Keith’s note: It would seem that DOGE is tracking NASA employees as they come – and go – at NASA Headquarters. And if they are doing it there then you can expect that this will be done across the agency. And that is the plan.
Back in March I posted “Is NASA A.I. Facial Recognition Technology Watching You? Why?” which noted an article about the use of Clearview AI – an OSINT (open source intelligence) platform for facial recognition being used at NASA. Why does NASA need to be using this? Who or what are they looking for? What are they tracking?
According to sources there is a new DOGE-imposed requirement across NASA. The exact timing of its implementation is not clear. Presently, to enter a NASA facility you need to use a PIV (Personal Identity Verification) card – a smart card with a computer chip in it. DOGE is telling NASA to implement additional tracking of employees for efficiency purposes and that employees will need to use the PIV card to exit a facility as well. In other words its a virtual time card.
NASA HQ currently tracks entry and exit activity for its employees. The system reportedly tracks people as to whether they show up for work at HQ or that the entry/exit gap is outside a set parameter. Employees who trip certain values get a red mark which is matched up to their leave requests and they end up on a list.
When we clock out late do we also go on a special list for “donating time” in violation of the anti-deficiency act?
Also, since this is all about efficiency, does this mean we’ll stop filling out/approving timecards? If they already have a record of our comings and goings, wasting hours on redundant bureaucracy seems pretty inefficient to me!
They’ll have to figure out how to assign the ten different charge codes we cobble together in 0.1 increments to fill out a full FTE.
How can this work for employees that are on unique shifts/hours depending on the project requirements/schedule?
And also for contractors that come and go at various times during the day and week? Some may work at their company office some days, and on-site others.
I can see this eventually falling apart .
PS – I wonder why specifically NASA? I haven’t heard of this happening at any other agency.
*may have missed it in the news
Many other agencies already have card-in and card-out, or have initiated daily computerized “check-in” procedures. NASA has so far generally been left alone relative to places like IRS and DHS.
JSC is starting badge scanned entry on Monday, but not exit, so they can only track so much, they probably have to hire additional security to start exit scanning. At least for now they are only doing scanned entry to the campus, as well as to secure buildings, as usual. For everyone that works in a non-secure building they are just asking us to make sure our office location is accurate in the system, so they can count us as in that building when we scan on to the campus.
All the Centers are starting this, it’s part of an effort to track facility usage. They want to demo more real estate while at the same time requiring everyone to RTO. #efficiency
They’ve already torn down too much at JSC, they’re have to build new stuff now. We added staff on site here that don’t even officially work at JSC, remote headquarters staff that just happened to live in Houston.
I love it when people use fake names to suggest that something is “fake news”, Mr. Brain.
All badges get scanned depending on the Center. Those Centers without badge readers at the entry points are starting to have security use hand scanners. Again, it’s just to check occupancy. They’re not scanning people leaving.
Recently, nasa langley started scanning our badges at the gate.
I wonder how long it will be before we scan to leave the base.
I’d just like to know how DOGE is doing this without Congressional oversight.
This is what you all voted for though…
Absolutely it is, these minor annoyances are 100% worth it…
This has nothing to do with efficiency. It’s all about threatening, intimidating, and annoying people enough so that they’ll quit. Because those high paid civil servants are just robbing the government blind… oh, wait…
I remember during COVID the excitement of some people getting “chipped” just like your pet dog or cat, and that making you 100% trackable, permissions, and all that. 1984 in real life. Doesn’t sound so exciting, does it?
Isn’t this also a fire hazard?
In the event of an emergency, please badge out one at a time in an orderly fashion…
There is such a thing as emergency plans…. Plus somewhere like JSC the badging in and out will be to the campus not specific buildings, unless they’re secure buildings anyway. If the streets are on fire, we have bigger problems than badging.
They do this @ MDA