Frequently Asked Questions TSA Fingerprint System (FPS) Updated 5/13/2013

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Ronald Davidson
6 years ago
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1 1. What assurances do airports have that the transition to the new Fingerprint Processing System (FPS) will not cause unacceptable disruptions to the badge issuance process? Airports should not experience unacceptable disruptions to the badge issuance process if they carefully review the User Guide in advance of the implementation date. As with any new website, customers will need to be patient as they familiarize themselves with the new design. If customers experience problems, the same help desk and technical support will be currently available for FPRD will be available for assistance. 2. What is the contingency plan in the event CHRC results are not available on the FPS site? The new FPS will have the same service level agreement as the Fingerprint Results Distribution (FPRD) system. However, as with the FPRD, if the system is down, CHRC results will not be available until it is restored. TSA has conducted internal testing and testing with the FBI to help ensure maximum system availability. 3. Has testing been conducted with each of the Designated Aviation Channelers (DACs)? The DACS connect to CSG in the same manner, as since April 2012 nothing will change with the DACs interface to the TSA system of record, the Consolidated Screening Gateway (CSG). Testing between the CSG and FPS has used production fingerprint data from each operational DAC. Additionally, as DACs communicate and demonstrate their readiness to test with TSA, TSA has supported interface testing as well. 4. Has TSA tested the system with airport operators? TSA has completed FPS testing from the public Internet as a part of its normal testing process. FPS will be a web-based application, and except for a new website URL, there will be no changes in how an airport might access the website. 5. Are there plans to keep FPRD in place during the transition period? FBI will not permit two simultaneous connections from TSA at the same time; therefore it s not possible to keep FPRD operational following the FPS go-live date of May 13, However, as previously conveyed, FPRD will be in place for access to historical data only. 6. What type of interactive training will be available to airports? Interactive training will not be available to airports. Detailed user guides have been created and distributed to help answer questions on the new FPS website. 7. What is the scheduled cutover date? 1

2 TSA OIT has recently announced that FPS has been delayed. More information about the cut-over date will be made available shortly. 8. What contingency plans are in place if the introduction of the FPS system does not go as planned? Will the FPRD site be available for a period of time for airports to transition between the two sites? TSA has taken all necessary steps to minimize the likelihood of a disruption. Due to FBI restrictions on the number of active connections, a transition between the two systems will not be possible. Although highly unlikely, should a serious problem be experienced, it will be possible for TSA to revert back to the FPRD. 9. What TSA support will be available to airports who experience issues with the new system? TSA Support will not change with the transition from FPRD to FPS; the same process currently in place and working well for FPRD will be in place for FPS. Therefore, if you experience any issues please contact NameCheck@tsa.dhs.gov or call How will the transition affect AIS users? Can DACs get the rapsheets in a PDF? Is there a webservice interface that can pull a rapsheet automatically? Will Record/NoRecord information be pushed to the DACs? The AIS is an application and capability unique to a specific DAC; therefore, please contact the DAC for assistance. As they do with FPRD, airports will have access to the rapsheets from the FPS website. 11. If fingerprints were submitted to FPRD and did not display results before the cutover, will the person have to be reprinted? TSA has taken steps to ensure a smooth transition between FPRD and the new FPS, to include using controls to prevent data synchronization issues between the submission and receipt of fingerprint data and results between the old and new system. One step planned will include holding submissions before the cutover to ensure all submissions under the previous system return results in a timely manner before the transition to FPS. 12. Is there a new website for FPS? Yes, this new website address (URL) will be sent via to users along with their login information approximately one week prior to the cutover. 2

3 13. Will TSA provide a list and meanings of the abbreviations as an APPENDIX to the User guide? Yes, TSA will provide the requested information. 14. Do you know what the address to the new site (FPS) is going to be? Our IT folks need to ensure that it will not be blocked. The address for FPS will be distributed to users one week prior to cutover. 15. Will super user privileges be established for a single entity to log-in for multiple sites, such as a State airport authority with multiple airports? Yes, if the user requested access to multiple airports on the user access request form and the FSD or designated TSA representative approved the access. 16. Is there a way to confirm if a user s access form has been approved? TSA has successfully received and processed over 700 user access request forms from stakeholders. If you do not receive your login credentials approximately one week prior to the revised go-live date, please contact NameCheck@tsa.dhs.gov. 17. Can you use the same login information for FPS and FPRD? No. Login information will be sent out via two s approximately one week prior to the cutover. One will contain the assigned username and a link to the new FPS website; the second will contain the initial password. Upon logging in to the system for the first time, users can choose their own password. Passwords will have to comply with TSA s password rules (found in Appendix A of the user manual). TSA encourages stakeholders to become familiar with the TSA password construction rules in advance so that the selected password complies with the new requirements, and is familiar to the user. 18. Will new users that require access to both FPRD and FPS need two user access forms? Users who currently have access to the FPRD will only need to complete and submit a new User Access Request Form for FPS. Users who do not have access to FPRD or FPS will need to complete and submit a form for each system to which access will be required. 19. What should I do if I do not receive my new login information approximately one week prior? Users should contact NameCheck@tsa.dhs.gov. 3

