Imperial War Museum (IWM) London has a new automated key management system. IWM in Lambeth is home to the world’s largest collection of Victoria Crosses, as well as other historically important items.
As part of refurbishment, due to be completed in July, IWM decided on automated key management. Previously, the administration of 400 keys across two sites was managed manually, which the museum found time-intensive task and creating risks. An automated process was needed to better protect the collections, and also to secure access to other parts of the museum.
A 300-key Traka system was installed on the main site and a 100-key system was installed at a neighbouring site. Only authorised staff are allowed access to the key cabinet, and within it they can only access designated keys. The system automatically records who has taken which key and when, meaning there is complete accountability of who is responsible for which key, 24 hours.
In a partnership between Traka distributor, Secure Technology Solutions Ltd and the installer Pointer Ltd the system can be used with Lenel OnGuard access control, so that staff can access keys through their security badges. This creates integration with the existing security management, and allows the reporting and audit trail of who has accessed which key to be fed to the central database and reports whether the keys have been returned.
Tim Strofton from the Imperial War Museum said: “Before the Traka key management system was installed we were accounting for all the keys manually, which was a very time-intensive task. Changing to an automated system improved our operational efficiency significantly and gave us greater piece of mind.”
