Oversight panel hears plan to stabilize Washington's suspended workers'comp modernization project
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Summary
Wixom, the state's workers'comp modernization, was suspended and lifted in January; oversight staff outlined a 0–120 day stabilization plan focused on governance, interagency collaboration and tighter financial management. LNI noted the system serves millions of workers and processes tens of thousands of claims annually.
The Technology Services Board on Feb. 20 received an update on the state's suspended workers'compensation modernization project, known in oversight materials as Wixom, as oversight staff described a 0–120 day stabilization plan following a January decision to lift the program's suspension.
Kathleen Gillespie, the WATEC oversight consultant for the Wixom project, told the board the suspension was imposed because the program missed plan milestones, faced budget constraints and remained high risk. She said the immediate oversight priorities are clear governance roles and decision authority, interagency resource collaboration and improved financial management so the program can demonstrate value delivery relative to actual cost.
Joel Sachs, director of the Department of Labor & Industries (LNI), reminded the board of the program's scale and the stakes: "we're collecting, over 2 and a half billion dollars a year in premiums" and the agency processes tens of thousands of claims annually. Sachs said the agency still operates on roughly 40‑year‑old core technology and that the modernization must proceed incrementally so benefits and premium collection continue uninterrupted.
Program leaders and WATEC representatives described a delivery model in which WATEC acts as the enterprise project delivery arm, coordinating a dedicated project team and a steering committee that includes OFM and the governor's office. The model emphasizes capability‑based deliveries such as intelligent document processing, phased decommissioning of legacy sub‑systems and close agency collaboration to preserve day‑to‑day operations.
Board members asked how "quick wins" would be identified without disrupting existing functions; program staff said each capability will be solicited separately with business journey mapping and agency‑specific technical requirements, and that implementation will be phased to allow agency testing and parallel operation.
Because the board lacked a quorum, members did not take any formal actions and the board left decisions about approvals to future meetings once a quorum is present. The program asked for continued board guidance on indicators that should be included in enterprise health checks for a project of this size.