"Where are the Jobs?" an online application submitted by SymSoft Solutions in Sacramento, California was the winner of the Occupational Employment Statistics Challenge.
In July the Labor Department launched its first-ever contests to spur the software developer community to create “apps,” or smartphone and computer applications, that would be useful for the public. We launch these contests using the federal government’s innovative tool at www.challenge.gov. The goal of these contests was simple: leverage developers’ technical expertise and creativity to package publicly-available DOL data and other resources and deliver ready-to-use information to workers, job seekers, and consumers.
DOL agencies regularly produce mountains of data on enforcement actions, employment, unemployment, wages, and other topics. This information can be useful for those searching for a job, workers looking for ways improve their skills, and consumers who want to know that the businesses they use value safe, healthy, and fair workplaces.
We knew this data was valuable, but we also knew that we hadn’t considered every way to put it in the hands of the American people — at home, in the office, or on the go.
We ran two contests: the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) Challenge and the InformAction Challenge. And today, we’re announcing the winners of each and awarding $68,000 in prize money.
The OES Challenge asked developers to take data from DOL’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and create applications that could help individuals plan their education or job training strategies, negotiate pay and benefits with employers, find places to update their skill sets, and make informed decisions about potential career changes. The submissions creatively packaged these data and presented it in useful formats, and all of the competitors’ entries are highlighted on the OES Challenge page, but a few submissions stood out from the rest.
Where are the Jobs? received DOL’s first place prize. This app allows users to retrieve average salaries of occupations and occupation groups by State and/or region and has a comparison function that allows users to find where job types or industries are centered and the best compensated. This app will help workers make better choices about where to get training and education, apply for positions or, if necessary, move to find good jobs. Again, the developer who created the application used data that DOL already publishes regularly. But now, that data can be consumed, analyzed, and acted upon by almost anyone, not just economists and sophisticated users of BLS statistics.
Our second and third-place, honorable mention and People’s Choice Award winners also produced innovative and useful applications. You should judge them for yourself. In addition, there were plenty of other submissions that caught our attention and showcased innovative approaches to using our data, and integrating it with other sources. All can be useful to users in different ways.
The winning submission for our InformAction App Challenge is just as exciting. The Eat, Shop, Sleep App is already available in Apple’s App Store. It integrates publicly-available enforcement data from the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Wage and Hour Division (WHD) with consumer ratings web sites like Yelp and other tools, like Google Maps. When you want to know if the restaurant or hotel you’re planning to visit has received positive reviews from people like, you can also make sure that they pay their employees fair wages and provide safe and healthy working conditions. Including this information as people make decisions about the businesses they want to visit will allow consumers to make informed decisions, and will keep businesses honest about how they treat their employees. Again, I encourage you to peruse our second- and third-place finishers, as well, and the four honorable mention winners, including the People’s Choice Award.
These two challenges are just the beginning for the Labor Department. We still have a dedicated site – http://developer.dol.gov/ – that includes Application Program Interfaces (APIs) and Software Development Kits (SDKs), both of which make it easier for developers to incorporate DOL data into their applications. In the coming months, we’ll be launching more challenges for our various agencies that will deal with issues like disability employment, equal pay, and worker misclassification. Like our first two contests, these challenges will engage developers by putting their expertise to work to create applications that turn raw DOL data into actionable tools for workers, job seekers, and employers across the country. We’ll make prize money available to those who participate, and get some of the best developers in the country to help deliver this crucial information to the American public. Stay tuned!
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
First, I congratulate the folks who thought of this contest, and I congratulate the winners. The apps are very interesting. I hope they will be put to good use.
Second, I would like to see more contests like this.
Third, I suggest a contest for an app that evaluates the dust in the air around a worker. Smart phones have cameras. Many can recognize faces and even smiles. Someone should be able to create an app that analyzes a photo of a worker in a cloud of dust and recognizes an unsafe and unhealthy work situation. It may be worth a try.
