Decision Matrix for Purchase of Equipment at the Goddard Space Flight Center (Attachment C)

It is the intent that teleworking in the federal government be effectively cost neutral and that, in the aggregate, it not incur additional costs. In order to mitigate costs associated with this program, purchase of equipment solely for the purpose of allowing an employee to telework should occur only after all other sources have been exhausted. Many employees own their own equipment and are willing to use it in performance of their official responsibilities due to the benefits they derive from telecommuting. Other sources include property which would otherwise be excess, laptop computers owned by the organization which can be shared among several teleworkers and lease of equipment. While this last option is not expected to be used very often, it might have merit for an intermittent teleworker. As organizations refresh their office equipment, they should consider the purchase of laptop computers which could then be used at both the employee’s alternate work site as well as in the office. Managers are urged to explore the current availability of equipment and services which are available through the Outsourcing Desktop Initiative for NASA (ODIN).

If some of an employee’s work requires equipment which is only available at the regular work site, consideration may be given to rearranging the employee’s tasks so that the work which does not require this equipment is performed on teleworking days. Employees wishing to telework must also realize that budgets and priorities vary from organization to organization. While equity is a worthwhile goal, the needs of organizations are not the same, nor is their ability to provide the same level of equipment. This is reflected today in the varying capabilities of equipment from office to office.

In order to mitigate inequities which could occur and to ensure that the intent of cost neutrality is maintained, the following decision matrix should be applied to equipment purchases once the other alternatives discussed above have been exhausted. Costs for purchase of any of the equipment or services shown will be incurred by the requesting organization following established organizational procedures for the purchase of hardware, software and related services. In addition, purchase of an item identified as being "rarely" justifiable strictly for teleworking use must be approved by both the Work and Family Issues Coordinator in the Human Resources Operations Office and the Center Chief Information Officer (CIO). Following the matrix are some illustrative examples providing further elaboration to assist the teleworker and his or her supervisor in determining the appropriateness of purchasing equipment for teleworking use. While the matrix and examples may not be all-inclusive, they provide enough information to relay the intent of the policy. If an employee requires equipment not available through sources mentioned above and which is not appropriate to purchase based on the following matrix, then it is most likely that the employee’s position is not suitable for telecommuting. As stated previously in the policy, it is not an employee right that equipment be provided for his or her home so that he or she may telework.

DECISION MATRIX FOR PURCHASE OF EQUIPMENT

Surge Protector: If an employee is using Government-owned equipment, the GSFC will assume responsibility for providing a surge protector in order to adequately protect the equipment. If the employee is using personal equipment, he/she is responsible for providing adequate safeguards.

Software: Many licensing agreements allow the user to load software on their home computer as long as any one license is only being used by one user at a time. Some licensing agreements such as Netscape require that the software reside on government-owned equipment. In this instance, or for individual software products not purchased through a licensing agreement, the supervisor must determine the cost/benefit of purchasing additional software needed in order for an employee to telework. In making this decision, the cost of the software should be weighed against the benefits to the organization.

Modems: If an employee requires access to the a GSFC network and has equipment which does not already contain a modem, the GSFC will assume responsibility for providing a modem. Not all teleworkers will require this access.

Upgrades to Excessed Equipment: Equipment available through excess is typically not equivalent to that which the employee has at his or her office. It may, however, be sufficient for composing documents and E-mail messages or for other tasks not requiring extensive memory or speed. If, however, the equipment available through excess is insufficient to allow an employee to perform tasks from his or her home, the supervisor may decide to upgrade the equipment by purchasing an upgraded motherboard, memory, and/or disk. As always, the supervisor must decide that the cost to do so is cost advantageous to the government based on the benefits which are expected to be derived by allowing the employee to telework.

Goddard Connect Service: This Service, which has replaced the Annex dialup service, is used to connect to the GSFC network. Teleworkrs who have registered network accounts will use this service to connect to the Goddard network from remote locations. Additional networking "seats" are purchased by organizations through ODIN. Costs of adding additional seats should be considered by the organization according to established ODIN procedures for purchase of hardware, software, and services.

PC/MAC/Workstation: GSFC will rarely purchase new equipment solely for the use of telecommuting. An exception to this is if it is clearly in the best interest of the organization to allow the employee to work from his or her home. An example would be an employee considered by his supervisor to be a single point failure, or who is working on an important or time-critical assignment and, due to a medical situation, must be away from the office for an extended period of time. Another exception would be an organization or mission requiring 7 X 24 coverage, which could eliminate a shift (saving salary costs) by providing a beeper and appropriate equipment to an on-call employee.

Employees with a disability which requires special equipment in order to telework will continue to request this equipment through the EEO Office who will be responsible for its funding.

Additional Phone Lines/ISDN Line/Printer: These will also rarely be purchased by the GSFC for teleworking purposes, with the exceptions discussed above.

FAX: With E-mail and file transfer capabilities, it is rare that a fax machine would be a necessity for telecommuting. An exception would be an arrangement which is advantageous to the GSFC (based on reasons discussed above) for an employee requiring regular paper document interchange.

Answering Machine/Voice Mail/Home Utilities/Furniture: The GSFC will not pay for any of these items.

Back to Family and Worklife