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Case Studies

High-Profile Exhibitions Pose Security Staffing Challenge for Museums

Situation

At the top of what many people around the world refer to as “The Rocky Steps,” is the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Established in 1876 in conjunction with the nation’s Centennial Exposition, it is one of the largest art museums in the United States. The museum houses 225,000 objectives spanning the creative achievements of the Western world since the first century A.D., and those of Asia since the third millennium B.C. About a mile east of the Art Museum on Philadelphia’s famous Benjamin Franklin Parkway is The Franklin, founded in 1824 in honor of its namesake. It houses the impressive Benjamin Franklin National Memorial. These museums are just two of the many beautiful landmarks that showcase some of the world’s most breathtaking treasures. Security teams are quietly watching over these and other similar facilities. Visitors often only take notice of them when they need directions or have a medical emergency but the security officers are there every day. They patrol the exhibits and stand post at the ready, prepared to assist the visitors and museum staff. For the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Renoir Landscapes exhibition (Oct. 4, 2007—Jan. 6, 2008), attendance was 173,000. While visitors were looking at Renoir’s masterpieces, AlliedBarton Security Services personnel were guarding the priceless works of art and providing customer service. AlliedBarton also protected the $675 million King Tut collection at The Franklin. For seven months between Feb. 3, 2007, and Sept. 30, 2007, 1.29 million visitors came to The Franklin to see Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs.

Challenge

High-profile exhibitions and the special events that accompany them regularly require considerable advance planning and sometimes unpredictable, last minute additional staffing and special requests from management. The Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Renoir Landscapes and The Franklin’s Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs are two such instances that tasked AlliedBarton and their clients to prepare in advance a game plan to meet many challenges, including responding quickly and efficiently when the number of visitors swells beyond expectations.

Solution

In the case of the Art Museum, there are strict training requirements that must be met and only properly trained officers are assigned to this location. Only security officers who have received 16 hours of supplemental museum-specific training in addition to their 16 hours of standard security officer training, are eligible to work at the museum. “We work very closely with the Art Museum’s security staff which is headed by Herb Lottier,” said John Russell, AlliedBarton’s Vice President of Operations. “Once the museum schedules a major exhibit, which could be a year in advance, we begin planning for all contingencies. In addition to the advanced planning, we must also be prepared to react quickly to secure the events that accompany the exhibits, like parties, dinners, VIP receptions, and a wide spectrum of other related functions.” Russell noted that an event list is regularly posted for the entire week to allow museum-trained security officers to enroll for special assignments. “It’s a built-in pipeline. It works well for everyone,” he said. Justin Kleskie, AlliedBarton’s District Manager, said the company’s daily staffing levels for Renoir and their response to staffing needs at special events associated with the world-class exhibition were quite effective. For the King Tut exhibit, the biggest challenge was planning for the sheer volume of people from all over the world who came through the doors at The Franklin during the seven-month engagement. With thousands of men, women and children visiting the museum each day to see the historic exhibit, security officers had to present a fresh, aware and authoritative presence. The AlliedBarton team met weekly beginning six months out with Mark Harmon, Director of Security and Safety for the Franklinm, and his staff to create a security plan designed especially for King Tut. Included on their preparation checklist were:

Identifying posts and physical staffing requirements for the exhibit, and its move-in and move-out
Coordinating schedules with the Philadelphia Police Department
Hosting a special recruiting Job Fair for the assignment and conducting site specific training classes for new security officers and supervisors
Coordinating customer service training classes for security officers assigned to the exhibit
Developing fire evacuation plans and conducting drills
Developing medical emergency procedures
Implementing a roll-call program for staff

Result

While AlliedBarton and their museum clients work together to develop strategies for these exhibits, the logistics and timing can change at any time. Experienced museum staff can anticipate the visitor level for a given event but that too can change. A widely popular exhibit can quickly exceed expectations, as was the case at The Franklin. The museum was pleased with AlliedBarton’s handling of the tens of thousands of people who attended. The company’s response to last minute scheduling for special events proved extremely effective. A procedure was established where AlliedBarton could summon additional security officers at a moment’s notice to staff these events. AlliedBarton’s management and security teams at the museum are always responsive and ready to meet changing staffing and training needs. That is possible because of the company’s infrastructure and national support. Having the flexibility to not only provide personnel quickly, but security officers and managers trained specifically for each site’s needs, makes all the difference. “Many King Tut visitors told us, ‘your people are great,’” Russell noted. “That told us that we did a thorough job.” “We certainly accomplished everything we planned — nothing was damaged, incident calls (mostly medical) were handled quickly and professionally, and on-site management was very responsive to our needs and those of our visitors,” The Franklin’s Harmon said. “Security is of paramount importance to a visitor’s museum experience,” the Art Museum’s Lottier said. “Typically, we are the only people that a visitor will see — we’re uniformed, we’re highly visible, and we’re all over the building. Our partnership with AlliedBarton provides us with high-quality security officers who help to make a visit to the Philadelphia Museum of Art a positive, enlightening experience.

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