diff --git a/docs/upgrades/upgrade_6.8.5-6.9.0.pl b/docs/upgrades/upgrade_6.8.5-6.9.0.pl
index 1954ce5d7..4b0882985 100644
--- a/docs/upgrades/upgrade_6.8.5-6.9.0.pl
+++ b/docs/upgrades/upgrade_6.8.5-6.9.0.pl
@@ -27,9 +27,55 @@ addEMSTemplates();
 addEMSTables();
 updateTemplates();
 updateDatabaseLinksAndSQLReport();
+addWorkflow();
 
 finish($session); # this line required
 
+#-------------------------------------------------
+sub addWorkflow {
+	print "\tAdding workflow.\n";
+	$session->db->write("create table WorkflowSchedule (
+		taskId varchar(22) binary not null primary key,
+		enabled int not null default 1,
+		minuteofHour varchar(25) not null default '0',
+		hourOfDay varchar(25) not null default '*',
+		dayOfMonth varchar(25) not null default '*',
+		monthOfYear varchar(25) not null default '*',
+		dayOfWeek varchar(25) not null default '*',
+		workflowId varchar(22) binary not null
+		)");
+	$session->db->write("create table WorkflowInstance (
+		instanceId varchar(22) binary not null primary key,
+		workflowId varchar(22) binary not null,
+		currentActivityId varchar(22) binary not null,
+		priority int not null default 2,
+		className varchar(255),
+		methodName varchar(255),
+		parameters text,
+		runningSince bigint
+		)");
+	$session->db->write("create table Workflow (
+		workflowId varchar(22) binary not null primary key,
+		title varchar(255) not null default 'Untitled',
+		description text
+		)");
+	$session->db->write("create table WorkflowActivity (
+		activityId varchar(22) binary not null primary key,
+		workflowId varchar(22) binary not null,
+		title varchar(255) not null default 'Untitled',
+		description text,
+		previousActivityId varchar(22) binary not null,
+		dateCreated bigint,
+		className varchar(255)
+		)");
+	$session->db->write("create table WorkflowActivityProperty (
+		propertyId varchar(22) binary not null primary key,
+		activityId varchar(22) binary not null,
+		name varchar(255),
+		value text
+		)");
+}
+
 #-------------------------------------------------
 sub updateDatabaseLinksAndSQLReport {
 	print "\tUpdating the Database link and SQLReport Tables.\n";
diff --git a/lib/Spectre/Workflow.pm b/lib/Spectre/Workflow.pm
index d783591b0..79ba94a30 100644
--- a/lib/Spectre/Workflow.pm
+++ b/lib/Spectre/Workflow.pm
@@ -115,7 +115,8 @@ Returns an integer representing the number of running jobs.
 
 sub countRunningJobs {
 	my $self = shift;
-	return scalar(@{$self->{_runningJobs}});
+	my $runningJobs = $self->{_runningJobs} || [];
+	return scalar(@{$runningJobs});
 }
 
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/lib/WebGUI/Config.pm b/lib/WebGUI/Config.pm
index 0d00ed7c2..0cf6d72d8 100644
--- a/lib/WebGUI/Config.pm
+++ b/lib/WebGUI/Config.pm
@@ -186,16 +186,20 @@ sub new {
 		return $config{$filename};
 	} else {
 		my $json = "";
-		open(FILE,"<".$webguiPath.'/etc/'.$filename);
-		while (my $line = <FILE>) {
-        		$json .= $line unless ($line =~ /^\s*#/);
+		if (open(FILE,"<".$webguiPath.'/etc/'.$filename)) {
+			while (my $line = <FILE>) {
+        			$json .= $line unless ($line =~ /^\s*#/);
+			}
+			close(FILE);
+			my $conf = jsonToObj($json);
+			my $self = {_webguiRoot=>$webguiPath, _configFile=>$filename, _config=>$conf};
+			bless $self, $class;
+			$config{$filename} = $self unless $noCache;
+			return $self;
+		} else {
+			warn "Cannot open config file: ".$filename;
+			return undef;
 		}
-		close(FILE);
-		my $conf = jsonToObj($json);
-		my $self = {_webguiRoot=>$webguiPath, _configFile=>$filename, _config=>$conf};
-		bless $self, $class;
-		$config{$filename} = $self unless $noCache;
-		return $self;
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/sbin/spectre.pl b/sbin/spectre.pl
index c13055f8e..cd8bda8e7 100644
--- a/sbin/spectre.pl
+++ b/sbin/spectre.pl
@@ -48,6 +48,17 @@ STOP
 }
 
 my $config = WebGUI::Config->new("..","spectre.conf",1);
+unless (defined $config) {
+	print <<STOP;
+
+
+Cannot open  the Spectre config file. Check that ../etc/spectre.conf exists,
+and that it has the proper privileges to be read by the Spectre server.
+
+
+STOP
+	exit;
+}
 
 if ($shutdown) {
 	my $remote = create_ikc_client(