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Montana Dept. of Corrections begins use of new CHAIN alert notification system from Invizeon of Missoula, MT

The Montana Department of Corrections on
Monday launched a demonstration project using computer technology to
improve the process of alerting department and other key state
officials of major incidents at correctional facilities throughout
Montana.

The CHAIN program, developed by Missoula-based
Invizeon Corp. http://invizeon.com/ , automates the notification network that previously
relied on a series of phone calls placed by officers in the command
post at Montana State Prison. If the demonstration project is
successful, state officials will decide whether to solicit proposals
for possible purchase of a permanent alert notification system. The
system has been in a test phase for the past six weeks.

The system will be used only for "priority one"
incidents, which include an escape, death, power outage, suicide,
assault, riot, hostage situation or sabotage, according to David
Skilling, executive vice president of client services for Invizeon.

Under the old system, a report of an incident would
be called into to the command post, where staff would start making
phone calls to top corrections officials and key members of the
governorís office staff. The process could handle 40 notifications,
usually to a single phone number for each official.

The CHAIN system is capable of transmitting a
notification to thousands of recipients, depending on the type of
incident involved. It also allows for expansion to include alerts
issued to local law enforcement agencies, other state agencies and even
to neighbors of a correctional facility where an incident occurred.

When a call comes into the command post using the
CHAIN system, an officer collects details of an incident, logs into the
network, inserts the information into a template and issues the alert.
The notice can be sent by several routes to officials: email, work and
personal cell phones, office phone and home phone. Recipients must
acknowledge they have received the message, a feature that allows
officials to determine who and when people were notified, Skilling
explained. The system repeats the notification to an individual until
receipt is confirmed.

"Thereís a complete tracking of every incident," he
said, noting that CHAIN saves valuable time. What has taken hours to
accomplish through manual dialing of phone numbers can be accomplished
in minutes, he said.

"This is needed by the Department of Corrections for
improving communication," Skilling said. "Whenever an incident occurred
before, there was always somebody who doesnít get notified. This makes
sure all the appropriate people are notified."

Mike Mahoney, warden at Montana State Prison, praised
the innovation.

"This system will enable command post staff to spend
more time resolving issues in lieu of†tracking down the appropriate
administrators to ensure the incident is properly reported in a timely
manner," he said. "CHAIN will take care of the notifications and free
up our shift commanders to focus on the more critical matters. This
system will represent†a significant improvement in our overall
management of†critical events."

Bill Fleiner, chief of the Investigation and
Compliance Monitoring Bureau in the Montana Corrections Department,
called the new system a major improvement in emergency notification
abilities of the agency.

"I very much appreciate the time Invizeon has taken
to work with the number of people they have had to train to bring this
system into fruition," he said. "They have gone to great lengths to
prepare the department and our contacts that we have identified as
necessary to be informed of events in the Department of Corrections."

Skilling said Invizeon already provides a similar
notification system to the U.S. Navy and a large multinational
organization, and is talking with corrections officials in several
states about installing the CHAIN program.

Bob Anez

Montana Department of Corrections

Communications director

(406) 444-0409

CONTACT: David Skilling, (406) 544-5006; Bill Fleiner, 980-2053

***

Corrections Department gets better communications system

By MATT GOURAS
Associated Press

The Corrections Department is testing a new communications system intended to quickly notify dozens of top officials within minutes about escapes or other problems, the agency said Monday.

The system, developed by Missoula-based Invizeon Corp., will automatically inform government officials through phone calls and e-mails. In the past, staff at a command post had to make a series of individual phone calls to top corrections officials and key governor’s staff, which could take hours.

The new system will take minutes, once the problem has been entered into the system, Invizeon said.

Full Story: http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2006/06/26/news/state/27-corrections.txt

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