Organizational changes on tap for TSA

The Transportation Security Administration is making organizational changes as part of a reorganization of the Homeland Security Department, agency Director Kip Hawley told reporters in Washington on Wednesday.

Some of the changes at TSA include the creation of new positions, the elimination of other positions, greater power for federal security directors at airports nationwide and possible changes to procedures at airport checkpoints, Hawley said. The shake-up is intended to align the agency with DHS' second stage review, which was announced in July by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.

"What we're trying to do is first of all align it with [the second stage review] so that the changes proposed by Secretary Chertoff would be reflected by TSA's organization," Hawley said. "A number of these positions map directly to plug-in points at the department."

According to Hawley and briefing charts shown to reporters, the organizational changes would eliminate the positions of chief operating officer, chief of staff and chief support systems officer. Several positions will be created, including assistant director of security operations; assistant director of transportation sector network management; assistant director of law enforcement and the Federal Air Marshal Service; assistant director and chief information officer for operational processes and technology; and associate director for business transformation and culture.

"It is a major change to our organizational structure and it will bring about major changes in the way we do our work," Hawley said.

TSA would not provide the briefing charts to reporters, saying they included initiatives that are not yet ready to be publicly disclosed. Hawley said some of the changes require congressional approval.

A primary goal behind this restructuring is to empower lower-level managers to make decisions, Hawley explained, rather than having to vet decisions through senior administrators or the agency's deputy director.

The agency also is considering whether to make changes to airport screening procedures. "We are in discussions now internally as to if we want to make changes at checkpoints and, if so, what those would be," Hawley said.

There also is concern about the turnover rate of airport screeners. TSA incurs "enormous cost" to hire new screeners, particularly when it comes to background checks, training and loss of experience.

"Every time a screener leaves who's been through that, it costs far more than just the cost of that screener," Hawley said. "We want to encourage the great screeners to stay and have a career at TSA, and there needs to be work done on that."

He said the agency is considering hiring part-time screeners, but declined to elaborate. "We're looking at anything we can do that gets us the best quality workforce in the most flexible way that we can get it," he said.