PlanIt Schedule

Scheduling a police squad, an ambulance crew or a dispatch floor is not the same as rostering an office, with shifts that run around the clock, mandatory coverage and constant changes. PlanIt Schedule is web-based personnel scheduling software made for police, EMS, fire and 911 dispatch agencies. Ragnasoft, Inc, based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, develops it, and its site now states that PlanIt has become part of the NEOGOV group of public safety products.

How the product started

Ragnasoft was incorporated in 1999 as a software development firm and, by its own account, worked as a consultant for large corporations. In 2005 two public safety departments in Lancaster, one EMS and one police, approached the company about their scheduling needs. It worked closely with them on an application that solved the problem, and that became the PlanIt Scheduling system. Since then the company says it has concentrated on public safety scheduling and communication, working with hundreds of organizations.

A product designed for one sector

The company stresses that PlanIt was designed for public safety, not adapted from general workforce software. It says input from its EMS, fire, police and dispatch users has shaped the product, and that focusing on one kind of scheduling lets its developers go deeper. The vendor calls PlanIt easy to use, capable and cost effective.

Demonstrations and updates

Ragnasoft offers free live demonstrations so that buyers can ask questions and see features specific to public safety work. It also says it releases improvements regularly in response to customer feedback, so the product changes with the needs of the agencies using it.

Who the maker serves

The audience is police departments, EMS providers, fire services and dispatch centers. Ragnasoft describes the PlanIt products as having served public safety organizations for over twenty years, and describes a collaborative internal culture in which staff are cross trained and share their knowledge. Its main office is in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

PlanIt Schedule is an online staff scheduling system made for public safety. Ragnasoft, Inc, a software company in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, developed it, and the website says PlanIt has since joined the NEOGOV family of public safety products.

Main features

• Personnel scheduling: rosters for police, EMS, fire and 911 dispatch.
• Live demonstrations: offered so buyers can see features aimed at public safety.
• Regular updates: the maker says it releases improvements based on customer feedback.

Customers and markets

Police departments, fire and EMS services and dispatch centres. Ragnasoft says it has worked with hundreds of public safety organisations.

Key facts

• Company: Ragnasoft, Inc
• Based in: Lancaster, Pennsylvania
• Founded: 1999
• Product history: PlanIt began in 2005 after two local police and EMS departments asked for a scheduling tool
• Earlier work: the firm previously consulted for large corporations