Plateau LMS Delivers Return on Investment to Police Department in First Month of Operation
Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department Says Plateau LMS Already has Cut Administrative Costs in Half and Enhanced Training Programs
ARLINGTON, VA February 6, 2002 One month after going live on Plateau Learning Management System (LMS), the Charlotte Mecklenburg (N.C.) Police Department has recognized vast improvements in its ability to schedule training, deliver procedural revisions to officers and engage its force in a dynamic learning program. Implemented in just three months, Plateau LMS has created an immediate Return on Investment (ROI), reducing administrative staff time needed to register and reschedule training by more than 50 percent.
Since late December, 1,000 CMPD officers across 12 districts have used Plateau LMS to enroll in mandatory firearms training. Prior to implementing Plateau LMS, officers enrolled in firearms certification by calling the training office or signing a paper roster. Administrators were left with the task of manually scheduling 6,000 training sessions each year for a firing range that has 20 slots while trying to ensure that the right complement of patrol officers were on the street at all times. The system made it difficult for officers to cancel training, enroll at the last minute or be alerted to other scheduling changes.
Today, CMPD's 1,500 officers check their personal development plans and enroll for training on a Web browser. Once they enroll, Plateau LMS automatically sends them an email attachment that can be saved in their Microsoft Outlook calendar. The officer's home page also allows them to review all procedural changes in real time and enroll in a variety of other courses that will be offered online or in a classroom. Dozens of officers have commented that using Plateau LMS has changed the way they think about training.
It's much more intuitive for the officers, and because it's Web-based it provides much greater availability and access, said Officer Brian Russell, in-service training coordinator for CMPD.
Additionally, Plateau LMS is providing a bulletproof audit trail of all training events. Every time an officer, investigator or detective takes a course or reviews a training revision on their Web browser, Plateau LMS registers the event and puts it into their development plan and training history. The training event is time stamped, and security features prevent it from being altered or tampered with.
Going forward, CMPD plans to put a number of its courses online, from soft skills training to hazardous materials, radar certification, OSHA instruction and diversity training. CMPD, which has a jurisdiction that includes the city of Charlotte and surrounding Mecklenburg County, also plans to use Plateau LMS' career and succession planning tools to help officers proactively develop career tracks and help supervisors select the most qualified personnel for new positions.
Plateau's Professional Services Organization implemented the Plateau LMS at Charlotte Mecklenburg in just three months.
About Plateau: Plateau's enterprise-class software manages all of an organization's learning and knowledge on one scalable platform. Plateau 4 Learning Management System (LMS) is built on Web-based J2EE/EJB architecture, and is the engine behind the largest e-Learning initiatives in the corporate, non-profit and government markets. Plateau 4 LMS automates the management and delivery of online and classroom learning, organizational knowledge and competencies for clients including the American Red Cross, Motorola, Union Pacific and the U.S. Air Force. Plateau is listed as a leader in LMS evaluations from Gartner Inc. and META Group. The company is headquartered in Arlington, VA. For more information, please visit www.plateau.com.
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