Procedural
Requirements
Effective Date: March 08, 2017
Expiration Date: June 08, 2024
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NASA Procedural Requirements |
NPR 4200.1H Effective Date: March 08, 2017 Expiration Date: June 08, 2024 |
| | TOC | Preface | Chapter1 | Chapter2 | Chapter3 | Chapter4 | Chapter5 | AppendixA | AppendixB | AppendixC | AppendixD | AppendixE | ALL | |
4.1.1 The purpose of this chapter is to define the requirements, procedures, responsibilities, and authority for the execution of equipment physical inventories and validation of NASA-held equipment records in the NASA PP&E System. The physical inventory process meets 40 U.S.C. 483(b), and 524(1) and (2) requirements to account for property allotted to NASA and minimize retention of excess property.
4.2.1 The physical inventory process is a management tool and an essential element of the NASA Equipment Management Program. The process objectives are to:
a. Validate the existence of NASA-held equipment items recorded in the NASA PP&E System.
b. Validate the physical location and custodial responsibility for equipment.
c. Reconcile and update equipment records in the NASA PP&E System.
d. Obtain information needed by managers to accomplish broader aspects of equipment management such as to identify unused or underutilized equipment and initiate requests to excess NASA-held equipment IAW section 3.7 of this NPR.
e. Deter misuse, loss, damage, and theft of equipment.
f. Search and recover equipment reported missing.
g. Measure performance in the management of NASA-held equipment, such as:
(1) Evaluate the effectiveness of equipment control procedures and determine vulnerabilities at the Center.
(2) Record validation to assess the completeness and accuracy of equipment records in the NASA PP&E System.
(3) Determine and report the number or percent of equipment items that meet NASA control criteria discovered missing at the completion of the inventory. This is an indicator of Center's equipment loss rate experience and proper equipment management practices.
(4) Determine the number or percent of equipment items that meet NASA control criteria that are not recorded in the NASA PP&E System (or equipment overages). This is an indicator of the Center's accuracy and success at achieving control of inbound or fabricated items.
(5) Validate records for equipment not located on Center (e.g., equipment on loan, on property pass, or off Center for repair or calibration).
4.3.1 The Center Equipment Manager shall develop a plan and schedule to physically inventory 100 percent of NASA-held equipment within a fiscal year (October 1 through September 30).
4.3.2 The inventory plan and schedule will address the events listed below:
a. Allow for contingencies to prevent delays in the completion of the inventory.
b. Accommodate a planned building move or a major IT refresh.
c. Indicate whether the inventory will be executed by equipment location or by property custodial account.
d. If executed by equipment location, include a listing of location(s)/area(s) of responsibility to be inventoried, including offsite locations and secured areas.
e. Include the following attributes and milestones:
(1) Identification of the organization, respective PCs, and property custodial accounts scheduled for inventory.
(2) Dates to start and complete pre-inventory activities.
(3) Dates to start and complete the 100 percent wall-to-wall inventory and record validation.
(4) Dates of any offsite visits and access to secure areas.
(5) If applicable, the time allocation for inventory progress reviews between the Equipment Manager and the PC.
(6) Time allocation for the Equipment Manager to notify PCs of inventory results.
(7) Time allocation for the Equipment Manager to notify the Division Director or equivalent NASA official of inventory results.
(8) Dates to start and complete post-inventory activities or inventory reconciliation.
(9) Dates for inventory completion and forwarding inventory summary report to the Center Director as outlined in Section 4.6 of this NPR.
4.3.3 The SEMO is the approving official for the inventory plan and schedule.
4.3.4 The SEMO shall forward a copy of the approved Center inventory plan and schedule to the NASA Headquarters LMD Equipment Manager.
4.3.5 The SEMO shall provide the inventory plan and schedule to Division Directors or heads of organizations, projects, and programs.
4.4.1 The SEMO shall designate, in writing, the individuals responsible for conducting the 100 percent fiscal year inventory and record validation or the execution of special inventories when necessary.
4.4.2 The SEMO or designee shall instruct designated inventory personnel in inventory techniques and procedures. The PC, the Center Equipment Manager, the program/project directors, and other persons with expertise may assist in the execution of physical inventories as necessary.
4.4.3 Inventory personnel should not be record keepers nor accountable for the equipment to be inventoried. PCs are not to be assigned as responsible individuals to inventory equipment in their custodial account to preclude conflict of interest.
4.5.1 In addition to executing NASA's 100 percent equipment density each fiscal year, NASA inventories will be executed when custodial responsibility for equipment is transferred from one person to another, prior to employment termination of personnel from the Agency or departure from his or her assigned NASA organization.
