The Louvre Museum Global Risk Management

The Louvre Museum Global risk management JEAN RAOUL ENFRU1 1 Security & Safety Representative for the Louvre Museum, Paris. ABSTRACT: The Louvre Museum is one of the public establishments affected by potential flooding of the River Seine. For this reason we have created a plan to safeguard the collection that will enable us to evacuate the works threatened by floods in 72 hours. The plan consists of taking all the human, material and technical measures needed to reduce this vulnerability to a minimum in the case of an emergency. It is based on three major principles: 1- Delay and prevent water from entering the museum; 2Protect the works under threat; 3- Preserve the technical equipment that will allow the activity to be reinitiated as quickly as possible. Should the plan be activated, a command team and an operations team will be set into motion. The teams will be divided into the following cells: Protection of works, protection of buildings/assets, security, human resources and logistics. Lastly, with a view to protecting our collections, we have a externalisation project which involves housing the works in a separate facility equipped with resources for study, restoration, preventive conservation and training in cultural professions. Therefore we maintain on the premises only the number of works strictly needed to keep the different departments operational. The Louvre Museum, including the 170,000 m² of the Tuileries gardens, occupies 180,000 m², of which 67,000 m² are devoted to galleries. Of the Louvre's total collection of 422,000 works of art, 35,000 are on display. They are arranged in eight departments: Egyptian Antiquities; Near Eastern Antiquities; Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities; Islamic Art; Paintings; Sculptures; and Prints and Drawings. Of the 8.3 million people who visited the Museum in 2006 (compared to 3 million in 1989), 70% were foreigners and 40% were under 26 years old. Apart from these particular characteristics, the Museum has the appearance of a palace with multiple buildings. In fact, the building houses two museums (the Musée du Louvre and the Union Centrale des Arts Décoratifs), a mall and conference centre called Carrousel du Louvre, a centre for research and restoration of the museums of France (C2RMF), the Louvre School and car parks. There are also several separate buildings linked to this institution, namely: the Delacroix Museum, the Tuileries garden, and exterior offices and storage facilities. Located in the centre of Paris, the building occupies a strategic position, standing out among the major national institutions with its high visibility profile. Nevertheless, since it stands beside the River Seine, the Museum is at risk of flooding. In the framework of museum security, the General Directorate defines the objects and confirms the risk management projects. It provides the means to implement improvements and serves as the captain in an emergency situation. The General Directorate is supported by the Department of Surveillance, which in turn consists of 1,100 agents. The agents keep watch on the areas within the Museum as well as the exterior and accesses. They make sure the safety equipment is in working order and apply the rules for visitation. Sixty firefighters from the Fire Prevention and Safety Service see to reducing the risks associated with fire and panic situations. They also ensure that regulations concerning Places Open to the Public are obeyed. Finally, they intervene if a disaster occurs and help the people in danger. The Security & Safety Office, which has a transversal vision of the risks, consists of four people and serves as a link between the different services. It advises the General Directorate and is in charge of the general prevention and safety plans. It is also responsible for implementing new projects. An internal audit was conducted to evaluate the risk management system with regard to tools and relations. A global initiative was proposed in response to the results obtained. The project takes into account the objectives that need to be achieved, the organisation of tasks according to a multi-year plan, and the creation of teams coordinated by a project leader hired for this purpose. After the plan was validated by the management, study groups were launched to supervise the objectives and put forward temporary technical and organisational solutions to the management committees. budgets were also monitored, while overall control of the project was carried out by the Permanent Safety and Security Group. The first phase of the multi-year initiative evaluates the operational and organisational risks. First, the risks are identified and categorised by type: security, ill will, computer-related, communications, financial, environmental, structural, cultural, etc. In order to evaluate the risks, an analysis tool must be created and tests performed to improve the weighting criteria, such as severity or probability of occurrence. The second phase establishes a plan to review orders, protocols and procedures. The plan establishes the prevention measures and risk management policies for the buildings. The so-called "crisis" measures must be updated taking into consideration the orders, the management organisation chart, previous crisis dispatches and type of crisis. For the other types of risks, records are created to collect data, and prevention measures are adopted. It is essential to inform and subsequently train agents in these areas, in addition to acquiring the logistic resources to ensure proper development. In this perspective, exercises are carried out to prepare and train the agents in crisis procedures such as theft, flood or fire. The same holds true for the emergency team, including important simulation exercises, whose mission, among other things, is to notify the people in charge. Lastly, in order to remedy deficiencies, it is very useful to be familiar with different experiences, whether exercises or real cases. In fact, it makes it possible to review organisational and operational emergency management orders and tools. The new threats are integrated in the project, establishing permanent supervision of regulations and events, and following up on the project's progress. Two initiatives are adopted as a function of the nature of the risk -- fire or flood. With regard to fire, the following factors must be considered: The Louvre Museum public building is registered as category 1 in Places Open to the Public. The activities that take place in the building are categorised as Type Y; the activities that take place in the auditoriums, conference halls, meeting rooms, performance or multi-use spaces are Type L; shops and commercial centres, Type M; restaurants and bars, Type N; and the activities that take place in facilities dedicated to initiation, education, training, holiday centres and leisure centres without accommodation, Type R. The individuals involved in the crisis include both personnel (2,100 agents and 600 service providers) and public (18,511 people). The general organisation has a squad of 