Asset and Guest Security O\'Dell

ASSET AND GUEST SECURITY O'DELL GALLERY

Security Measures: Protecting Guests and Assets and the O'Dell Art Gallery

Security Measures: Protecting Guests and Assets at the O'Dell Art Gallery

The O'Dell Gallery of Fine Art is a premiere art gallery located in the Tenney Hotel, which is located on Baderman Island. The gallery boasts a collection of highly-regarded works within its permanent collection, but much of its success has been attributed to the exhibitions that the gallery hosts throughout the year. Each year, the O'Dell Gallery presents a series of world-class exhibitions of artwork and objects from internationally acclaimed museums and private collections, which continue to bring prestige to the gallery and to the island community in which it exists.

As the success of these exhibitions is critical to the success of the gallery itself and of the local economy, it is imperative that the O'Dell Gallery employ top-tier security measures to ensure the protection of the artwork that exists within these exhibitions, as well as to ensure the protection of the visitors and patrons that spend time in the gallery during said exhibitions. While both guest security and asset security are necessary to the successful runs of each exhibition, the intricacies of each type of security are vastly different and require a distinct set of priorities and measures. Additionally, each type of security measure must be transformed from the planning stages to action in conjunction with the gallery's risk management program.

Guest Security Priorities and Measures

While many individuals would imagine that during such art exhibitions as those mentioned previously, the security of the artwork itself is the only true concern. However, as such art exhibitions tend to bring significant foot-traffic into the venue that hosts, guest security is paramount to the overall success of an exhibition endeavor. While security systems are set in place in such galleries that are significantly technical in nature, the key to successful guest security appears to rest on a security system that is jointly-based in technological power and manpower.

The basic priority of guest security is to facilitating a safe, comfortable environment that is easily conducive for the viewing of the art that is being showcased. Accordingly, certain measures must be undertaken in order to ensure that guests at the gallery remain safe while enjoying their stay at the gallery. The Birmingham Museum of Art, famous for hosting similar exhibitions, notes that security staff are essential to guest protection and safety in order to deal with possibly-threatening situations which may include: unattended packages, apparent medical emergencies or incidents of acute physical distress, threats to the art, lost children, smoke or fire, accidents involving guests or visitors, visitors in an agitated state that may draw the attention of other guests, the display of weapons of any kind, etc. (BMA, 2011, p.1).

In these situations, physical on-site security staff members are able to carry out safety measures that technological security features, which are more often employed for asset security, simply cannot do. In employing a full-time staff of trained security professionals who are in place solely to protect the interests of the guests of the gallery, the O'Dell will maintain a strong basis upon which to hold successful exhibitions. While the security of the artwork is essential for an art gallery to function, it remains clear that such entities are unable to financially function without the presence of guests, and in assuring security to these individuals, the likelihood of success will increase with a continually successful track-record of guest security at the O'Dell.

Asset Security Priorities and Measures

The art world has become an area for increased focus from thieves and conmen, alike, which has forced museums and galleries like the O'Dell to significantly increase standards for security within their confines. As such, while guest security is set in place to ensure the safety of the individuals present in a gallery, asset security is further set in place to protect the integrity of the O'Dell Gallery itself and its contents. Unlike guest security, asset security is a largely technologically-based field, which utilizes tracking systems, surveillance cameras and the like to ensure that priceless works of art remain intact and in place during exhibitions such as those which take place in the O'Dell Gallery.

Much like the artwork hanging in a museum or gallery, asset security is equally as profound. Steven Keller, principal of his own museum consultancy and former executive director of protective services at the Art Institute of Chicago notes that asset security requires a priority focus on the safety and security of the asset at hand, including taking measures such as "generous amounts of planning, technology and ingenuity" (Berinato, 2004, p.1). The measures that are utilized in order to secure assets such as priceless artwork are vast and varied, and can be as complex and expensive as any museum or gallery can afford to install. However, while these measures range significantly, certain measures have become standard in the asset protection playbook of such galleries and art museums.

As touched upon, asset protection involves a solid mix of manpower and technology. Security guards, separate from guest safety staff, are often on alert during closed hours and are also a constant presence in museums and galleries across the world. These individuals often patrol museums and galleries as plain-clothed officers, communicating with staff inside the museum or gallery and with individuals located within outside security centers (Berinato, 2004, p.2). Technologically-based measures in galleries and museums often include the installation of vibration sensors, individualized serial numbers on inventory, motion-detection devices, saturation motion detection which create few "dead spots" on security camera range, closed-circuit television cameras, and alarm windows and doors, just to name a few (Hughey, 2009, p.1).