Demand Better Rounds and Facility Management

What are the necessities of a rounds, guard tour, and facility management system to get your facility off of paper and older systems?

Overview:

This report highlights the necessities of a rounds and facility management system for correctional facilities. In an age where facilities must keep up with suicide prevention, high demands on officer time, and general facility tasks it is essential that a system meet all these demands.

We will go over the following main features: being open to broader facility operations, audio and visual alerting, sensor technology, integrated facility functions such as inventory, audio and information, notifications, real time syncing, and customizable tasks and data fields.

Real time syncing

In order to ensure an efficient facility it is imperative that all devices are in sync in absolute real time. Officers and staff need to be able to know what devices and what rounds are currently completing tasks or rounds. Additionally real time data sync is imperative for information systems and inventory systems to be efficient and keep track of the latest changes. Administrators and supervisors need the ability to be able to see which devices and staff members are completing rounds or updating inventory in absolute real time. Waiting for devices and data to sync is simply not an option.

Integrated facility functions for inventory, audio, and information

Officers are more effective using one mobile device. Research has shown increases in efficiency and safety when the cognitive demand of multiple devices are removed. A system must be able to have natively built in platforms for inventory, audio, and information. Having a full inventory management system on the same platform as the rounds system makes facility operations more efficient and secure. Additionally, audio communication and information systems provide the same efficiency, compliance, and cognitive benefits. A facility that requires two or more of these features must be able to have them natively available from the same device and platform.

Being open to broader facility operations

A system needs to be able to do more than predefined rounds in a facility. There is a need to be able to utilize the foundational technology and platform to use for maintenance checks, medication runs, head counts, and any other facility function to replace paper. A system should be dynamic enough to replace any type of paper logs in a facility. This ensures that officers and staff are reduced of workload and that the facility has the necessary accountability and transparency into its operations for full auditing and compliance purposes.

Audio and visual alerting

In order to incentive tasks being completed and reduce cognitive workload on officers and staff, a combination of audio and visual alerting are necessary. Tasks and rounds should visually alert the officer or staff member as well as provide audio confirmation that an action needs to take place or an action has been completed. This ensures that technology is properly utilized for those that may not have the time to complete assigned tasks. The days of egg timers must be removed and a combination of audio and visual alerting is the only way to fully encapsulate and solve this problem.

Sensor technology

In order to ensure falsification and fabrication isn’t possible. The use of sensors over barcodes or QR codes are necessary. Paper logs are frequently falsified and QR and barcode sensors in a facility are no different. Many facilities have reported staff members copying the QR or barcodes and simply checking them off at their desk. This is a massive liability and security risk. Sensor technology with encryption must be utilized in order to ensure that necessary tasks are being completed.

Notifications

It is necessary that administrators and supervisors receive notifications based on late tasks or keywords. Supervisors need the ability to keep track of compliance within their facility and real time notifications are imperative to ensure nothing slips through the cracks.

Customizable tasks and data fields.

A system must have the ability to customize the tasks and data fields within the workflows. Correctional facilities have a need for custom tasks and custom data collection at different times. A system must have the ability for rounds, tasks, inventory data, and every piece of the system to collect variable input parameters and data collection.

The Premises system was built to be customizable. Every workflow and task can have custom data fields as well as timing features.

This report was produced by UNIT Innovations, the makers of Premises. Premises is a system for rounds, inventory, audio, and information and is the only platform to meet all of these features and more for correctional facilities. If your facility is interested please contact UNIT Innovations at info@unitinnovations.com.