Of the museum’s two facilities, its main site, the Victoria Memorial Museum Building in Ottawa, had a completely new system installed, including access control and detection around the perimeter and detection between exhibits to provide individual monitoring and access control. The system at both the VMMB and the Natural Heritage Building, the museum’s research facility, is Lenel’s Onguard 2006, while the management software and cameras are mostly Pelco.

“Overall, we started from scratch and just rebuilt everything, from the ground up,” says André Fortier, the museum’s senior officer, protection services.

At the Natural Heritage Building in Gatineau, the system was upgraded, and the two facilities were connected so each can be monitored from the other. The connection allows for live transfer of the monitoring of both the CCTV and the access control from one building to the other, says William Kuffner, senior fire protection engineer at Genivar.

“A person at one location can go on patrol and still be in radio communication with somebody at another facility who’s monitoring the facility for them and alert them of anything going on,” he says, adding the link also means the museum can reduce patrol staff when the building is closed.

One of the most significant changes was made in the access control system. High among the museum’s requirements was to be able to separate public from non-public areas. The VMMB provides space for many events — from conferences to weddings. It was important, Fortier says, to have routes that let technicians set up events away from visitors. Before the renovations, they had three card readers.

“So everything was done through keys,” he says. “Now, with the new access card systems and over 35 readers, it gives us more flexibility and more convenience for staff in circulating throughout the building.”

In the temporary exhibit halls, CCTV cameras were mounted on tracks, and extra lead wire left, so they could be easily repositioned within the exhibit. Because the ceilings are about eight feet higher than the temporary walls, the cameras can see on either side of the walls. “The track system is both for security and exhibit lighting,” Fortier says.

Designed more than four years ago, the system is entirely analogue. “When this started, that was the world we were living in,” says Mark Leggo, account manager at Diebold. “IP was just not there. You didn’t get the quality of the video image in 2006 that you’re getting more so today.

“If we had done this project today, you probably would have been looking at a complete IP solution. I don’t think we’d be doing this size of a system on a coaxial backbone.”

From one collection to another, security ranges from highly sophisticated to basic, says Fortier, who has a staff of 25. In the mineral gallery, for example, where valuable gems are on display, each showcase has been fitted with motion detectors. If any movement is detected, the overhead cameras automatically pan over and zoom in on the case.

“Compared to what we had before, it’s incredible,” he says. “And it’s a fun system to work with, the advancement and the number of features. There are things you’d never think you’d be able to do, and you can. I don’t know for what function they’ve developed the software, but it really works well for the museum.”