iXP Transforms University of Pennsylvania Emergency Communications Operations, Facilities and Technologies.

Sector: Higher Education

Focus: Communications Center Transformation

Situation

The University of Pennsylvania Division of Public Safety (DPS) provides police and security services to the UPENN campus under the direction of the Director of Public Safety. DPS receives emergency calls twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week from three major sources: an in-house developed 5-1-1 system, approximately 225 'blue light' emergency phones strategically located throughout the campus, and a standard seven-digit telephone number. DPS personnel, in coordination with the City of Philadelphia Police Department, patrol and respond to calls for service in the West Philadelphia geographic boundaries. University Communications Center personnel monitor the DPS frequencies in conjunction with some frequencies utilized by the City of Philadelphia Police Department.

Solution

iXP was engaged to perform a transformation of UPENN's emergency communications operations, facilities, and technologies. The engagement consisted of a three-step process:

1. Assessment and Planning,
2. Cost Analysis, and
3. Implementation Strategy.

iXP provided the business case development and program management for the design, construction, and operation of their Emergency Communications Center. Under this multi-year contract, iXP assessed the institution's service and performance requirements for public safety communications and security monitoring. iXP then designed, procured, and implemented the technology, as well as re-engineered UPENN's operational practices required to provide an integrated telecommunications, radio, and management information system for their Emergency Communications Center.

iXP's contract with UPENN was a multi-year professional services agreement. We provided the capital investment to facilitate the technology deployment, maintenance, refreshment and system administration, as well as operations. This type of partnership arrangement provided the budgetary predictability the University required to implement and deliver a new public safety communications program.

As a major component of this project, iXP developed an integrated safety and security systems operations model. iXP provided the services to plan, staff and manage the University's new PennComm answering center (formally the Emergency Communications Center), which serves the University City District in Philadelphia and includes an integrated incident response model for multiple public safety agencies. We also implemented the MERN radio interoperability project, joining the UPENN DPS, the Philadelphia Police Department, the University City District hospitals, Amtrak, and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority.

Results

In July 2003, after successfully managing operations for four (4) years, iXP transitioned UPENN's call-taking, dispatch and security monitoring operations to UPENN's Department of Public Safety. Additionally, as part of a 10-year operations and maintenance agreement with UPENN, iXP refreshed the applications and technology environment for PennComm, including the implementation of a new CAD system. iXP continued to provide operations and management support for the University's public safety communications and technology environment through 2008.

Value Delivered. Problem Solved.