Sensitive Property Procedures

OVERVIEW - It is UCAR's policy to maintain specific and appropriate accountability for all property purchased for and used in the performance of its mission. UCAR follows the property guidelines of OMB Circular A-110, Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit Organizations. The UCAR property control system accounts for all nonexpendable, tangible personal property with a useful life of one year or more and an acquisition cost of $5,000 or greater; Fixed Assets.

UCAR recognizes the need to maintain an additional layer of property accountability for those property purchases less than $5,000 which might be sensitive in nature. Sensitive property can be characterized as "walkaway" items or items that are prone to theft because they are not secured and are:

• easily portable
• expensive new technology
• adaptable to personal use

DEFINITION - Since the UCAR Division/Department Property Administrators (DPAs) are physically close to actual equipment operating activities and have a good sense of the cost of individual equipment items, they can readily identify and locate those items which may also be sensitive in nature. As a rule, any items (individual or system) which are prone to theft based on the characterization above and which have an acquisition costbetween $2,000 and $5,000 (i.e., laptop computers) should be RED tagged and tracked as Sensitive Property, unless extenuating circumstances, such as age or condition, deem otherwise. Such circumstances should be documented in the division Sensitive Property file by a general statement such as, "Laptop computers acquired prior to 1995 are not RED tagged and tracked."

As authorized by NSF, effective March 1998, it is no longer necessary to track desktop PCs as Sensitive Property for the following reasons:

• The size, weight, and number of components making up a desktop PC make such PCs too awkward for quick, easy removal (i.e., walkaway).

• UCAR/NCAR/UOP security is adequate to reasonably protect desktop PCs from unauthorized removal. Buildings require an employee cardkey for entrance, individual offices are locked after business hours, and security guards patrol the facilities after business hours.

• The cost (in workhours) of tracking desktop PCs as Sensitive Property is disproportionate to the minimal risk of loss.

Some categories of items with acquisition costs under $2,000 may also be considered as Sensitive Property based on the potential risk of loss. (Items located in areas which are locked when not in use need not be tracked, however, items unsecured and easily accessible should be tracked as Sensitive Property.) Examples of such categories are:

• Audiovisual equipment (i.e., videotape recorders),

• Communications equipment (i.e., fax machines, cellular phones),

• Automated data processing equipment (i.e., portable computers, laptops, color printers),

• Computer peripherals (i.e., disk drives, tape drives),

• Aviation spares,

• Special tooling, and special test equipment.

Items acquired via GSA surplus or donated to UCAR, should be reviewed for sensitivity as well. Further, DPAs may want to include equipment with an acquisition cost under $2,000 which is used in field experiments or frequently taken off-site to facilitate accountability for and tracking of these items.

A DPA may RED tag and track any additional property items deemed appropriate.

It is critical to establish, document, and apply consistent and logical rationale for determining which items, other than those listed above, are treated as Sensitive Property by a division. For example, if a division decides that cellular communication devices are Sensitive Property, document that decision and be sure that all such devices acquired by that division are RED tagged and tracked.

Note that sensitive property does not include software purchases since software is not tangible personal property.

RECORDKEEPING - The DPAs will maintain a property control record for sensitive property, which may be subject to annual review by the UCAR Property Administrator. These records should contain at a minimum:

• Sensitive Property Tag Number*
• Item Description
• Acquisition Cost
• Manufacturer
• Model
• Serial Number
• Date of Purchase
• Purchase Requisition Number
• Requisitioning Account Key
• Responsible Person
• Final Disposition

* Sensitive property items will be tagged using a different alphanumeric code (i.e., RED000000174) to distinguish them from tagged Fixed Assets (items with an acquisition cost greater than $5,000). RED tags should be placed in a conspicuous place on the item (front, top, or side) so that at the time of inventory the RED tag is easily visible to the inventory team.

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