Project Overview

This project consists of the design of a modern court facility for Franklin County Courthouse in Columbus, Ohio. The court system serves a large county population with over 100,000 person-visits per year. The Courthouse will be occupied by a variety of departments having overlapping security needs. The new structure/pavillion will be integrated with the existing campus of buildings. The security aspects of the integration requirements include high volume screening, blast mitigation reviews, and digital video throughout.

Professional Systems Engineering, LLC applied two key philosophies in the design of the security systems. The first was the concept of simple operational security. The system design focused on not only providing the best level of security but also stresses a “simple to operate” and “easy to maintain system.” PSE believes that if systems are not easy to operate, these systems will not be fully implemented. The end result of a complex security system could be a breakdown in a facility’s overall level of security.

Our second key philosophy was the design of integrated systems. Modern security systems incorporate a collection of subsystems. Traditionally, these systems would each be an independent standalone system. The system provided for in this project will call for each subsystem to be interfaced in a manner which will allow the system to share information and automatically respond to events.

Services Provided

Security Technologies
  • IP security system
  • PLC system control in holding cells, segregated from courthouse access control system
  • Monitoring and controlled access systems
  • Card access protection
  • Elevator and secure corridor protection
  • Digital television surveillance
  • Weapons detection and package screening
  • Interior building security for door monitoring and control, power backup, interior communications, and duress monitoring stations
  • Security intercom system
  • Monitoring of critical support systems, such as uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) and fire alarms
  • Physical security control and monitoring of exterior access to secure parking and sallyport entrances