Management subcommittee closeout

Jay Marx (chair, LBNL), Joel Butler (Fermilab), Stan Wojcicki (Stanford)

Thanks to all for cooperation and openness!!

Management aspects• RSVP is embedded in an unusual management situation:

An NSF project at DOE laboratory using a DOE accelerator facility

Shared agency responsibility for funding the accelerator facility

Brookhaven is “host” laboratory but is not a sponsor of project

DOE is not a direct sponsor of the project The RSVP project itself is very complex with project

offices at Columbia and BNL and 4 almost “stand-alone” subprojects to be integrated into a unified project

• After much negotiation a unique and complicated management structure has been developed to address this situation.

• The management structure is an “experiment” and should be given adequate time to see if it works. If not, changes should be made.

• RSVP success requires coherent and cooperative management and communications at many levels involving

The project teamThe host lab (BNL)The collaborationsThe agencies (NSF and DOE)The foreign partners

Scientific success is the overriding consideration, not just a successful project

• Key challenge is integration into single project targeted to do the physics

The project team— Project Director and Deputy bring important experience with

large, complex projects Transition from semi-autonomous experiments to centrally

managed single project is crucial and by no means complete Real structural changes must occur—e.g. KOPIO and MECO

project managers fully accountable to central project officeA sociological challenge for integration to succeed:

Project leadership must be actively engaged in building confidence of all key participants; especially leaders of collaborations.

Will require lots of goodwill, effort and open communication between all levels of project’s management and collaborations

A key element for success is open and frequent communication between the central management team, the collaboration spokespersons and the laboratory management. Such meetings begin ASAP; occur at least monthly if not more frequently.

Brookhaven

• BNL management seems engaged and committed to success of RSVP

Director and AD for HENP working to find ways to enhance likelihood of success

• AGS management is actively engaged in providing for needs of RSVP

• BNL management must continue to be engaged and committed to success over life of RSVP

AgenciesEffective and continuing coordination is critical

NSF must plan for realistic levels of support during and beyond construction- Increased and timely support for researchers for RSVP so

collaborations can reach critical mass; Operating cost exposures (more costly operations, longer

operations, more costly D&D, etc).

DOE should Assure success of AGS project activities . Provide adequate support for BNL scientific involvement in

RSVP (host lab collaborators bring great value to an experiment)

• Collaborations—• challenge to adapt to integrated centrally managed

project and less autonomyThis is a time of real risk until RSVP gets formal OK; real

concerns & anxietyWary about centralized management.Concern whether all players are committed to the physics

goals and not just a successful “project” Must approach change with good will, effort and open

communications

• Foreign partners—Important to success and poised to contributeRSVP and agencies must activate International Finance

Committee and other steps to enable foreign collaborators to obtain support.

• Management costs: About $20M including 11% contingency

Support right size staff at Columbia and BNL project offices

Contingency too low, should be about 20%

• Overall Contingency Management subcommittee fully supports

45% overall contingency. Less is incommensurate with success.

Overall cost concerns

• ~2.8% inflation assumed throughout project is too low.– 4-5% more appropriate for labor part of estimate

Little or no schedule float is a significant cost risk No contingency in estimate of operating costs.

Many unknowns (e.g. length of operations to do physics; DOE support of AGS ops; real cost of electricity after 2010, etc.).

Significant cost exposure for NSF. D&D estimate for work in far future very uncertain (e.g

environmental laws get stricter). At least 100% contingency suggested.

Recommendations

• NSF-- immediately set up frequent stakeholders meetings to assure that all elements of RSVP are integrated, well coordinated and vectored towards success.

• Communications between the central management, the sub-project management, the collaboration spokespersons and the Brookhaven management should be significantly increased

• RSVP- develop a single integrated management plan

Recommendations• NSF & RSVP-- address overall costing issues• RSVP- complete MOUs asap• Enable foreign participation to move forward• NSF & DOE- put in place interagency

agreement to facilitate funding flow to BNL• NSF & RSVP- define performance goals for

completion of AGS part of project as part of project plan

• NSF, BNL RSVP agree on AGS beam delivery goals vs. time during operations phase