I was wondering about the InformAction app and how it shows how employers treat there employees.Will it show for example things like how i was retaliated for protected activity by my employer on 4/20/09 accusing me of sending out on rent an unsafe forklift and yet how i provided DOL/OSHA documentation of how this employer rushed out on rent this forklift by gluing the metal radiator back together.
Or will this app show for example how i provided DOL/OSHA complete 100% indisputible company documentation of how my employer on 4/20/09 knowingly sent out on rent a five ton JLG scissor lift that i just locked out unsafe with a major mechanical problem with the steering including picturies of the lockout tags on these JLG lifts.Plus the JLG service bullitin and upgrade kit for this safety problem.
I think this would be great information to put on this app for if i was renting a scissor lift i would want a safe one.Take for instance where a JLG lift fliped over in center city Philadelphia on 10/13/09 killing the operator after he steered just a few inches onto a grate in the sidewalk.So i think steering is a safety item on these lifts.
Gregg S
PROUD NAVY DAD
Another thing for this app that consumers and job seekers could use is where you could show how some of these lift were inspected incorectley.See my former employer came up with a code of Q.T.A that was to be written down on just the internal paperwork so as not for the customer to view a copy or recive a copy.Q.T.A stands for Quick Turn Around and this was for lifts that had just come in and were needed to go right back out on rent.This was neither the correct way or safe way of inspecting these lifts.There were some ocassions where these lifts were not even pulled of the trucks and were given a quick look over and just written up.The correct way is either a quarterly inspection or annual inspection and this is how it is written in the service manuels for these lifts.
So i think this would be great info to put on these apps for customers wanting to rent a safe aerial lift.
Also great for job seekers who might have to be faced with having to do this at this employer.
Gregg S
PROUD NAVY DAD
Could i add to this app about an employer and how they treat there employees?For example where my employer was forcing a coworker to take numerous physicals to try and force him out.They did not like him and even management tried to get me involved to state i felt unsafe working around him but i refused.The company felt he was old slow and cranky.This was due to him having severe arthrits and yes he was cranky but he would help you with a technical problem or lend you a tool at an instant and if he felt he was unsafe due to his medication he would go home.He has been at this employer for about 13 years or more.Even the second coworker who came forward in my whistleblower case stated after i was illegaly terminated telling me they forced this guy to take five physicals in one year and he passed them every time.This was even given to my OSHA 11(c) investigator who stated that i have too much information that he will need to interview me more at a later date (Never happened). So do you think this kinda shows retaliation for protected activity for whistleblowing in my case by the way they treat this guy?
This would be helpful to job seekers on this app right?
Gregg S
PROUD NAVY DAD
Back in the good old days when Seth Harris and Roland Droitsch ran OASP, we never would have gotten away with using the word “data” as a singular noun. See the third paragraph of the article: “We knew THIS data was valuable, but we also knew that we hadn’t considered every way to put IT in the hands of the American people — at home, in the office, or on the go.”
Nice video
So many benefits can come out of a unique contest like this: the Department of Labor can begin a dialogue with the American people by sharing the numbers they so diligently collect in a straightforward, workable way that Americans can understand and utilize. Innovative companies and individuals get the opportunity to showcase their ideas and technological capabilities in a more public forum. The Department of Labor can forge partnerships with the winning companies that serve as a springboard to job creation and investments. I believe this is a solid use of the Department of Labor’s monies and I am excited to see what other ways the Department will utilize all the new technology available to them to support their goals. The next step is to promote these tools, so that more people, not just individuals who look at the Department of Labor’s website are aware of these awesome applications.
Another incident that could be put on this app in reguards to how employers treat their employees.