4 20. Will the FPS website be available to access prior to the scheduled cut-over? No, the site will not be available until the cutover from FPRD is complete. 21. Will airports have the ability to request changes to the User Group access? Yes, any/all changes to current users system access may be requested by using the FPS User Access Request Form. If a change will be required, the appropriate box on the form should be checked and approval obtained from the authorized TSA representative. 22. Will historical data be available on FPS? No. a. If so, will it be limited to the last two years? Historical data will be available consistent with airport and aircraft operator regulatory requirements, and in accordance with federal National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) guidelines for data retention. b. Were airports and airlines consulted on this decision? Information regarding the planned transition from FPRD to FPS was first provided to stakeholders in October, c. For airports that keep electronic records, will OSO Office of Compliance require paper copies of results for CHRCs conducted more than two years ago? Access to historical information will be available consistent with regulatory and NARA requirements. 23. What are the printing and sorting capabilities of the new site? FPS will provide improved printing and sorting capabilities. 24. Will results be posted continuously or only during a specific time of day? Results will be posted continuously. 25. Will the system experience the same hang up that FPRD has, making it impossible to clear the work queue when only one unclassifiable print is in the queue? This anomaly was not experienced during FPS testing and not anticipated following go-live. 26. Is it necessary to convert results to a PDF before printing? 4

5 The system will perform the necessary conversion for the user; however, the latest version of Adobe Flash will be required. 27. If there is one unclassifiable print on the FPRD, and the second unclassifiable print is on the FPS, can this case be processed as a Manual Name Check? Will there be a fee for the second print? Will the case numbers be in the same format? These prints should still be able to be processed for a manual name check (provided they are less than one year old with the newest being less than 90 days old). Case numbers are assigned by DACs and should therefore be unaffected by the transition from FPRD to FPS. As with the current process, when the FBI rejects the first fingerprint, the FBI transaction number is returned in the TCN field. With FPS, this transaction number will need to be entered in the TCR field on the new transaction to prevent billing for the second print. 28. Where will Unclassifiable messages display? Is this an error message? Unclassifiable will display on the responses tab. Error messages will refer to errors with the file submission, not actual print results. 29. Will Manual Name Check results still be processed the same way? Yes, the process will not change for Manual Name Checks or Incomplete Rapsheet Requests. 30. Once FPRD goes away and legacy data is housed elsewhere, will it be available via a link in the FPS or will users have to log in to two different sites? TSA is currently completing its design to provide customers access to legacy data via a link from the FPS site. 31. What happens to the information stored in the FAA website (prior to FPRD)? FPS will only address information and processing regarding the FPRD. Any system used prior to FPRD will not be affected by this transition. 32. Many airports manually enter all fingerprint case numbers into their respective badging systems and therefore copy and paste the case number directly from the FPRD to eliminate possibility of typos. Some websites restrict copy/paste functionality. Will the new FPS allow for copy/paste just as the FPRD does today? No. FPS will allow users the ability to paste information into the system, but will not allow copying functionality from the website. 5

6 33. Is there a possibility the FPS process will affect the LiveScan fingerprint systems? FPS should not affect LiveScan fingerprint systems as long as such systems meet minimum FBI requirements. 34. Where do you go within the system to view a rapsheet? (Added) a. Login as user that has access to view rapsheet b. Select "Transaction Manager" tab on top of screen c. Click on "Response" tab d. Click a TCN (Transaction Control Number) link in the TCN column e. Under the NIST view - Record/Field section, expand the "Record Type 2" heading, and then expand the "Type 2" heading under it. f. Click on "Electronic RAPsheet" 35. Which version of Adobe Flash will be required? (Added) a. Currently, Adobe Flash Player version be v or higher is necessary. 6

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