Secapp transformed shift management at the Prison and Probation Service of Finland – A full day’s work now takes less than an hour

The Prison and Probation Service of Finland (Rise) is a public organization under Finland’s Ministry of Justice responsible for the enforcement and supervision of criminal sanctions. It employs approximately 2,500 people, including prison guards, social workers, psychologists, and administrative professionals. Rise operates 26 units across Finland, including prisons, probation offices, and the central administration.

Secapp was initially implemented in the Southern Finland unit, where its benefits quickly became apparent. Since then, it has been adopted in many other units nationwide. Today, Secapp is a vital tool for Rise in filling shifts and ensuring staff safety. Juha Mäki-Tikkala, a Senior Specialist at the Prison and Probation Service of Finland, explains that the COVID-19 pandemic triggered the adoption of Secapp.

– When the coronavirus pandemic hit and we urgently needed additional staff in our units, traditional methods such as phone calls and emails were too slow. Paging staff to work was the main reason for adopting Secapp. Its use quickly expanded to cover staff safety as well, says Mäki-Tikkala.

Secapp has saved Rise both human resources and employee time. It has had a particularly significant impact on staffing, as fast communication ensures operational readiness even in unexpected situations such as illnesses.

Before Secapp, filling a shift often took an entire workday, with replacements contacted individually by phone, SMS, or email. Now, the same process takes under an hour—often just minutes.

– In major disruptions or staff shortages, Secapp can save a full workday’s worth of time, and under normal circumstances, a substitute can be found in a few minutes, says Mäki-Tikkala.

– Message delivery is fast with Secapp, so shift changes can be managed quickly, and the institution’s operations remain uninterrupted even with sudden absences. The sooner a substitute is found, the better continuity is ensured – whether it’s for a same-day shift or the following days’ planning, Mäki-Tikkala continues.

With Secapp, shift planners can send call-outs to large groups simultaneously, and recipients can confirm their availability with a single click. Secapp not only speeds up operations but also ensures that information about staffing needs reaches everyone equally.

– Secapp is extremely fast for call-outs, as we can include all units and send targeted messages to different personnel groups. Responses come in quickly and directly in the app, Mäki-Tikkala adds.

Secapp’s use was gradually expanded from shift paging to improving employee safety. Its lone worker safety feature enables quick emergency assistance through the app, a phone widget, or a dedicated physical button.

– Especially in open institutions and smaller units, this solution has been a major improvement, as no similar systems were previously in use. Secapp has significantly enhanced safety. Now employees can trust that help is available immediately when needed, says Mäki-Tikkala.

In Rise units, the Aina Bluetooth button plays a key role in personal safety. Thanks to its wireless Bluetooth connection, the button is easy to carry in a pocket and can be pressed discreetly without needing to find a phone or open an app. The alert is instantly sent to predefined recipients, such as control rooms, and can include location data to speed up the response. Once triggered, the institution’s monitoring team can track the situation in real-time and respond immediately.

Secapp’s high-priority alerts also ensure that important messages are delivered. These alerts bypass a device’s silent mode, guaranteeing the recipient is notified. This is critical not only in emergencies but also when fast response to staffing call-outs is required. High-priority alerts ensure that no delay prevents help from arriving.

Next, the Prison and Probation Service plans to expand Secapp’s use to include crisis communication and a virtual situation center. Secapp’s situation center enables centralized disruption management within a single app. It brings together information from different units and experts in one place, ensuring the right information reaches the right people immediately, allowing for fast commands and real-time resource management.

– Secapp’s situation center and crisis communication solutions will support our situations requiring, for example, alerts across all units or coordination across multiple locations, Mäki-Tikkala explains.

Janne Mylläri, Secapp’s Customer Success Director, notes that the situation center is always accessible via the mobile app.

– All actions taken during a situation are automatically recorded in the system, and a real-time situational overview is available to all stakeholders, wherever they are. For example, the management or crisis response teams can make decisions and guide operations quickly, whether they’re at the office or in the field, Mylläri explains.

According to Mylläri, Secapp can help organizations save tens or even hundreds of thousands of euros annually by reducing the need for overtime, speeding up shift management, and minimizing manual work. The savings depend on the organization’s sector, processes, and how critical fast communication is. Automation also reduces human errors and increases the sense of safety.

– With Secapp, daily operations are faster, safer, and more cost-effective. When filling shifts is quick and almost automatic, employee stress is reduced, and the organization operates more efficiently – without resource shortages causing additional costs, says Mylläri.

In addition to time savings, Secapp’s paging function quickly pays for itself, as organizations don’t need to spend on phone trees or SMS surveys. Also, increasing the volume of messages does not raise costs.

Secapp is lightweight and easy to implement, as it does not require any separate hardware. This makes it a flexible solution for a wide range of work environments. Since Rise operates multiple units across Finland, shift call-outs can be targeted by unit or even by a specific group within a unit. By ensuring messages only go to the intended recipients, unnecessary information overload is reduced.

The implementation process was smooth, and Secapp quickly became part of daily routines with immediate benefits. Rise also praises the system’s user-friendliness.

– Secapp is a very easy and intuitive system. We’ve implemented many systems, and compared to dozens of others we use, Secapp is definitely among the top three in terms of functionality and usability, Mäki-Tikkala praises.

Secapp’s biggest strength is its ease of use and speed—that’s what makes Secapp what it is, Mäki-Tikkala concludes.

Secapp is delivered to the Prison and Probation Service of Finland in cooperation with contract partner Certego.

DID YOU KNOW…

• Secapp’s Paging solution often finds a worker within minutes. It automates shift filling and improves scheduling efficiency while reducing workload for shift managers. Tens or even hundreds of recipients can be reached without increasing effort.
• Secapp’s Lone Worker Safety helps ensure the safety of those working alone or in challenging conditions. In emergencies, help requests can be sent quickly to predefined individuals or groups via the app, a phone widget, or a physical button.
• Secapp Alerting can reach people and groups up to 90% faster. With pre-built message templates, human errors are reduced, and critical operations continue without costly delays.
• Secapp’s Situation Center connects experts in a secure virtual space where real-time information can be shared. It supports informed decision-making and effective resource management during crises – 24/7, globally, and even via mobile from the field.