Location Philadelphia, PA
Client City of Philadelphia
Services PLA Consulting, Program Management
Project Value N/A
Hill is currently working under its ninth multi-year contract providing program management services for Philadelphia International Airport’s (PHL) Capital Program. The current Capital Program includes airfield, terminal, and landside projects with total costs estimated at more than $1.8 billion. The Program supports PHL’s continued growth as an economic generator for the region, serving more than 28 million commercial passengers annually and offering approximately 450 daily flights to more than 120 domestic and international non-stop destinations.
Hill has provided program management services to the Division of Aviation continuously since 1989. Since this initial contract, our role has expanded to include project delivery, controls, procurement coordination, and other services for various departments within PHL. Hill manages the Airport’s Capital Program with a primary emphasis on financial and project controls, including capital budget preparation and budget and oversight control of professional services, public works, and other contracts. Hill also provides financial management, including grant management, which encompasses Airport Improvement Program (AIP), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and State application preparation; reimbursement processing and reporting; and management of the Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) program, including PFC application coordination and preparation, PFC collection/disbursements and tracking, and quarterly reporting to the Federal Aviation Administration. Additionally, Hill provides comprehensive support for initiatives such as Majority-in-Interest Capital Program approvals.
Other Hill responsibilities include coordinating and managing Aviation’s professional services task order approval process, including tracking requests and responses. Our tracking services include design page turns, bid initiation, award, and closeout procedures. Hill also coordinates and assists PHL with consultant selection processes for professional service contracts—currently including more than 40 active contracts—and administers the schedules for the preparation, solicitation, and vendor selection phases to procure the required services in a timely manner. In addition, Hill helps achieve Aviation’s goals for supporting local and disadvantaged business enterprises (DBE). By reviewing PHL’s contracting policies for both operating and capital spending, Hill helps to make certain a significant proportion of vendor spending accrues to local, minority, and women owned firms. Another critical Hill function involves confirming the City’s procurement and financial systems and the Airport’s internal systems are synchronized. This helps achieve accurate and timely contract awarding and disbursements.
Hill is also responsible for managing and coordinating the permitting process for tenant and concessionaire construction projects. For each project, Hill manages and tracks City permits, insurance certificates, and tenant advisories. Hill also conducts technical reviews as part of this process and provides weekly and monthly status updates to stakeholders.
Our specialty services include support for Project Labor Agreements, management reviews and audits of construction contract projected costs, and as-needed claims analyses including detailed analyses of such issues as delays, labor productivity, and damages.
Hill’s notable accomplishments include the successful implementation of the commercial paper program, a flexible, short-term financing tool that allows the Airport to fund Capital Program projects on an as-needed basis. To support the overall Capital Program, Hill has developed an in-house, end-to-end software program, the Airport Program Management System (APMS). The APMS provides for effective and efficient implementation of business processes and expedites project delivery. Hill has also initiated the use of DocuSign for electronic payment approvals, reducing approval times, and established processes and procedures for effective financial controls. These processes and procedures are instrumental in seamlessly financing contracts and bids with information from the City’s Financial Accounting Management Information System (FAMIS) and Advanced Purchasing Information System (ADPICS), as well as from Aviation’s APMS. This has allowed PHL to demonstrate clear and consistent internal controls. Due in part to Hill’s oversight, 90% of PHL vendors and suppliers are located within PHL’s area of economic impact, with nearly 30% of expenditures to date with DBE firms.
“Hill International Inc. has been the Capital Program Manager at PHL for over 19 years, and we have always found them to be responsive, professional, and diligent to the assigned task.” -Edward Anastasi, Deputy Director of Finance and Administration