One of my coworkers at this former employer that i worked at there was a mechanic and also a friend was inspecting a scissor lift and had missed a problem with the stear axle and was given a suspension for missing this problem. But how is it that i provided DOL/OSHA complete 100% indisputible compant documentation of how this employer knowingly sent out on rent a five ton JLG scissor lift that i had just locked out unsafe with a major steering problem on the stear axle and they walked away? The lift that i locked out was triple the size of the lift that the coworker missed the problem with the stear axle .
You would think this shows retaliation for protected activity right?
This information was given to my 11(c) investigator.
I think this would be good information to job seekers who might not want to be subjected to this type of unjust treatment by an employer or OSHA 11(c).
Gregg.S
PROUD NAVY DAD
How about this incident for this InformAction app for i noticed this article also falls under workers rights and might be helpful for 11(c) whistleblowers too.
When the second mechanic came forward from my former employer he stated that this employer had coached them on what to say to OSHA in reguards to me and portray me as lazy.This mechanic stated he was contacted by OSHA on his personal phone while on duty at this employer and was standing in there office and felt pressured to lie.This mechanic could not understand why OSHA did not come in and interview him.This mechanic stated that when he provided to OSHA what he was instructed to say the 11(c) investigator stated that this was the feeling they were getting that i was lazy.
So here is just part of my work history at this employer and tell me if this sounds like i’m lazy.
I went from a third class mechanic to first in three years/ Traveled assisting other branches/Sent for management testing by the vise president of this employer/Had another job offer by a compettor lift company in witch this employer countered to keep and stated they did not want to lose me/Sent to Houston Texas twice to assist opening a new branch there/Even used a picture of me in their brochure/I was always asked to work overtime and i did not have to accept it but always wanted to help out/and more. All this with documentation was given to 11(c) And i never asked for any of those things.Most employers don’t reward lazyness right?
This information above would be fantastic for these apps,Really who would want to go through this at any employer or any whistleblowers who were thinking of coming forward to OSHA with inside information about safety.They might think twice before making that call right? Way to go DOL these app’s are a fantastic idea!
Gregg S
PROUD NAVY DAD
What about an app warning for whistleblowers who are thinking about contacting OSHA with inside information about unsafe prctices by there emplyers?
We could post the investigation in 09, of OSHA 11(c) by the department of labor’s investigator general with a repeat result on the same poor performance by 11(c) whistleblower protection program that has been going on for the last twenty years.
How about the investigation in 09 by the Government accountability office of 11(c) whistleblower protection program that provided the same result as the department of labor investigator general.
We could post things from the watch dog groups and one that stated “With OSHA 11(c) Whistleblowers are like lambs being led to slaughter”
We could post things like my case with OSHA 11(c) and how it destroyed my carrer,family,mental state,starting on 3/11/09.
I think this on an app would really help workers make the right decision before making that call to OSHA,right?
Gregg S
PROUD NAVY DAD
How about an app titled “Suspisious activity at DOL”
We could use the incident where i had a meeting with the area director OSHA Philadelphia in reguards to the JLG lifts my employer knowingly sent out on rent unsafe.When i arrived at OSHA’s office i was met at the front desk by an 11(c) investigator who informed me that i was given the wrong date and the area director was out of the office for the day.This investigator cautiously looked around the office and said follow me.We went into a side area where there was no one in and on the desk was an open file.The investigator while facing me reached behind his back and pointed to a name on the file and stated “This guy is claiming those lift’s were safe to go on rent ,I’m not supposed to show you his name if you know what i mean ,because your not supposed to write it down if you know what i mean” Got that real quick and wrote it down for it turned out to be head of JLG tech service department. So i called him and he stated “no there not safe ,that’s why JLG has a service bullitin out on this safety problem,They don’t put out service bullitins if there not having any problems”
But the way this investigator conducted himself raised a red flag with me and i was now wondering what’s going on here.Could it be thetre is some deep pocket action going on and he did’nt get a cut or maybe he knows there is something suspisious going on here.Alot of diffrent angles here to look at.
This investigator even handed me his card and i still have it.
