The work breakdown structure (WBS) has been created and System Managers have been assigned. Two large contracts have been awarded and designs are being vetted. We are almost ready to cut metal.
One year has passed since I was asked to be Project Manager for the beamline half of what has become the CHESS-U project. With fits and starts, working around an intense operations schedule, CHESS staff have accomplished a remarkable amount of work so far in preparation for the largest upgrade we have tackled in CHESS history. Summer 2016 started off with a series of science workshops to facilitate creating a science case for the future of CHESS. They also provided guidance for fleshing out upgrade concepts leading up to an External Conceptual Design review in December. With those concepts blessed, technical specs and designs proceeded in earnest. Critical paths were identified, leading to contracts being awarded for sector front ends and hutches to local company Advanced Design Consulting (ADC).
Front Ends First
Alan Pauling, System Manager for Front Ends, has been working half time with ADC to move that program forward. Offering advice and reviewing designs is the focus initially. A preliminary design review has already taken place here at CHESS in front of a wide audience of technical staff. A final design review is scheduled for later this spring. Alan will closely follow production and additional staff will join him at ADC for full function testing once fabrication is complete.
Pre-Fab
Dana Richter, System Manager for Hutches, Caves, Mezzanine and Utilities, has also been working hard on hutch design, aiming for first article installation of Hutches 1A3 and 2B in August 2017, just a few short months away. Transferring Dana’s many years of experience designing and constructing radiation shielded enclosures for CHESS to ADC will not only benefit the CHESS-U project but allow ADC to enter that market and create jobs in our local area. Over the past few weeks, two design reviews have passed and the final design is moving ahead. ADC is proceeding with material procurement and should begin fabrication soon. ADC will be fully assembling the hutches at their facility and then breaking them into large sections for travel to Wilson Lab. The hutches have been designed for rapid installation on site, the entire installation process should take only 3 to 5 days.
