National Infantry Museum Takes a Shot at Security
The National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center, located in Columbus, Ga., turned to AMAG Technology to find a comprehensive access control solution for its 190,000-square-foot museum. The facility houses more than 30,000 artifacts, including contents from Saddam Hussein’s palace.
The Symmetry SMS is managed by the National Infantry Museum’s IT department and is monitored by a contract guarding service in the security control room. Two client workstations are set up to view Symmetry utilizing a graphical display of the alarm points in the building. When an alarm occurs, a large image is displayed in the Symmetry video matrix to show the area in alarm. Security officers can see the event and quickly determine the appropriate action. Alarms are also sent to the Fort Benning Police Department.[IMAGE]benning2.jpg[/IMAGE]
The GUI allows staff to quickly see where the trouble spots are, use a camera to see the location and dispatch a guard if need be, says McCabe.
“All of six of the galleries contain priceless artifacts from different eras of the Infantry’s history including contents from Saddam Hussein’s palace,” says Lockhart. “Therefore, all entry and exit points are monitored and controlled by the Symmetry GUI, DMP and recorded on the Pelco DVR.”
Symmetry also provides elevator access control. Visitors can access floors one and two to see the galleries and visit the restaurant and store. Employees and volunteers with authorized access can enter non-public areas.
Partner Integration Importance
The National Infantry Museum’s security management system integrates numerous manufacturers’ products to create an optimum solution, including Pelco, DMP, Dell, Fargo and HID. The museum needed the best products available to integrate the different subsystems. AMAG’s ability to seamlessly integrate all these products into one user interface was the reason the Museum chose Symmetry.
“With AMAG Symmetry as the backbone of this complex system interfacing with the DMP panel for intrusion and alarm reporting as well as the interface with the Pelco DVRs, we were able to provide a GUI with all aspects of the system from remote access control of all card reader doors, camera call up upon an access event to full camera control,” says Lockhart.
Symmetry is integrated with DMP intrusion panels to provide approximately 80 monitored points throughout the museum. A reader with a keypad is used to control the intrusion portion of the system. Users must present their proximity card or enter a code into the keypad to gain access.
Different parts of the museum close at different times of the day. For example, the restaurant stays open later than the galleries, which close at 5:00 p.m. The intrusion system is configured to allow each area to be independently activated.
McCabe takes advantage of the remote virtual private network connection to provide assistance to second shift employees if needed.
“It’s a great system. It provides a lot of flexibility allowing the people in the space that they are authorized to be in while keeping them out of the spaces they don’t need to be in,” says McCabe. “The combination of the Pelco cameras and the integration of the access control and intrusion system through Symmetry allows us to see the security status of the whole facility at once and makes responding to troubled areas easier and faster.”
In the future, the National Infantry Museum plans to add more cameras to provide coverage to the parade field and Fort Benning graduation area that is part of the museum grounds.
“We look forward to providing on-going support and service with this system as well as the future security needs of the Museum,” states Jim Baron, Account Representative of Operational Security Systems Inc.
Kim Rahfaldt is the public relations manager for Torrance, California based AMAG Technology. Kim has worked as a public relations professional in the security industry for 13 years. She can be contacted at [email protected]. For more information on AMAG Technology, please visit www.amag.com.
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