4.5.2 Inventories also will be executed when the SEMO deems necessary to validate the existence and safekeeping of a group or subset of equipment items. The types of NASA inventories include:
a. Fiscal Year Inventory.
b. Change of PC Inventory.
c. Clearance of Personnel for Separation or Transfer.
d. Special Inventory.
e. Inventory by Transaction.
4.5.3 Fiscal Year Inventory
4.5.3.1 This section establishes the procedures required to prepare for and complete the 100 percent fiscal year/cyclic inventory and record validation.
4.5.3.2 NASA equipment is identified in the NASA PP&E System by a unique identifier called the ECN. This number appears on a label that is usually attached to Controlled Equipment.
4.5.3.3 A complete 100 percent fiscal year inventory consists of:
a. Pre-inventory activities.
b. The wall-to-wall inventory.
c. Post-inventory activities or inventory reconciliation.
4.5.3.4 Pre-inventory activities. Pre-inventory activities consist of a series of events for a physical location preparation that will be accomplished prior to the initiation of the physical count or scanning to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the inventory. Pre-inventory activities include the following:
a. Making Center personnel aware of the processes involved in the inventory campaign. The SEMO or designee shall provide a written notification at least 30 calendar days before the initiation of the wall-to-wall inventory to the Division Director, PC(s), and End User(s) of equipment.
(1) The notification needs to reach stakeholders who may be directly or indirectly impacted by the physical inventory activities (e.g., customer organizations, commercial partners, or recipients of equipment on loan).
(2) The notification will include instructions regarding required activities to facilitate and expedite the wall-to-wall inventory.
(3) At a minimum, the notifications will include:
(a) The requirement of Division Directors to execute walk-through inspections per this directive.
(b) Completion of any pending equipment transfers in the NASA PP&E System.
(c) Coordination to return equipment on property pass to the Center.
(d) Readiness of Center organizations to produce documents that support the status of equipment in maintenance or loan.
(e) Informing PCs and the Division Director of any anticipated impact that the execution of the inventory may bring to work activities in their organization such as readiness to open cabinets, facilitate the movement of equipment, or other necessary action that may cause disturbance to the organization or that require action from the employees.
(4) The notifications will provide guidance to stakeholders on the following:
(a) Distributing equipment listings to the lowest level of responsibility.
(b) Organizing work areas and storage locations (e.g., access to storage cabinets or secured facilities).
(c) Recalling items as needed (e.g., equipment supporting telework agreements or equipment on property pass).
(d) Identifying and segregating items to facilitate the physical count/scanning of equipment.
(e) Identifying items in maintenance facilities and ensuring supporting documents are on hand.
(f) Ensuring that all inventory items have ECN labels or identification.
(g) Verifying that items are in the correct location as recorded in the NASA PP&E System database.
(h) Pre-counting fixed or static equipment items.
(i) Identifying equipment no longer required for the purpose of the appropriation used to make the purchase, obsolete items, and initiating requests to excess equipment IAW Section 3.7 of this NPR.
(j) Requesting recipient organizations of equipment on loan to perform physical inventory of equipment on loan to them and report results.
(k) Any other activity deemed necessary by the SEMO to ease the inventory process.
b. Walk-Through Inspections.
(1) Each Division Director or equivalent NASA official, accompanied by the corresponding PC, shall conduct a walk-through inspection of their property areas to maintain adequate inventory control and accountability requirements for equipment under their control by continuously surveying the property to identify excess as required by 40 U.S.C. ยง 524(a) (2).
(2) The walk-through inspection includes all locations both onsite and offsite for each property management area, identifying idle or underused equipment that is no longer needed or that is expected to become idle or underused in the near future.
(3) The property End User shall initiate request(s) to excess equipment no longer required IAW Section 3.7 of this NPR.
(4) The Division Director shall prepare a Memorandum for the Record describing the results of the walk-through inspection and forward it to the SEMO IAW SEMO guidelines.
(5) The SEMO shall include a summary of the walk-through inspection(s) results executed at the Center in the inventory summary report to the Center Director as outlined in Section 4.6 of this NPR.
c. Training and Communication.
(1) The Equipment Manager shall deliver training to stakeholders as necessary to ensure that individuals involved in the physical inventory have all necessary skills and information for a successful inventory.
(2) The Equipment Manager shall conduct briefing sessions to ensure that all Center employees affected by the physical inventory are familiar with established objectives and validation techniques.
