The state should improve the management of prison maintenance and take advantage of opportunities for automation to reduce operating costs, particularly in controlling inventory. While most of the more than 500-member staff are assigned to individual prison units, each geographic region has staff to help as needed. Additionally, some units may have boiler staff, laundry and kitchen repairmen, solid waste te chnicians, locksmiths , door mechanics, incinerator operators and landfill supervisors. Each unit is headed by a plant maintenance manager and an assistant unit maintenance supervisor. Given the physical proximity of many of the units, assigning specialized staff to each unit is unnecessarily costly and limits the staff s effectiveness.
Many units have fewer than eight maintenance staff.
Staff organized into such small groups with specialized functions are much more likely to remain idle. Each work order issued for non-routine work is reviewed by each unit s maintenance staff to determine if the problem is correctible by one of their craftsmen. If they cannot correct the problem, the work order is sent to the area maintenance staff to examine the issue. If area maintenance finds that outside expertise is required, the work will be contracted. To lower overall costs and increase inmates v ocational skills, inmate labor is used to help repair and maintain each unit.