DHS CSAT FAQ Update 11-26-10

Earlier this week the folks at DHS ISCD updated their CFATS Knowledge Center page with two new frequently asked questions (FAQ), a new article, and a ‘Latest News’ entry about the SSP webinars. The new article/.FAQs are:

• 1711: How can I make a change to a submitted Site Security Plan (SSP)?
• 1712: I am working on my facility’s Site Security Plan. How can I register to participate in a DHS SSP Webinar?
• 1713: How to Register for a DHS CSAT-SSP Webinar

The ‘Latest News’ piece is:

“Weekly CSAT-SSP Webinars are now open to any CFATS facility with a pending SSP. Webinars are held each Wednesday from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM EST and 2:00 to 4:00 PM EST. A facility may register up to five persons to participate in one or more of these weekly webinars. See the Article “How to Register for a CSAT-SSP Webinar” posted under “Articles” above for registration information and requirements.”

If you read FAQ 1712 and Article 1713 you are going to find that they are identical. This will be kind of surprising unless you understand the organization of the Knowledge Center page. Articles are listed on that page and their limited number (currently 7 articles) means that the title is always visible on that page. The large number (437) of searchable FAQs makes it very unlikely that any particular FAQ will be visible on the Knowledge Center when you first land on it.

SSP Webinar Registration

The key point of this whole update is disseminating the sign-up procedure for their two SSP webinars conducted every Wednesday (presumably absent any Federal Holidays). ISCD has farmed out the management of the registration process. To register you need to send an email to cfatsssp@absconsulting.com. The email must include the following information:

• Name
• Position
• Company Name
• Facility Name
• Facility Number
• SSP Due Date
• Number of Participants
• Names of Participants
• Session Preference (morning or afternoon)

Reservations are on a modified first-come-first-serve basis. DHS notes that “in the rare event that a webinar is fully booked, preference is given to facilities within 30 days of an SSP due date followed by those facility representatives that have not participated in a previous SSP Webinar”.

I haven’t seen this webinar, but the ones that I have seen put on by ISCD have provided valuable information. Once again I suggest that facilities book a conference room where they can get all of their CFATS team (including consultants) in the room to watch the webinar at one time. To be fair to other participants, you will need to manage the participation in the question answer period so that one person asks the questions for the group.

Data Set Download Note: The downloadable list of FAQ/Articles has been updated to include the items mentioned above. Still no way to identify that without downloading the data set, but it is current.