Labor is one of the largest costs for any correctional facility – and Emerald City Software (ECS) has recently developed a new software to help one correctional agency become more efficient in scheduling and labor.

The scheduling software, which was piloted and developed for the Washington state Department of Corrections (WDOC), is now being used throughout the state by 800 officers at 15 corrections facilities. According to ECS and the WDOC, the new software has completely eliminated the need for paper logs, and has given corrections officials more control over employee records regarding sick leave, vacation time and overtime.

“This is, by far, the most accurate system we have ever created,” says David Clark, President of Emerald City Software. “We've created mission-specific software, and it handles scheduling 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year. And initially, we had facilities spending the equivalent of 3 to 4 hours everyday on scheduling. Now, once they learn to handle the software, we can cut that time down.”

And Emerald City Software (ECS) isn't the only company pleased with the technology.

“This technology allows us to understand the scheduling needs of each of our facilities,” says Steven Ramsey, Correctional Manager for the Washington Department of Corrections (WDOC). “Our staff was used to working with schedules on a piece of paper. This has been a cultural change, but it's necessary. We can now look at state-wide data and pinpoint whatever problems we might have.”

Developing New Technology

While ECS and the WDOC are both immensely pleased with the results of the scheduling application, they admit the development process was difficult. In fact, after the WDOC issued a request for bid (RFB) in order to find a company to meet their scheduling needs, it tried out several different companies, and could not find one that addressed their scheduling needs. Finally, the WDOC found ECS, chose the company, and development started.

“There has been so much focus in the 80's and 90's with just putting offenders away and hiring officers, and not software,” says Clark. “But we wanted to develop better operation systems.”

While creating the software, ECS combined a number of different systems to create their scheduling application, including the Sybase PowerBuilder system, Rapid Application Development and DataWindow components. The result was a solid scheduling and labor organization program that was compatible with the existing technologies already installed in corrections officers computers. Plus, using ATLAS technology, the software automatically installed updates to every computer, and it had a user-friendly interface as well, making it easy for first-timers to use. Pleased with the developed results, the WDOC begin officer training and installation of the software in every facility in Washington, working from one facility to the next. But there were still problems ahead for ECS.

Encountering Problems and Developing Solutions

“We really did run into a few problems,” Clark says. “We had to make some changes after the pilot run, like making sure that the system was compatible with the software already in place on different computers throughout the facilities. But more than that, we always had this issue of change and culture. There are some corrections facilities that welcomed us with open arms – ‘We love change, we love this technology.' But at other facilities, we had officers at older facilities who said ‘You know what, I've been in corrections for 25 years and I haven't touched a computer yet. I don't want to touch one now.'”

In order to help older facilities adjust to the new technology, ECS continued to send out trainers who helped each officer adapt to the new system. In fact, trainers worked around the clock to train officers, in order to make sure that everyone in the facility was aware of the new technology – and able to use it. Clark and Ramsey say that one trainer, Dargie Sutton, was one of the most dedicated and motivated trainers, and was often holding training sessions at 2 a.m.

“We realized we had to do this one step at a time, no matter what time of day it was,” Clark says. “We also realized this system had to be absolutely perfect – it has to be right at the end of every shift, and it has to look right for first time users. And although we ran into problems during development, we continued to figure out how to get better, how to get stronger.”

But another benefit of the ECS software is that it eliminates the concern about outdated scheduling information.

“When we were working with schedules and timesheets on paper, there was always the concern that it was outdated by the time it was written and handed around,” says Ramsey. “You had officers walking around with these pieces of paper and it wasn't always accurate data. Now we can address that and adjust our process to become much more reliable.”

Now, scheduling managers can keep 100% accurate records, which the WDOC says helps to drastically cut down overtime.

“We have been to other states,” says Ramsey. “We've visited the American Corrections Association (ACA), and we've heard other states tell us that their overtime amounts to 100% of an employee's salary in some cases. Some states have 18 different facilities and each facility handles scheduling 18 different ways. We see a real need for this technology in other states. It's absolutely surprising to see states that have no control over absenteeism and over time. And we would hope that this software helps other states move forward in scheduling practices.”