Mitchellville Imaging Department Makes Strides and Provides Opportunities

Changes can be difficult to put into motion and adapt to, often coming with obstacles we like to call "growing pains." Over the past several months, the Imaging Department at IPI's Mitchellville location has undergone extensive changes but, as a result, has experienced immense growth.

Perhaps the most drastic area of growth in the department has been the onboarding of 16 new associates. Previously, only three incarcerated women sustained the entire imaging operation, a number that has now expanded by over 500%. Naturally, most of the women who were brought into the imaging department started with little to no computer knowledge at all; however, the women remain eager to learn and develop these skills for not only their present needs but for their futures after prison as well.

As one might expect, this drastic increase in manpower has required several adjustments and innovations in the way of software and equipment. In the past months, the shop has acquired three new scanners, 17 new desktop computers, two microfiche machines, and purchased new software that speeds up the process of converting scanned filed into OCR (Optical Character Recognition) PDFs exponentially. On top of these new purchases, the imaging operation was moved to a new location in the facility to accommodate space for the increased workforce and equipment.

But what's a new space and fancy equipment without some work to do? In the past few months, the Mitchellville Imaging Department has acquired lots of work from new customers and grown business with existing ones. For example, the department acquired OSHA as a customer, which supplied over 700 boxes of files to be digitized and shredded. Business with the Iowa DNR has also increased from about 14 boxes of scanning and 6,300 microfiche images per month to a whopping 65 boxes and 65,000 images!

The final prong of the Imaging Department's growth has been a substantial improvement in quality control. Before implementing any changes, the percentage of error in the department was roughly 28%. Incredibly, since bringing on additional associates, upgrading software and equipment, and improving processes, the percentage of error has dropped to nearly 0%. However, the growth doesn't just stop there, as the shop is currently working towards earning their PIMMS Blue Belt. PIMMS, or the Prison Industries Manufacturing & Management System, is a system built on Lean principles that IPI implements into daily operations to improve quality, efficiency, safety, and eliminate waste. Mitchellville Imaging will aim to employ a total of 30 associates, acquire one new customer per quarter, complete 200,000 microfiche images per month, complete 130 boxes of scanning per month, and keep quality issues at less than 1% in order to obtain their Blue Belt.

Not long ago, it was being discussed whether the imaging operation should be shut down entirely due to insufficient demand and quality consistency. However, the shop has shown tremendous improvement in those areas and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. We can't wait to see how the department continues to expand and flourish, not only increasing business for the company but also giving more opportunities to incarcerated women that will provide them with valuable, in-demand skills that will aid them upon release.

For more information on IPI's imaging department, visit our new Document Imaging page or contact ipicustomerservice@iowa.gov to request a quote!