Stearns County, MN
Project Overview
DELTAWRX assisted Stearns County with procuring and implementing new technology to replace aging CAD/Mobile, RMS and JMS applications, as well as developing a county-wide governance structure to govern cost recovery and decision-making concerning system configuration and data standards.
The scope of the engagement included needs assessment, RFP development, proposal evaluation, contract negotiations and system implementation.
Client Profile
Stearns County Sheriff Office (SCSO) dispatches 12 law enforcement and 24 fire/medical agencies in Stearns County. Stearns County includes urban, suburban and rural communities and municipalities vary widely in size and characteristics.
Client Challenges
Although all agencies used the same CAD/RMS applications, St. Cloud PD, the largest agency in Stearns County, used an application instance separate from the other law enforcement agencies, which led to challenges with sharing data as well as the need for SCSO to run two instances of CAD on each workstation.
Additionally, the vendor was sunsetting the applications and Stearns County agencies found support difficult to attain. Compounding the technical support challenges were issues with connectivity and the lack of backup, training and reporting environments. Data standards varied by agency and information was stored in multiple places, including stand-alone applications acquired to compensate for shortcomings in the RMS and JMS applications. Agencies struggled with access to quality data for analysis and investigations.
DELTAWRX Solutions
To address the varying needs and resources of Stearns County agencies, DELTAWRX helped create a multi-agency project team that remained the same through project implementation. The approach to developing requirements and evaluating proposals for new systems focused on end-user involvement and addressing the needs of the myriad agencies.
DELTAWRX led contract negotiations with an eye toward mitigating financial and operational risk during and after system implementation. As with all the contracts we negotiate, we ensured that the contract left nothing to negotiate after it was signed. The statement of work, including test and training plans, was clearly defined in the contract so that all parties understood their responsibilities as the project progressed through the implementation tasks.
Benefit to Client
Stearns County is now using a single, multi-agency system that:
Provides the range of functionality needed to support all agencies
Reduces the number of stand-alone applications
Eliminates duplicated data entry, manual processes and paper forms
Provides universal and easy access to information across agencie