4.5.3.5 The wall-to-wall inventory.
a. The physical inventory is to be conducted discretely and with minimal disturbance to the organization.
b. The inventory team shall make a visual check of the condition of the equipment and develop a list of evidently damaged equipment.
c. Damaged equipment will be scanned and acknowledged as accounted for.
d. Equipment that appears to be excess, worn out, or in obvious need of repair will be noted as such during the inventory.
e. The results of the inventory provided to the Division Director will highlight observations for corrective action by the appropriate PC or assigned user.
f. The inventory validation is accomplished through a combination of the wall-to-wall physical count, scanning of ECN tags, validation of virtual tagging, and validation of transaction documents for equipment not physically located at the Center during the execution of the inventory.
g. The Inventory Team shall physically count the number of weapons at the Center, compare the model(s) and serial number of weapons with those listed in the NASA PP&E records, make a list of any differences, and immediately report any discrepancies to the SEMO.
h. The Inventory Team shall physically validate equipment virtually tagged, when feasible.
i. Equipment items not located on the Center will be included in the execution of the fiscal year inventory such as equipment on loan to other NASA Center(s) or to an organization outside NASA; in maintenance or in support of rotational exhibits; in orbit; or in transit status.
j. Items found and identified as loaned from other PC accounts or from other management areas are reconciled by the owning PC.
k. Equipment on loan or lease from organizations outside the Center will be inventoried IAW the Center inventory schedule and results reported to the owning organization accordingly.
l. Equipment FOS during the inventory that meets the criteria for control will be identified to the using organization, tagged, and recorded during the inventory. FOS equipment is processed IAW Section 3.3.6 of this NPR.
4.5.3.6 Post-inventory activities or inventory reconciliation.
a. Reconciliation and adjustment to equipment records in the NASA PP&E System will be supported by appropriate documentation and be accomplished prior to closing the inventory, but no later than September 30.
b. Maintenance documents will be current and valid for equipment in maintenance. Open maintenance requests need to be verified with the supporting maintenance organization.
c. The Center Equipment Manager or designee shall input adjustments in the NASA PP&E System within three business days of discovery determination.
d. Adjustments for lost, damaged, or destroyed equipment will be processed IAW Chapter 5 of this NPR.
4.5.4 Change of PC Inventory.
4.5.4.1 When a property custodial account changes hands, the outgoing PC and the newly designated (incoming) PC shall execute a joint 100 percent physical inventory of the equipment assigned to the custodial account before acceptance by the incoming custodian.
4.5.4.2 The outgoing PC must initiate and achieve resolution to all differences discovered as a result of the inventory prior to relinquishing responsibility of the property custodial account to the incoming PC.
4.5.4.3 The outgoing PC must conduct a causative research for differences, if any.
4.5.4.4 A PC Inventory also will be executed:
a. At the discretion of the SEMO, Division Director or head of organization.
b. When the PC permanently leaves the organization or when a PC is no longer available due to employment dismissal, the Division Director shall identify a replacement PC or designate an individual to execute the equipment inventory as outlined in this section.
c. When the PC is temporarily reassigned (detailed) to another organization for more than 30 calendar days.
4.5.4.5 Inventory team personnel may be contacted for assistance in the execution of the inventory.
4.5.4.6 Causative research includes, but is not limited to, comparing all transactions to records in the NASA PP&E System against documents that support those transactions, searching storage areas controlled by the organization, and ensuring that equipment identity was not destroyed by consolidation, disassembly, or mislabeling. When no conclusive findings are made, take the following actions:
a. Report FOS IAW Section 3.3.6 of this NPR.
b. Account for equipment shortages IAW Chapter 5 of this NPR.
4.5.4.7 Prior to the departure of the outgoing PC, the incoming PC shall provide a statement to the SEMO and to the corresponding Division Director confirming that all equipment items were inventoried and that all differences (if any) were resolved.
4.5.5 Clearance of Personnel for Separation, Termination, or Transfer
4.5.5.1 The SEMO or designee shall clear NASA and contractor personnel from the respective Center separating or terminated from the Agency, transferring to another NASA Center, or transferring to another organization within a Center of accountability and responsibility for the NASA-held equipment assigned to them.
4.5.5.2 The SEMO or designee is the NASA official with authority to clear NASA personnel from equipment accountability and responsibility on applicable clearance documents. The following will be accomplished, as a minimum, prior to the departure of the End User from the NASA organization:
a. The PC shall validate the existence of equipment prior to the departure of the End User.
b. The PC shall transfer accountability and responsibility of the equipment to replacing personnel, report as excess, or retain accountability and responsibility for the equipment by self-assignment as End User of the equipment in the NASA PP&E System.
c. The newly assigned End User shall accept responsibility of the equipment or report any discrepancy to the PC before acceptance.
d. The PC shall notify the SEMO upon satisfactory completion of the transfer of equipment accountability and responsibility to the new End User for proper clearance of personnel from the NASA Center. e. Unresolved differences pertaining to equipment accountability will be processed IAW Chapter 5 of this NPR.
4.5.6 Special Inventory
4.5.6.1 A special inventory is a non-cyclic inventory that is conducted when directed by the SEMO.
4.5.6.2 The SEMO may direct the execution of the inventory by scanning or by physically inspecting the equipment to validate equipment information recorded in the NASA PP&E System.
