Securing Museum Collections with Digital Access Control

Following news of theft and misplacement of museum artefacts, Abloy UK is highlighting the challenges of securing buildings and assets in the heritage sector and how access control can reduce these risks.

Lisa O’Flynn, Account Manager at Abloy UK, explains: “We are seeing an ongoing trend of museum artefacts becoming a target for crime. A report has revealed that more than 1,700 items are currently missing from museums in England¹.

“What’s more, an estimated 18.7% of all listed buildings are physically affected by crime annually, equating to over 70,000 listed buildings². Inferior key management systems are providing no record of who is accessing collections or buildings, creating a significant vulnerability in the sector.

With invaluable artefacts at increasing risk of theft or loss, digital access control solutions are enabling those in charge of collections to ensure their security and have greater peace of mind.

“With invaluable artefacts at increasing risk of theft or loss, digital access control solutions are enabling those in charge of collections to ensure their security and have greater peace of mind.”

A range of high security solutions can keep heritage buildings and assets safe, including user friendly access management systems that enable remote key management and provides comprehensive audit trails on locks and padlocks.

The real-time audit trails show who has accessed which lock and at what time, making staff accountable. Access rights for keys can be updated remotely from anywhere in the world using the web-based management software, meaning keys can be immediately revoked if required.

Systems typically grow with a museum’s infrastructure too. For example, if a museum is constructing a new storehouse, access control can be added to internal and external doors, as well as cabinets, display cases and other storage areas with ease. The solutions can be implemented on mobile gallery cabinets too, enabling off-site access management.

Easy retrofit solutions even on heritage and grade listed doors are also available if a specific heritage aesthetic needs to be retained – with locks and cylinders provided in an appropriate finish to match the design of a door or cabinet.

BS EN 15684 specifies requirements for performance and testing of Mechatronic Cylinders and their keys and/or electronic keys, providing a standard for high traffic environments, withstanding a large volume of people visiting a building.

The innovative Escape Door System (EDS) from Abloy UK is also ideal for museums, offering easy access and egress while ensuring compliance, security, and the ability to implement dynamic lockdown procedures. With the EDS, it is possible to provide a compliant solution for an escape door when read-in / read-out access control is specified, combining the three components required for BS EN 13637 – Blocking, Control and Trigger.

The Intelligent Control within the EDS allows connection to fire alarm systems or other building control systems to ensure escape in an emergency, and the Trigger unit incorporates a key-switch and a push button that tells the controller to release the locking mechanism to allow safe escape.

Lisa adds: “With some artefacts worth millions of pounds, the investment in a digital access control system offers an incredible ROI – not just in terms of the value of assets secured but the peace of mind that is gained.

Sources

1 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-67916779

2 https://historicengland.org.uk/advice/caring-for-heritage/heritage-crime/definition/