Major DHS Agency Transformed Training and Compliance Operations with Federal TMS

Background

A major Department of Homeland Security agency faced substantial operational hurdles within their large and complex training organization stemming from numerous outdated, paper-based processes and fragmented legacy systems. Prior to adopting Acadis, a federal training management system (TMS), the agency struggled to produce critical tasking and required thousands of man hours to create mandated periodic training reports which should have been simple to produce such as student training throughput, average test scores over time and graduation/departure statistics.  With escalating costs, significant security vulnerabilities, and the burden of maintaining numerous isolated and obsolete platforms, the agency realized that these legacy systems inhibited effective data management, exposed security risks, and drained resources through persistent upkeep costs and manual workflows. To transform training and compliance operations, they needed a comprehensive federal training solution.

The Challenge

Before adopting Vector’s federal training management system, the agency relied on fragmented and disconnected legacy systems, including FoxPro 2.0, a government-built survey tool that required significant manual entry and OMR scanning, Questionmark I for testing, and the Meridian KSI LMS for online learning. These legacy systems could not effectively communicate, required extensive manual input, and frequently led to data loss and inaccuracies.

Additionally, previous modernization efforts had failed. An investment of over $1 million with a systems integrator resulted in a non-functional software solution, further increasing frustration and resource wastage.

Key challenges included:

• Operational Inefficiencies: Hundreds of manual processes impeded timely decision-making and consumed human resources tied up in recurring operations to schedule training, process graduation records, and manage compliance.
• Inability to optimize resources and scheduling: Manual and spreadsheet-based scheduling impacted student throughput leading to increased costs per trained unit and inability to measure resource utilization.
• Software costs: Nearly $3.5 million spent annually on legacy software systems alone that were outdated and lacked centralized and integrated data.
  • $450,000 per year on a GOTS student survey platform
  • $500,000 per year on Questionmark Perception testing platform
  • $2.5 million per year on Meridian KSI learning management system (PALMS)
• Lack of Standardization and Measurement: Fragmentation across multiple training academies led to inconsistent training methods, data silos, and an inability to reliably measure training outcomes or compliance. This fragmentation prevented leadership from obtaining comprehensive, real-time visibility into training effectiveness, resource loads and compliance levels, complicating reporting and auditing processes.
• Security and Compliance Risks: Fragmented systems posed numerous security risks due to multiple potential breach points. Furthermore, comprehensive compliance tracking and audit capabilities were difficult due to disconnected data sources, which made compliance accountability difficult for a large security force geographically distributed across thousands of miles.

The Change

Within just nine months of implementing the Acadis Federal TMS to overhaul and modernize this fragmented infrastructure, the agency experienced positive ROI and began consolidating isolated systems and processes into a singular, secure enterprise platform.

Acadis replaced the FoxPro 2.0 survey tool, Questionmark Perception testing platform, the Meridian KSI learning management system, and facilitated the integration of a legacy mainframe system, TRAEN, consolidating it within a streamlined, central environment ($3.5+ million of annual software savings). Additionally, the agency retired most legacy paper-based manual processes, standardizing training operations across the 6 large academies and hundreds of field offices nationwide.  Mandatory training is now standardized for over 70,000 personnel across the enterprise.

Acadis dramatically improved operational efficiency by automating labor-intensive tasks like scheduling and compliance tracking. Processes that previously took weeks or months, such as graduation processing and multi-week course scheduling, were reduced to mere minutes. Automated workflows freed agency personnel to focus on mission-critical training and compliance activities rather than administrative burdens.

By consolidating multiple systems, Acadis substantially reduced potential security breach points. Previously, each isolated system required its own Information Systems Security Officer (ISSO), costing approximately $350,000 per system annually. Moreover, manual data entry across fragmented systems significantly increased error rates, compromising data integrity and security. Acadis’ integrated architecture eliminated redundant data entry, minimizing errors and enhancing compliance with rigorous federal security standards.

The centralized approach provided by Acadis future-proofed the agency’s training delivery, training logistics and personnel compliance infrastructure. The robust scalability and integrated design ensure the agency can adapt to changing operational demands without incurring substantial additional costs, administrative effort, and complexity.

Conclusion

The Acadis federal TMS platform fundamentally transformed the agency’s training and compliance infrastructure by eliminating costly legacy systems, significantly reducing operational complexities, institutionalizing process and enhancing both security and efficiency. The benefits have been clearly recognized by agency leadership at all levels; in fact, the agency recently awarded Acadis a 10-year contract, expanding the platform’s use to further streamline training operations. For agencies seeking an integrated, purpose-built system to address complex, mission-critical challenges, Acadis represents a proven solution capable of delivering substantial operational and financial benefits.

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