4.5.6.3 The SEMO may opt for the execution of a special inventory for one of the following reasons and objectives:
a. For contract closure to validate IAGP records IAW contract provisions.
b. Recurrent losses of equipment, such as laptop computers, to detect theft or neglect.
c. When there is a Center or Center organization concern regarding accountability of NASA equipment.
4.5.7 Inventory by Transaction
4.5.7.1 Inventory by transaction is a NASA-approved indirect method to execute the physical inventory other than the scheduled, routine, and deliberate actions taken during the annual inventory campaign as outlined in this chapter.
4.5.7.2 Inventory by transaction is accomplished when the processing of an equipment record update is the result of a transaction that involves the physical touch of the equipment item. The following are the only acceptable transactions to validate inventory records:
a. The processed transaction to record the EMR reactivation of equipment items.
b. The processed transaction to record the retag of equipment items.
c. The processed transaction to record an equipment item returning from loan, maintenance, repair, or property pass status.
d. The processed transaction to record the End User acceptance of an equipment item.
4.6.1 This section identifies the inventory summary reports that will be developed and provided to NASA HQ, the Center Director, Division Directors, and PCs.
4.6.2 The SEMO shall provide an Inventory Summary Report to the Logistics Management Division (LMD) at HQ and the Center Director.
4.6.2.1 The inventory summary report will be submitted to the Center Director within 30 calendar days from the closing of the inventory and a copy forwarded to LMD within 45 calendar days from the closing of the inventory.
4.6.2.2 The inventory summary report data, segregated by division-level organization totals and Center totals, should include the following:
a. A description of the inventory process followed at the Center and summary of the results of the physical inventory for the ending fiscal year.
b. List of division-level organizations, number of equipment items, and total acquisition cost for each division-level organization at the start of the fiscal year.
c. Quantity of equipment items and total acquisition cost for the Center at the start of the fiscal year.
d. List of division-level organizations, number of equipment items, and total acquisition cost for which a physical inventory was completed during the period.
e. Number of equipment items and total acquisition cost for the Center for which a physical inventory was completed during the period.
f. Total quantity and acquisition cost of equipment items added to the records found on station (FOS) during the physical inventory.
g. Total quantity and acquisition cost of items discovered missing, lost, or stolen.
h. A complete root cause analysis surrounding the loss, damage, or destruction of equipment items subject to the Property Survey Report Process.
i. A summary of the results of Property Survey Reports Processed in the fiscal year.
j. Total quantity and acquisition cost of equipment items that were previously surveyed and added to the records (recovered) as a result of the physical inventory.
k. Conclusions reflecting the overall result of the inventory for the period and any procedural changes initiated following analysis of the inventory results such as significant discrepancies in count that may indicate theft, poor security, inadequate documentation of receipts, or issues or other Center challenges in controlling NASA equipment.
4.6.3 The Equipment Manager shall also provide an Inventory Summary Report to Division Directors and PCs.
4.6.3.1 The SEMO or designee shall provide a report to Division Directors and respective PC(s) within 30 calendar days after completion of the fiscal year inventory of the property management area (division level). The report consists of the following:
a. Total number of equipment items and acquisition cost at the initiation of the inventory.
b. Quantity and total acquisition cost of items recorded in the property custodial account that were not located (missing).
c. Number and total acquisition cost of unrecorded equipment items in the NASA PP&E System found in the inventoried area that meet the criteria for control FOS. Finding equipment that has not been recorded in the NASA PP&E System may indicate inadequate interfacing with procurement, lack of procurement practices, or failure to report the acquisition of equipment by End Users.
d. Any errors discovered for equipment location, which may indicate potential problems in documenting equipment movement, inadequate training of PCs, or poor recordkeeping.
e. Total of equipment items that are no longer required by the organization and were turned in to the disposal office for appropriate action.
f. General observations noted during the execution of the inventory.
g. Total quantity of equipment items and total acquisition cost at the conclusion of the inventory.
h. Recommended corrective actions to noted observations and differences. ?
4.7.1 The Equipment Manager shall maintain inventory files for each PC account within a division-level equipment management area.
4.7.2 Each file will contain necessary documents to clearly indicate the status and results of the inventory in each area. Examples of documents to be included are:
a. Notification to the PC of the plan and schedule for the inventory.
b. Any correspondence between equipment management personnel and PC/Division Director regarding the inventory.
c. Designation of individual personnel responsible for executing the inventory.
d. Copy of inventory results.
e. Any corrective actions initiated or executed by the PC/Division Director.
4.7.3 Files will be retained IAW NPR 1441.1.
| TOC | Preface | Chapter1 | Chapter2 | Chapter3 | Chapter4 | Chapter5 | AppendixA | AppendixB | AppendixC | AppendixD | AppendixE | ALL | |
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