The Unique ITER Team meets for a briefing on the results of the latest Management Advisory Council (MAC) meeting.
Last Wednesday, ITER Director-General Osamu Motojima called for an all-hands meeting in the Headquarters' brand-new amphitheatre in order to brief the ITER Organization staff on the outcome of the recent meetings of the project's scientific and managerial advisory committees. To this memorable event, Director-General Motojima had invited both the present and former chairmen of the Management Advisory Committee, Ranjay Sharan and Bob Iotti.
At the outset, the Director-General presented the conclusions of the 14th meeting of the project's Management Advisory Committee (MAC) that had taken place on 29-31 October. The MAC had acknowledged the intensive work done by the ITER Organization in collaboration with the seven Domestic Agencies since the
special MAC meeting held in August. Required schedule recovery actions have been taken and the collaboration between the ITER Organization and the Domestic Agencies has been intensified through the establishment of the
Unique ITER Team.
The STAC Chairman, Joaquin Sanchez, discussing with his secretary Alberto Loarte (right) and David Campbell, Head of the Directorate for Plasma Operations.
"However, the MAC recognized that further and intensive efforts are necessary," MAC Chair Ranjay Sharan explained. "The variances will have to be minimized by parallel working approaches and innovative methods. The MAC will closely monitor these approaches."
"Yes, there are issues," Iotti admitted, "but we are working closely together to resolve them." Of great concern: the delays related to six super-critical items—the buildings, the vacuum vessel, the poloidal field coils, the toroidal field coils, the central solenoid conductor and the cryostat.
Two other essential issues were the focus of this 14th MAC meeting: the rules for further distribution of credits amongst the ITER Members as proposed in the "MAC-10 Guidelines," and the proposal for a simplified assembly plan with the intention to recover some of the time slippages. "Based on the different feedback we received to this plan, the MAC suggests that the project remain focused on the normal step-by-step assembly strategy, but that it evaluate options to reduce risks and the time required for the assembly and the transport of components in order to provide more confidence in the dates for First Plasma and Deuterium-Tritium operation," Sharan said.
As for the technical assessment, the STAC commended the ITER Organization and the ITER Domestic Agencies on significant progress made.
As for the technical assessment, the Science and Technology Advisory Committee (STAC) commended the ITER Organization and the ITER Domestic Agencies on significant progress made, especially in the manufacturing of ITER magnets. More than 350 tonnes (73,000 km) of niobium-tin (Nb3Sn) strand for the toroidal field conductor have been produced so far, corresponding to approximately 75 percent of total amount needed. Also, approximately 65 tonnes of poloidal field conductor strand (25 percent of supply) have been produced.
The STAC noted that—with the exception of the poloidal field coils—there are currently no new major delays in the critical path due to magnets. The STAC further complimented the ITER Organization's comprehensive report on remote handling and the good progress that has been made in developing a strategy for the installation, maintenance and potential repair of the first wall and the divertor.
"Take pride in what you have accomplished so far," and, "Work in cooperation with others as team," were the final comments from Bob Iotti and Ranjay Sharan respectively.
