January 13, 2023 3 min read
Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Saves Money and Improves Records Management With Vector Solutions
Industry:
Solution:
“It’s amazing how quick we can get information now…the small cost of having Vector Solutions is nothing compared to the cost of a lawsuit because of missing records.”
Officer Kyle Appleby
Training Coordinator
The Challenge
Douglas County has a population of approx. 118,000 and covers 475 sq miles of land and water in the northeast corner of Kansas. To provide services to the community, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office employs around 90 commissioned personnel and cooperates with other local agencies to form a Dive Team to service the local lakes.
Before implementing Vector Solution’s products, the agency was primarily utilizing a paper system to keep track of training records and for inventory management.
“We had manilla folders and file cabinets and it was hit or miss if something was recorded in the training management software we had at the time,” said Officer Kyle Appleby.
In addition to challenges with tracking training records, the agency really had no idea where equipment was or who had what, Officer Appleby said. There was little documentation and the agency was burdened by the financial impact of this.
The Choice
According to Officer Appleby, during the period when the agency was still utilizing their paper system for training records, an attorney made a request for a specific employee’s records. Finding those records and putting them together was a multiday process.
“It was a disaster and I said this has got to stop,” he said.
Once the decision was made to overhaul their training record management system, the next step was choosing the right tool for the job.
“We wanted something user-friendly, something web-based, and something where you could make five clicks and find exactly what you need,” he said. “Another agency in our county uses Vector Solutions LMS so we went over to check it out and we thought it was awesome. It was great.”
Following the implementation of Vector LMS in 2019, the agency added Vector Evaluations+ and Vector Check It the following year.
A few examples of how the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office utilizes Vector’s suite of training management and operational readiness solutions include:
- Utilizing Vector LMS for initial and ongoing online training for employees.
- Recording live skills training using Evaluations+ and making those records available to employees, supervisors, administration, and overseeing entities as needed.
- Tracking equipment on a granular level, from firearms and uniforms, down to face masks and hooded sweatshirts.
- Making use of the transparent and comprehensive training records of online and in-person training during annual performance reviews and when considering employees for promotion.
- Providing employees with the ability to take additional training as they see fit, allowing them to take their professional development and career growth into their own hands.
The Change
Since implementing Vector LMS, Evaluations+, and Check It, the agency has seen dramatic change in the amount of time spent on training-related recordkeeping and inventory management.
“We started from scratch, grabbing one folder, getting it inputted and going from there. Vector Solutions was really good about offering us training on how to use the platform. We had meetings anytime we wanted to, we could call in several times a week. It worked out really well,” he said. “We’re building our own modules, our own assignments, our own tests, we’re doing things that apply directly to us. Some of the Vector courses don’t apply to our state so we build onto them.”
In regard to equipment management, the department has also seen a drastic decrease in equipment-related spending.
“We spent over $100,000 in equipment expenses in 2019,” Officer Appleby said. “In 2021 alone, we went down probably $40,000 in the amount spent on equipment we were purchasing and replacing…Now we have a system for inventory management and everyone is signing for every single thing they’re getting,” Officer Appleby said.
Dept. Profile
- Approx. 90 commissioned employees
- 118,000 population
- 475 mi²coverage
- Vector LMS 2019, Evaluations+ 2020, Check It 2020
To read more client testimonials, check out our Success Stories.
