Department of the Interior

Departmental Manual

 

Effective Date:  9/20/07

Series:  Organization

Part 135:  Bureau of Land Management

Chapter 4:  National Operations Center

 

Originating Office:  Bureau of Land Management

135 DM 4

 

4.1     National Operations Center (NOC).  The NOC, located in Denver, Colorado is responsible for providing a variety of nation-wide operational services and support to the BLM. 

 

4.2     Mission and Functions.  The mission of the NOC is to provide cost effective and efficient customer services and products to the BLM offices.  In carrying out the mission, the NOC performs the following functions: 

 

          A.      Support Services.  Provides direction, management and coordination of administrative and management support services for all of the BLM.  The NOC manages all operational aspects of support services including financial management, supply and property management, human resources, network operations, and computer application development.

 

          B.      Engineering and Technical Support.  Provides direction, management, and coordination of engineering and technical support services for all of the BLM; and coordinates operational science and technology functions.

 

          C.      Operational Guidance.  Develops operational guidance as necessary and appropriate to implement policy and procedures established by Headquarters.

 

          D.      Communication and Coordination.  Coordinates closely with Headquarters and States. 

 

          E.      Program Evaluation.  Assists Headquarters in evaluating support services program performance and general management effectiveness through objective measurement and systematic analysis of current data and field reviews.  Implements and tracks corrective actions to ensure that statutory, regulatory, and customer requirements are met.

 

4.3     NOC Organization. The NOC is headed by a Director who reports to the Deputy Director, Operations.  The NOC Director ensures that policies articulated by the Chief Information Officer, the Assistant Director, Business and Fiscal Resources, and the Assistant Director, Human Capital Management, are properly carried out.  The Director carries out the responsibilities of the NOC with assistance from the following: 

 

          A.      Division of Resource Services (OC-200).  The OC-200 is the technical interface between policy development and field operations and provides scientific and technical support; identifies and coordinates research needs and activities; collects, assimilates, synthesizes and disseminates scientific and technical information; produces technical mapping products;  provides photo interpretation; maintains specialized equipment; designs resource and scientific systems; provides user representatives for national automated natural resource systems; and provides printed and electronic media production services to Headquarters and Field Offices.  The OC-200 provides technical assistance in the areas of environmental compliance and protection, cleanup and restoration of hazardous sites and material management, and houses the BLM National Resource Library.

 

          B.      Division of IRM Support Services (OC-300).  The OC-300 is responsible for BLM-wide information technology infrastructure operations and maintenance; operations and maintenance of the Denver Data Center that serves as the platform upon which both infrastructure and business applications reside; operation and maintenance of the infrastructure that includes support systems, Wide-Area Network/server support, systems engineering, and telecommunications. 

 

                    (1)     Branch of Application Development (OC-310).  The Branch of Application Development is responsible for the administration of the software development of life cycle procedures, practices, and guidelines governing the design, development, and integration of all ITIB-approved, custom application systems (including web based applications) within BLM.

 

                              (a)     The OC-310 provides expert services in the areas of application development and deployment that includes:

 

                                       (i)      selection of the optimal technologies in conformance with the BLM architecture;

 

                                       (ii)      creation of prototypes and demo versions;

 

                                       (iii)     application planning;

 

                                       (iv)     application implementation (creation of system modules, coding, quality assurance);

 

                                       (v)     creation of project/application documentation; and

 

                                       (vi)     creation of application end-user documentation (Users Manual, Troubleshooting,   Installation Guide, etc).

                  

                             (b)     In addition, the Branch seeks to minimize project risks and development time while focusing on improved quality, productivity, reduced cost, on-time delivery, and acceptance based on business solutions that fulfill business goals.

 

                   (2)     Branch of Operations Services (OC-320).  The Branch of Operations Services is responsible for providing operational support to the following functions:  configuration management, server support, Unix systems and database support, systems software support, and enterprise administration.  The Branch is also responsible for managing the national help desk.

 

          C.      Division of Human Resources Services (OC-500).  The OC-500 is responsible for payroll administration, Federal Personnel/Payroll System (FPPS) security administration; and operational support and administration for “BLM JobsOnline”.  The division staff participates as team members performing special projects in position description standardization.  The OC-500 provides human resources management services to all BLM organizations except the Alaska State Office and the National Interagency Fire Center.  In addition, the OC-500 also provides centralized personnel action processing, staffing and classification of positions, employee development, time and attendance/payroll, drug testing/medical examinations, and benefits administration. 

 

          D.      Division of Financial Services (OC-600).  The OC-600 is responsible for providing BLM-wide financial operations.  Key responsibilities include preparation of financial statements, management of the annual financial audit and IG reviews, auditing and processing of BLM payments, direction on PCS moves and processing claims, management of the Integrated Charge Card program, compliance with the Prompt Payment Act, management and tracking of undelivered orders and accounting for all collections (sales and use of public assets).  The OC-600 personnel also perform special projects with national significance such as Financial and Business Management System (FBMS) implementation.  In addition, the OC-600 provides business support services to the NOC and processes all PCS moves for the BLM except those involving Alaska.

 

          E.      Division of Administrative Services (OC-700).  The OC-700 responsibilities include oversight for the National Fleet, Personal Property, Real Property and Disposal programs, and conducting annual reviews of property and fleet activities.

 

9/20/07 #3760

Replaces 7/12/00 #3311