The Art of Security
Protecting priceless masterpieces at the Worcester Art Museum
- By Jessie Anton
- Sep 01, 2016
Located just an hour west of Boston, the Worcester Art Museum is
world-renowned for its 35,000-piece collection of paintings, sculptures,
photographic prints, drawings and new media. Spanning more
than 5,000 years of art culture, the permanent collection includes
paintings by some of the most well-known names in the art world—
Monet, Gauguin, Cassatt and Whistler. Also included are pieces that span the
ancient—such as the city of Antioch—to cutting-edge contemporary art. Because
the collections housed in the Worcester Art Museum are priceless—and irreplaceable—
providing a comprehensive security solution is essential.
ACCESS CONTROL
Since 1896, the Worcester Art Museum has been providing residents and visitors
to the greater-Boston area with a glimpse of some of the most famous pieces in
art history. The 155,000-square-foot facility welcomes more than 100,000 visitors
each year to appreciate its various works on display. Collections include
American, ancient, Chinese, European, and Indian art; coins and medals; and
even ancient buildings.
One of the most impressive features is a reconstructed French Benedictine Monk
chapel room made of century’s old limestone. Because the artwork on display is often
priceless, and cannot be replaced, providing security presents a special challenge,
said Michael Warren, Worcester Art Museum security and safety manager.
“The institution’s most valuable assets are hung on the walls in public spaces,”
Warren said. “This presents especially difficult challenges in protecting the assets
from being touched, vandalized or stolen. Technology can assist in protecting
these assets but the bulk of our effort is spent developing people that respond to
customer needs as well as the security needs of the collection.”
Warren said the previous security system wasn’t cohesive and included six separate
vendors to provide access control, video and alarm coverage. The alarm system,
in particular, experienced many problems including multiple false alarms.
With more than 250 employees—with varying levels of access—the Worcester
Art Museum sought an easy-to-use access control solution that provided the
strictest security and integrated with their existing video surveillance software
management provider, Avigilon. Warren relied on their trusted security integrator,
K&J Integrated Systems, for the best resolution.
K&J Integrated Systems is a full-service fire, security and electrical integrator
serving greater New England. True integration delivers a single solution by combining
multiple electronic systems. This creates synergy and cost savings, and most
of all protects valued assets. In just 10 years, K&J Integrated Systems has achieved
tremendous growth while still providing customers with the results they’ve come
to expect and desire
Showing true concern and superior system knowledge, K&J Integrated Systems
recommended Open Options’ premium access control software solution, DNA
Fusion, for use with Authentic Mercury Security hardware.
“Our integrator explained how DNA Fusion worked and how Open Options as
a company supports its local dealers and customers,” Warren said. “DNA Fusion
appeared to be the most versatile and user-friendly access control product during
our selection process and I liked the fact that the hardware was not proprietary.”
ADDED VALUE AT INTEGRATION
At the recommendation of their trusted system integrators, the Worcester Art Museum
chose Open Options’ DNA Fusion as the access control management software
provider. DNA Fusion provides a unified security platform including access
control, video integration, and photo ID management in an open platform and
best of breed approach by partnering with leading systems manufacturers. With
DNA Fusion, the large museum can be easily managed via a standard thick client,
a web browser, or Apple and Android smartphones.
“DNA Fusion is quicker and more
intuitive, as if it were designed by a user.
The ability to customize toolbars, for example,
and to have granular control over
user accounts has proved to be very valuable
in our operation,” said Fran Pedone,
the museum’s director of operations.
The Worcester Art Museum security
team has embraced DNA Fusion and
this seamless integration with their existing
video and intrusion systems. The
staff reports ease-of-use as one of the key
benefits of DNA Fusion, which Pedone
described as very important when training
new employees to use the system.
“Navigating the system proved to be
clear, efficient, and useful. Most controls
and settings are apparent without
the use of the included documentation,
which itself is detailed and well-written.”
A high priority for the museum was
to cover the entire perimeter of the facility
with multiple layers of protection
including video analytics, door contacts,
and motion sensor technologies,
said Warren.
“Open Options has allowed our museum
to integrate all three technologies
creating a user-friendly interface for
monitoring and controlling the various
systems,” he said.
The museum uses several security
workstations distributed throughout
the facility which are operated by security
guards and managers.
Because the museum is closed to the
public Mondays and Tuesdays, while
other days have a varying operations
schedule, they rely on DNA Fusion’s
ability to recognize assigned authority
and schedules to ensure proper access
is being observed.
“Access levels and times are programmed
based on business needs,” Warren
said. “This is a new concept for most
staff at the Worcester Art Museum, so
we are taking this rollout slowly to ease
people into the notion of secure areas
that are off limits for some personnel.”
The museum also saved money on
their current hardware and infrastructure
because of the system integrations
available. Avigilon VMS — a valued
Open Options video integration partner
— was the existing video surveillance
provider for the museum. The
ability to integrate with the video surveillance
provider was key in the selection
of Open Options’ DNA Fusion access
control, Warren credited.
Open Options worked so quickly to
accommodate an upgrade in the VMS,
in fact, that Warren said he and his
team were pleasantly “shocked.”
“When Avigilon added third-party
camera support and digital pan and
zoom to their video software product;
Open Options responded quickly with
an update to their DNA Fusion software
to support the new features,” Warren
said. “This was very important to
us. We were impressed with how quickly
Open Options enhanced the software
to integrate with the new VMS edition
based on our need for it.”
Worcester’s priceless collection is protected
visually by more than 200 monitor
points, which, when triggered, can be accessed
from within the DNA Fusion application. The quick access zoom feature
makes for a near immediate highlight of
the cause of the trigger, which is invaluable
when time is of the essence.
Badging can sometimes be a difficult
process to manage with hundreds of
employees. With DNA Fusion’s badge
application, Fusion ID, capturing employee
photos, information and printing
badges was made simple. DNA Fusion
integrates with the museum’s HID
Fargo card printer which produces
visually-rich, full-color credentials and
is the fastest printer in its class.
For the museum’s security infrastructure,
Open Options supplied access control
panels from the leader in open platform
hardware, Mercury Security. Some
of the panels were fitted in existing enclosures
while others were mounted in
MCLASS enclosures from LifeSafety
Power. Open Options and Mercury Security
have worked together for more
than 18 years with the common goal
of providing a true open architecture
access control solution. Mercury has
the most extensive open platform access
control hardware feature set along
with the world’s largest install base with
over three million controllers. The fact
that multiple manufacturers support
this hardware platform is what makes it
open and allows the end user a valuable
choice in software.
Warren said use of DNA Fusion
will grow as the museum continues to
refine its Emergency Preparation and
Response Plan. The museum has a
multi-year plan for expansion of access
control throughout the facility and they
intend to expand the system every year
as more funds become available. Warren
said he is confident based on their
experience with Open Options and
DNA Fusion that they have invested in
a solid security provider.
“Open Options was not only capable
of fixing the issues we experienced with
our previous system, but also made it
a priority to serve the customer’s needs
in timely manner, which is unusual in
most industries,” Warren said. “We
have had a very positive experience with
Open Options, Mercury, and the integration
our team has put together and
we appreciate the security it provides
our treasured museum and its priceless
contents.”
This article originally appeared in the September 2016 issue of Security Today.