But i think this would make a great app or even swap stories about others with similer incidents with 11(c),right?
Gregg S
PROUD NAVY DAD
I would like to thank the depatnent of labor and Hila Solis for honoring our veterans at the DOL great hall on nov 3rd.
I would like to tell you about the veterans in my family.My brother who served during the vietnam war ,my father during the korean war,my dad’s four brothers who served during world war two and i know that sounds like the film saving private ryan.But the fact is there story was true and more incredibale then that film and there is a connection to that film where the one brother joe who became a war hero while serving on a b25 bomber with 33 confirmed missions,shot down twice.Uncle Joe told a story thirty years ago of how he had his friend who was the navigator on his b25 teach him navigation skills in case he was killed and he could take over and get the b25 back to base.Uncle Then stated that the navigator’s son had just made that movie jaws.
It turned out it was Stephen Spielbergs dad and they remained friends until joe passed last year.We even have the picturies to prove it all took place.
Uncle joe even ran into his brother rudy in Pearl Harbor during the war when he was in with the fleet.Uncle rudy’s ship (pc490) had just made the the news papers where the admiral had transferred his command to his ship while they were clearing mines in the yangzee river to get the hospital ships in to free some 40.000 pow’s.We even have a great picture of pc490 leading the fleet up the yangzee river.
Then there is bill who wanted to join the marines with his 7 buddies but bill was too yung and my grandfather would not sighn him in.When uncle bill finally was able to join and catch up with his friends at the battle for okinawa only two friends were still alive.
Then there is Bud who served in Africa/Italy/Europe with 71st inf. The stories Uncle Bud told me were unbelievable for if he did not have picturies to prove it.He told me of how he personally shot the locks off three concentration camps and how one of the prisoners asked bud if he could carry him just outside the gate so he could die a free man.Uncle Bud teared up and said Gregg he died in my arms as soon as we cleared the gate.Bud told me of the fist fight between them and the 101st airborn at hitlers eagle’s nest because they claimed the 101st cheated by parachuting in where they had to fight there way in.Bud told me of his two run in’s with General Patton.Bud told me how after the war ended thee days later he was ordered to take the men down to guard the train station in Augsburgh GermanyBud spotted a train that was coming and how he stood infront of it to stop it.It turned out to be the highest ranking nazi to surrender by the name of Herman Goering.Bud stated the Goering said to him that he wanted to surrender to General Patton.Bud said to him you came to the right place then pushed him aside and looted his personal train.
All these stories are just the tip.
But my favorite veteran is my son Matthew who is serving in the US navy and has gone from the rank of E-1 to Petty officer second class in 6 years.When vise president Joe Biden was in naples Italy 5 months ago he offered to officate my sons reinlistment ceramoney.The picture of the vise president and my son will hang on my wall for the rest of my life.
Thaks Dol
Gregg S
PROUD NAVY DAD
What a smart idea – a contest to encourage developers’ technical expertise and creativity – and one that also helps and informs workers, job seekers, and consumers. I look forward to see what initiatives are used to help and support disabled employees in the future.
great contest and good tools to get started.
Clara Fernandez
First, congratulations to the winners! The challenge concept is a great idea and one I wish I had known about from the beginning. I’m not sure how you were promoting this, but it slipped past me. I personally know many developers who would be interested in participating in these challenges, so I’ll definitely spread the word, and I encourage others to do the same. We need more public developers involved with government initiatives to promote greater change through technology!
Great idea; I love the “win-win” aspect of the concept. This program epitomizes how the private sector and government can collaborate for the pubic good.
Congratulations to all award winners AND everyone who participated.
In a few years, smartphone usage to access the internet and databases will rival home computers. These apps are the little engines that facilitate this.
Looking forward to your next competition, maybe it could have a disability theme and ask for hearing loss, blindness, mobility issues to be addressed. If the app is good, it WILL get to market and get used.