Guard Tour System User Profile — Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh

Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh have been one of America's great cultural centers since their founding in 1895 by industrialist Andrew Carnegie. Chris Garner is the Alarms Technician.

Can you tell us about your role at the museum?

I am the Alarms Technician for Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. I am in charge of supervising installations in four different museums: Museum of Natural History, Museum of Art, Carnegie Science Center, and Andy Warhol Museum. I am also in charge of eighteen Carnegie Libraries throughout the city of Pittsburgh.

I maintain the computers in the security department. I supervise installation and take care of the maintenance of them. Anything that has to do with electronic security comes to me.

What kind of security issues do you face?

Anything from homeless people hiding in bathrooms to drains overflowing with spaghetti noodles from the kitchen. We also had a piece of the tail from the diplodocus dinosaur missing.

At the Museum of Art and other art galleries the guards are looking for any kind of vandalism on the paintings and to make sure the paintings are still there.

How many incidents do you typically have ?

I would say at least one to three a day, if not more.

How many security officers are at the Carnegie Museums?

There are 40 total for the museums. The number varies from shift to shift depending on what is going on. It depends on if the museum is open or closed, or if it is during the day or night. If there is an event going on, we have more staff. So, it really fluctuates a lot.

How many patrols are there?

We have six tours that are made. The Museum of Art, Museum of Natural History and the main branch of Carnegie Library are all together. There is a library tour, a Natural History tour and a Museum of Art tour. There is also a parking garage tour and a couple of behind the scenes tours to the boiler room and mechanical rooms.

Are the patrols indoor and outdoor?

Yes, the patrols go all over. There are 17 acres under roof here so there is a lot to check.

What were the museums using before Guard1?

It was a bar code reader system. I personally have always used Guard1.

What prompted you to choose Guard1 as the guard tour system for the museums?

The bar code readers had been in here for so long that it was time to update the system. The guards started having problems with it. The readers themselves were breaking a lot and they wanted something more durable. They needed something that the guards could not break.

What kind of problems has The PIPE solved for you?

It forces the guards to actually check the building. When I first got here, the whole tour system was in disarray. That is when the supervisors came to me and told me to see what was going on and get it back up and running again. They were not printing reports and holding people accountable. But now that I have the system back up and running the way that it should be and the reports generating the way that they should be, the guards are actually out there making their tours. So, that is the big thing, we know the guards are out there checking what they are supposed to be checking and finding the problems.

What do your officers think of The PIPE?

They like it better than the bar code reader because it gives them a more positive read every time. The other bar code reader did not.

How do you use the Guard1 reports?

The report is generated by me. Then it goes to each of the three shift supervisors. They review and note any discrepancies on that report. Once that is done, it goes to the shift supervisor's boss and they discuss the report. After that, it is kept on file.

How often do you print the reports?

We print a main report once a week for review. If there is an incident we need to look at or a guard whose tours we are reviewing more regularly, then we print them more. So, we always print them once a week and more as needed.

What kind of response have you gotten from the shift supervisors and other people who read these reports?

They like them. They think they are clear and easy to read. They really like the fact that The PIPE is indestructible. It is working well for us.

What about the software?

It is simple to use and intuitive to figure out. I learned how to use it first, and then read the book later. So, I was actually using it before I was trained.

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