Opened in 1923 in Dorset, the museum of the Royal Tank Regiment and Royal Armoured Corps is the world’s best collection of tanks and armoured fighting vehicles. It’s a unique 300-strong exhibition that includes the world’s first tank – Little Willie, the feared German Tiger tank – and the modern Challenger 2, all housed in one of six expansive halls.
A recent Heritage Lottery Fund grant has doubled the museum’s size and with expansion came the need to install CCTV to keep the collection secure and visitors safe. Located near an army base, security is also a top priority. The technology had to be scalable and implemented swiftly to meet the museum’s needs. Roy Hicks, museum facilities manager, explains: “We needed a complete overhaul of our outdated analogue CCTV equipment. 15 cameras to oversee such a large area was not nearly enough, but with Hikvision’s wide range of products we now have a view of every part of the museum.”
Hikvision partner Ashley Security installed new IP cameras across the facility. The company planned every detail so that visitors were not disturbed during the implementation process, which took place during opening hours. It took less than two months to fit 54 cameras and systems thanks to Ashley Security’s excellent planning.
Yann Maciejewski, engineering manager at Ashley Security, helped the Tank Museum with its bespoke security system. He said: “The Tank Museum’s security team had concerns about the quality of their existing CCTV equipment and its inability to playback video quickly and easily. We custom-built a system using Hikvision’s innovative range of products.”
It was crucial for the museum to upgrade from analogue to IP cameras, which can send and receive data via a computer network and the Internet. Hikvision’s IP PTZ cameras provide 1080p HD for ultimate clarity of still and video images. The PTZ cameras are perfect for large communal areas such as car parks and vehicle display areas.
An NVR software programme records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card or other mass storage device. This means all recorded content is stored and available to view easily, which was an issue with the old equipment. Instant playback via a mobile device gives the Tank Museum security staff access from anywhere.
The security team was frustrated by the poor quality and usability of the original system and felt it did not provide sufficient visibility of the entire space.
Roy adds: “Rather than 15 cameras there are now 54 that closely monitor the exhibits and communal areas. The IP cameras are of the highest quality and Ashley Security made sure the installation process ran smoothly. Access to instant playback of videos and images from my mobile phone has made a huge difference. I now know that it doesn’t matter where I am, if I need to check on anything suspicious I can do it easily.” A range of Hikvision’s innovative IP cameras were installed, which included IP PTZ cameras for instant HD images. Ashley Security also provided training for the security team
