Going High-Tech Inside Missouri Prisons

Northeast Correctional Center (NECC) in Bowling Green is installing the latest in fiber optics that will allow NECC to have lightning-fast computer network capability.

The installation of the fiber optics system is a joint effort between Information Technology Services Division (ITSD) and the Office of Administration Maintenance (OA). The ITSD and Facilities Management Design and Construction are sharing the cost of the project.

"The ITSD people have been really good about working with us," Jonathan Coret, Capital Improvement Specialist II, said.

Moberly Correctional Center (MCC) was the first institution to have fiber optics installed with in-house labor.

"We put the entire Moberly site in for approximately $35,000," Coret said. "We've realized this kind of savings with just about all of them."

Using fiber optics increases bandwidth, which allows for larger sized computer files to be sent. Another benefit that fiber optics offers is the prevention of bottlenecking.

"We'll be able to tie into NECC's building automation systems with remote capability," Coret said. "The Construction Office will be able to view the functionality of any piece of equipment working at NECC on our desktops in Jefferson City."

An institution will be able to monitor fire alarm systems and video surveillance with plenty of room to spare for future growth.

"The site communications infrastructure that is being replaced is nearly two decades old. And two decades in the computer world is a long time," Coret said. "It will give us more versatility."

Tom Clements, Director of the Division of Adult Institutions, told the Horizon that the fiber optics installation will play a major role in the Department of Corrections.

"Fiber optics provide a greater capability to maximize the value of the computer and security camera systems, which will assist the institutional Warden and other institutional managers in monitoring and reviewing critical incidents that occur inside the institution as well as ensuring safe prison management," Clements said.

It's all real time information.

"You've heard the concept of a smart house? Well, we're building a smart prison," Coret said.

Approximately 36,000 feet of fiber optics cable is being installed at NECC, or roughly six miles overall.

A telecommunications vendor quoted $353,294 to complete the installation. MDOC is doing it for $42,800. Most of what is being eliminated is all of the labor that would have been paid to the telecommunications vendor. That's a savings of $310,494 for the state.

Coret told the Horizon that the entire conduit network was already in place. It's just a matter of pulling it through. It is a long and strenuous job because they're physically pulling the cable through the conduit. This is done in different phases.

"You are limited in fiber length when you are using it to get the correct bandwidth. You can't run more than about 1,600 feet," Coret said. "We had to put something called a concentrator in along the way while we figured out how far 1,600 feet was."

This is a tremendous amount of work that the on-site staff is doing. When a 1,600 foot- long piece of cable is being pulled through an existing underground conduit, a lot of sweat goes into it.

Coret is very proud of the maintenance crews that perform the physical labor portion of the installation. Routine maintenance of the institution is performed, as usual, with the fiber optics installation in addition.

Coret credits two individuals who embraced this project: Theresa Roedel, Telecommunications Analyst IV, and Dan Spegal, Plant Maintenance Engineer III.

Roedel was part of the design work leading right up to the start and was willing to take a chance on performing the installation in-house.

"The goal is to upgrade the infrastructure and support a personal computer environment," Roedel said.

Spegal and his 32-member maintenance team supplied the project manpower and necessary site design data, with design planning taking about two months. This is in addition to performing their daily duties that include preventative maintenance, emergency casualty work, current updating of assessed maintenance issues and maintaining the air conditioning system for offices and ice making machines at NECC.

The DOC has been able to take advantage of free training for fiber terminations, offered through the project material supplier, resulting in 44 staff at multiple sites now being able to terminate fiber strands with near 100 percent reliability. Another 23 are due to be certified by July 10th. Additional training sessions will be set up with the ultimate goal of having every DOC site capable of doing their own fiber terminations.

"Right now we're about 70 percent completed. It has gone easier than we expected," Spegal said. "We're probably about a month ahead of schedule at this point."

The fiber optics installation at NECC is scheduled for completion in October of this year.

Missouri Eastern Correctional Center (MECC) in Pacific is also currently under construction for fiber optics installation.

Silvan Frank, Electronics Technician at MECC, told the Horizon that this is his first experience in pulling fiber optic cable into an institution.

"MECC doesn't have the luxury of pulling the fiber optic cable into the existing conduit," Frank said. "We have to take additional precautions when it comes to routing the fiber optics so that it is not accessible to offenders."

Core drilling is performed on each building as the cable is routed. A series of J-hooks are hung high to help hold the cable as it is installed inside the institution.

Outside the institution the cable is trenched or buried for security reasons and convenience for future repairs.

A smaller institution than NECC, MECC is installing 13,500 feet of fiber optic cable, or a total of 2.56 miles of cable, that will allow the institution to communicate and operate more efficiently.

The telecommunications vendor quoted $175,939.31 for the MECC installation. Frank and his crew are installing the fiber optics for $25,511.38, for a savings of $150,427.93. By doing the project in-house, the state is once again eliminating a big portion of the labor cost involved in the out-of-house installation.

NECC and MECC are joining the list of institutions where in-house staff installed fiber optics including MCC, Boonville Correctional Center and Tipton Correctional Center.

"The plan is that all the wiring and PC roll out will be completed by 2010 for all of the institutions," Roedel said. "That includes upgrading the equipment that corrections personnel have inside the institution."

The MECC fiber optics installation is tentatively scheduled for completion by mid August of this year.

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