Project Overview

Professional Systems Engineering, LLC participated in assessing the physical condition of 149 City of Philadelphia department facilities, totaling approximately 3 million square feet. Our findings were conveyed both in hardcopy any dynamic data spreadsheet in an organized, comprehensive format that allowed the City to prioritize and allocate funding for ongoing capital repairs and maintenance.

PSE’s experts provided the City of Philadelphia an added level of value by addressing the often forgotten security, life safety, and communication disciplines as part of the capital expenditure planning process. Our direct experience with first responders and public safety helped to align this assessment with real world needs that are not understood by general assessment providers.

Facilities for the following City departments were included:
  • Police Department — 32 facilities
  • Fire Department — 66 facilities
  • Prison System — 36 facilities
  • Department of Public Health –15 facilities
  • Interior of City Hall

The assessment information was stored in a data system that enables Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority (PICA) and the City to effectively evaluate and approve annual five-year financial plans with prioritized funding for future renovations.

The facility conditions assessment process included the following elements:
  • Building (Structure and Systems)
  • Roofing
  • Exterior walls
  • Exterior building lighting
  • Interior finishes
  • Heating system
  • Electrical power distribution
  • Telecommunications
  • Plumbing systems
  • Air conditioning system
  • Fire protection systems
  • ADA ramps, lifts
  • Site support structures
  • On-site paved surfaces
  • Perimeter paved surfaces
  • Site structures
  • Site furnishings
  • Site drainage
  • Interior fencing
  • Landscaping

PSE was responsible for the 36 prison facilities assessing their security systems including perimeter security, fire protection/ detection system and tele/data communication systems. For this project, PSE entered field data collection into the software for integration and data quality assurance management. Data collected from the physical inspection teams was entered into a database — Microsoft Access. The data was transferred to the database integrator who merged the data into master files where it was classified by building systems; finally prioritized, assigned associated costs, and checked for accuracy.