Level
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Identifying a baseline Level of Protection
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Identifying and assessing risks
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Determining the Necessary or Highest Achievable Level of Protection, and
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Implementing Countermeasures
The program extrapolates essential knowledge from over 500 pages of documentation in the Interagency Security Committee Standard and Appendices into collaborative exercises, hands-on interactive training, with instruction by security and risk management subject matter experts.
Course graduates receive the first Interagency Security Committee certified and approved Risk Management Process Tool designed by the team to automate the process of calculating facility security levels and identifying the relevant countermeasures associated with the various types of threats – saving those conducting risk assessments time and resources as well as providing a means of documenting outcomes.
Compliance requirements set forth in Executive Order 12977 include:
“… to enhance the quality and effectiveness of security in and protection of buildings and facilities in the United States occupied by Federal employees for nonmilitary activities…”
This order is the authority to ensure that agencies comply with federal facility security directives.
The Federal Risk Management Process Training Program provides a path for security practitioners to understand risk assessment methodologies and processes that can then be applied for compliance purposes.
The team’s ultimate goal is to provide federal facility risk assessment training to all agencies to empower them to establish timelines for phased compliance metrics and successfully meet compliance requirements.
The benefits of the program are noted by program participants’ comments on the specific outcomes they hope to achieve as a result of applying the training:
“Being able to select the correct counter measures”;
“Implementing a proper RMP program at my agency”;
“Make my facilities more secure”;
“Be able to conduct assessments that are clear and concise based from ISC guidelines”;
“Applying the ICS standards to my job”.
Additionally, comments by participants on how the program reinforced their commitment to public service:
“The Risk Management Process Training Program helped me assess risks facing Federal facilities and find ways to mitigate and share knowledge with my fellow employees”; “
By showing you can save the public tax money by accepting risk”;
“By applying the instruction to the risk management process and tools given by this course”.
The Federal Risk Management Process Training Program Team consists of:
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Reid Hilliard, Lead and Master Instructor, Assistant Director, Justice Protective Services, Department of Justice (DOJ)
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Kevin McCombs, Tier 3 Instructor, Director Security Services, Facilities, Security, and Emergency Management, Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
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John Rossiter, Tier 2 Instructor, Senior Security Specialist, Office of Security Services, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Overview
The Federal Risk Management Process Training Program (RMPTP) certifies students on the Risk Management Process course of instruction and the Risk Management Process Tool.
Both of which are the first to be certified by the Interagency Security Committee (ISC).
Students develop the ability to prepare accurate federal facility risk assessments utilizing the Interagency Security Committee Risk Management Process.
How You Will Benefit
Using the Interagency Security Committee’s The Risk Management Process: An Interagency Security Committee Standard policy documents, participants will be able to:
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Master how to determine a Facility Security Level
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Identify a Baseline Level of Protection
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Assess risks
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Determine the Necessary or Highest Level of Protection
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Implement customized Countermeasures
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Master how to determine threat, vulnerability and consequence utilizing the Design-Basis Threat Report
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Become proficient in customizing the Risk Management Process Tool
Who Should Attend
Anyone involved in the risk management decision-making process for the security of a facility and practitioners who participate in the development of security countermeasures, to include:
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Security Officials; Chairpersons; Facility Security Committees; Real Estate Acquisition Specialists; Federal Security Supervisors and Managers; and others involved with Federal facility acquisition, construction, and renovation projects.
DOJ SEC Office of Personnel Management Competes in the 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program
AST focuses on Homeland Security and Public Safety Breaking News, the Newest Initiatives and Hottest Technologies in Physical & IT Security, essential to meeting today’s growing security challenges.
The 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program, is organized to recognize the most distinguished vendors of Physical, IT, Port Security, Law Enforcement, Border Security, First Responders, (Fire, EMT, Military, Support Services Vets, SBA, Medical Tech) as well as the Federal, State, County and Municipal Government Agencies – to acknowledge their outstanding efforts to ‘Keep our Nation Secure, One City at a Time.’
As an ‘ASTORS’ competitor, the Federal Risk Management Process Training Program will be competing against the industry’s leading providers of Innovative Homeland Security Training Programs.
To Learn More about the ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program, see 2017 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Award Winners Honored at ISC East.
Over 100 distinguished guests from National, State and Local Governments, and Industry Leading Corporate Executives from companies allied to Government, gathered from across North America and the Middle East to be honored from disciplines across the Security Industry in their respective fields which included representatives from:
- The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T)
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection
- The Department of Justice
- The Security Exchange Commission
- State and Municipal Law Enforcement Agencies
- The Royal Canadian Mounted Police
- Leaders in Private Security
The highlight of the 2018 AST Homeland Security Awards Season will be the 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Presentation Luncheon to honor Nominees, Finalists and Winners on November 14, 2018 at ISC East 2018 at the Jacob Javits Exhibition Center in New York City.
Good luck to DOJ SEC OPM on becoming a Winner of the 2018 American Security Today’s Homeland Security Awards Program!
To Learn More, please visit the OPM Center for Leadership Development.
Join us in Recognizing these Industry-Leading Firms for their Outstanding Product Development Achievements, Exciting New Technologies and Innovative Education Programs to address the growing Homeland Security Threats our Nation is facing.
Take advantage of this exclusive luncheon opportunity to Invite your Guests, Clients and Show Visitors to a lovely & affordable plated meal event in the heart of New York City, for a Fabulous Networking Opportunity!
ISC East is the Northeast’s largest security industry event and your ‘ASTORS’ Awards Luncheon registration includes complimentary attendee access to the show.
Already Exhibiting and/or Attending the 2018 ISC East Conference?
Join us to meet the 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Award Winning Company Executives & Government Agency Representatives.
Register today for the ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Luncheon on November 14th, in New York City and give yourself & your clients a break from the show!
Gourmet luncheon choices available per person, or reserve a table – make an Impression on your Guests and Receive an Exclusive Discount Opportunity.
