Bureau of Building Inspection
3. Expand staff training to maintain certification However, requiring the use of private contractors for plan review services as outlined above will decrease the number of City
personnel required to be trained, thereby reducing this new obligation.
Position FY2005 FY2006 FY2007 FY2008 FY2009
Plan Examiner $46,897 $46,897 $46,897 $46,897 $46,897
UCC Training Costs $16,820 $16,220 $15,620 $17,220 $17,220
Total $56,817 $63,717 $63,117 $62,517 $64,117
1 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Labor and Industry, Act No. 45 Uniform Construction Code, Chapter 5. Adoption
To recover the additional UCC costs outlined above, as well as associated costs for employee benefits and other direct program needs, the City shall revise its current fee structure. Already, BBI adjusts it fees annually to account for inflationary increases. As the new UCC program rolls out, a more significant fee increase shall be adopted to recover the additional costs concurrent with the customary BBI annual adjustments.
Enforcement Productivity Enhancements
To enhance the productivity of the City’s existing code enforcement corps, technology shall be used to provide inspectors with information to more efficiently complete their duties. BBI receives approximately 10,000 requests for service annually. The current process for dealing with these requests is partially manual, which decreases the efficiency of the bureau and puts BBI in a reactive mode.
The City shall pursue several strategies to move BBI to a more technologically advanced position and allow inspectors greater access to information and enhance their productivity.
Electronic Data. BBI shall pursue the transfer of all data into electronic form by digitizing old data, such as past applications and inspection info, and by continuing to enter new data directly into electronic systems. Putting old data into an electronic form will allow the Department to purge, track and research data more effectively. The City shall examine the feasibility and costs of digitizing information, and determine the range of historical information that would need to be included. Such an investment would:
Reduce the hours spent looking up information and improve the Departments’ ability to trackinformation in the future;
Facilitate coordination between divisions and departments to improve control, over both revenue and interdepartmental activities;
Improve the quality and timeliness of customer service through more accessible information and project a more competent image to the public; and
Develop standardized forms of inputting and reporting to increase the Department’s efficiency and facilitate more effective monitoring.Handheld Computers. The Department has 43 inspectors, each with responsibilities that include enforcing the City’s Property Maintenance Code, Business Licensing Code and Building Code. As an integral part of the Department, inspection productivity could be improved through technology
investments. The current system of performing and recording inspections leads to redundant data entry and is not conducive to information sharing. Handheld computers would allow inspectors to make more site visits each day, would standardize the reporting of data and would facilitate the Department’s transition to electronic data recording.
BI03. Deploy Handheld Computers for Inspectors
Over the past three years, BBI reports an average of 271 inspections per business day and 70,505 inspections per year. At each individual site, the inspector records his/her information and then re-enters the data into a report once he returns to the office. The data from these inspections is not always inputted into a computer, so whenever past information is needed, someone must pull the individual file. In a situation where another division or department needs information regarding specific codes, permits or violations they must call the main office to manually retrieve the data.
Currently there are a total of 43 inspectors in the Department performing building, mechanical, electrical, zoning, and code inspections. The City shall provide handheld devices to inspectors to reduce the amount of hours spent manually recording and inputting data, and also allow for
coordination between divisions. These devices will also provide inspectors with access to each other’s inspection records, which would be useful in situations where an inspector is out on leave or retires.
The cost of the handhelds and the software will vary depending on which other departments chose to purchase the computers and what system was used. However, it is estimated that the total upfront cost per inspector would be about $2,500 for each piece of hardware, with
potential additional cost for software, training and maintenance.
The fiscal impact of this initiative is in part related to the cost of acquiring the handheld
computers, which should reduce operating costs and increase revenues. This initiative will also enhance the productivity of BBI inspectors. Consequently, BBI shall pursue funding for this investment from the new City Productivity Bank, to be established in FY2005 as outlined in the Finance Chapter of this Recovery Plan.
BI04. Improve Online Permitting Functions
The City shall pursue the development of an effective and comprehensive web presence for the Department to improve public perception and administrative processes for inspectors and applicants alike. Creating an interface where applicants could access information, obtain answers to their questions, and eventually download applications would increase productivity and make the Department more user-friendly. As a phase in developing this website, the Department might install terminals at its office and at other strategic locations (e.g. Planning, City Hall, Public Safety Complex). These terminals would provide information on site and give broader access to electronic business.
Along with the recommendations outlined above, the following initiative(s) impacting BBI are detailed in other sections of this Recovery Plan: