What Netflix’s Hard Cell Got Right: Why Preventative Maintenance Work Is Vital For Government Facilities

In the new Netflix series “Hard Cell,” viewers get a humorous look at the daily life of prison administrators and facilities maintenance staff. Catherine Tate stars as Laura, the governor of HMP Woldsley prison, a fictional federal-level correctional facility in the UK for female offenders.

While the series is lighthearted and satirical about prison administration and bureaucracy, it highlights real challenges corrections administrators face in facilities management—especially aging infrastructure, reduced budgets, and staffing shortages.

When Preventative and Corrective Repairs Are Deprioritized

At the start of "Hard Cell," the prison’s old plumbing system fails, causing sewage spills and contaminating the facility’s freshwater. Laura, the governor, had diverted the repair budget to a morale-boosting theater production for inmates. Her assistant, Dean, describes the crisis: “So far, 300 women haven’t showered, cleaned their teeth, or flushed a toilet for forty-eight hours.”

While this scenario is exaggerated, it reflects a real issue: preventative maintenance and corrective repairs are often delayed, especially for high-cost systems like plumbing, roofing, and perimeter detection. Corrections administrators must make tough choices about limited budgets as costs rise.

Local corrections facilities face even more budget strain as aging buildings require more maintenance. Jail and other local corrections costs have risen sixfold since 1977, reaching $25 billion. About a third of jail facility capacity is over 30 years old, and 20% of jails are overcrowded, creating significant capital challenges for local budgets.

Labor Shortages and Staffing Add Burden

Staffing shortages further strain the corrections industry. In Wisconsin, nearly a quarter of jobs are vacant, with some areas experiencing up to 50% unfilled positions. Morale and retention are also issues—filling jobs is only part of the challenge; keeping employees is equally important.

Investing in Regular Preventative Maintenance

With ongoing budget and hiring challenges, what can corrections administrators do to reduce strain on their facilities?

First, preventative maintenance and corrective repair projects should not be deferred. Investing in preventative maintenance is reported to save more than $13 per square foot in maintenance costs over a 10-year period. Over 20 years, the savings increase to $25 per square foot. For a 100,000-square-foot jail or prison, this can mean $2.5 million saved per year over 20 years by spending $2.84 per square foot per year ($284,000) on maintenance.

Second, administrators should help existing staff enhance and expand their maintenance and repair skills. This reduces the need for external contractors for basic work orders that internal staff could handle. Implementing a training platform allows teams to improve their knowledge and skills, providing a cost-effective way to improve maintenance programs.

Providing training is also an investment in professional development, which is important as today’s workforce seeks opportunities to learn and build new skills. In fact, 76% of employees say a company is more appealing if it offers additional skills training.

In a competitive hiring market, job applicants value opportunities to develop new skills and gain on-the-job experience with essential maintenance functions like HVAC, plumbing, and electrical work.

Maintenance and facilities training improves the operating budget by reducing external vendor costs and enhances staff skills, leading to better preventative maintenance and longer-lasting critical systems. Employee satisfaction also rises with employer investment in training and skill development—a win-win for facilities and staff.

Maybe if HMP Woldsley’s governor Laura had invested in plumbing maintenance training, she wouldn’t have found herself up the creek without a paddle!

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