60 military fire personnel permanently on the premises. They are stationed in units to optimise nighttime response time. The Museum fire prevention service conducts regular fire safety patrols. Inside the Museum, particular attention is placed on protecting the collections. The rescue devices constitute one of the largest Fire Prevention and Safety systems in France and are distributed throughout the building. The fire detection system is linked to Area Control Posts and to the Fire Command Post, which is, in turn, directly linked to the nearest barracks. Facilities have also been set up for the preservation and protection of the collections in case of emergency. In preparing the general fire plan, an audit was conducted between 2001 and 2003 to determine weak points and gaps, and to define the crucial elements for improving fire safety and security, and to update the Fire Prevention and Safety system. Based on the observations resulting from the audit, which revealed human and technical failures, the Museum defined 4 objectives according to classification and organisation criteria. First, reduce the factors that can lead to fires. Second, reduce any factors which contribute to the spread of the disaster or which obstruct evacuation of the public. Third, increase fire-fighting resources; and finally, replace old wiring. A plan was established to prevent human and technical failures. In order to have an effect on the behaviour of agents, it is important to properly train personnel. Special attention was paid to the elements affecting fire safety and security, be it detection, division of compartments, evacuation, smoke escape, rescue devices or electricity and lighting. Therefore, additional studies were conducted on the sound system and emergency lighting, smoke escape and the reduction of technical volumes. All of the studies have been completed. The fire prevention plan was extended from 2003 to 2012. In 2003 an audit detected failures in the fire safety security system. In 2005 a fire prevention plan was created and a Fire Prevention and Safety coordinator was hired. In 2006 an assistant site manager was hired, and additional studies were conducted. In 2007 an in-house SDI project manager was hired and an assistant technical director. From outside the Museum a technical supervisor and an Security Protection Health coordinator were hired. The additional studies were finalised and the budget was modified. Work can now begin on visitor count, the Fire Command Post, rescue resources, lighting, smoke escape and Fire Prevention and Safety. The Flood Risk Prevention Plan is dependant upon the Louvre Museum's particular location next to the Seine River. If the river rises to the 1910 level (benchmark date), some of the areas of the Museum will flood, for example 8,000 square metres of storage facilities and 4,700 square metres of gallery space. The same would happen with the auditorium, the entrance areas and the technical equipment. In spite of these threats, the Museum cannot expect any emergency aid or assistance from the State. Since the Louvre Museum is completely autonomous in protecting its heritage, since 2002 it has been preparing an internal flood risk prevention plan to reduce vulnerability and anticipate the consequences of an eventual catastrophe. The plan is based on three main objectives: to delay and prevent the entry of water, to protect the works and to preserve the technical equipment. To delay and prevent the entry of water, all possible channels in which water can enter must be obstructed, all spaces of entry must be blocked, and pumping systems must be reinforced. To protect works of art they must be moved to temporary external storage facilities located in no-flood zones. It should be pointed out that in time the Louvre envisages the creation of permanent facilities. Fragile works would be moved to risk-free areas within the Museum -- archive rooms or public galleries that would be closed off to visitors or used more intensively. Lastly, to preserve technical equipment, movables and sensitive technical equipment would have to be evacuated to enable activity to be reinitiated. Efforts to protect archives would also be redoubled. Among other prevention activities, the Fire Prevention and Safety Service supervises the level of the Seine River from 15 November to 15 April. An awareness of flood danger is instilled in new agents from the time they arrive. In a more general risk management framework, the operation of the Museum is redefined, operational documents are prepared and the building is prepared technically. If the danger level reaches 31.50 m NGF at the Austerlitz Bridge, the emergency team is put on stand-by. The information is immediately transmitted to the people in change, while close watch is kept on the Seine River and its watershed. Resources are checked and regrouped. At 32m NGF, the Director closes the Museum and sets the plan in motion. At that point we have 72 hours to react with complete autonomy. The volunteers are mobilised and the operational groups are called to action depending on the affected areas, weather forecasts and the established prevention plan. Rescue operations are then set in motion and the necessary logistical support is provided. The Flood Risk Prevention Plan covers technical aspects, works of art, safety and security, Islamic art, human resources and logistics. This project is part of a global risk management initiative, together with the updating of the emergency plan, the design of the crisis management multimedia tool, the inter-facility risk management policy, in relation to the type of crisis and the internal tool for crisis managment. It is coordinated by a risk management project manager, who studies the elements in the management committees. About the author Work Experience 2004 to present 2004/1998 1998/1995 1995/1990 1990/1988 1988/1983 1983 Louvre Museum. Security & Safety Representative Centre Georges Pompidou. Security & Safety Engineer Louvre Museum. Head of Fire Prevention and Safety Service squad Officer of the Paris Fire Brigade Army Light Aircraft Joint Officer, Command and Support Troop. Army Officer Reserve Officers School, Special Military School of Saint Cyr (56) Education 2006 2005 2002 2000 1993 1992 1991 Fire safety and security engineer (IPF certification) Training in the new Code of Public Markets Certification, expertise, arbitration, mediation and reconciliation Upper level Diploma in Fire from the National Centre for Risk Prevention and Protection Certificate in radiological risk prevention Diploma in Chemical Risk Prevention and Intervention National diploma in fire prevention, and panic control in Places Open to the Public. Other activities - Upper level instructor, Risk management diploma course - Vice-president of security directors club Honors National Merit Award - Bronze medal in youth and sport - Bronze medal in courage and dedication Jean-Raôul Enfru Musée du Louvre Délégation Sécurité-Sûreté et Contrôle de Gestion 16 Quai François Mitterrand 75001 Paris (France) Phone: (33) 01 40 20 53 91 Fax.: (33) 01 40 20 67 86 E-mail: [email protected]