Reported by Ron Prwivo for Ian Robson

Overview Response to Recommendations from the RLSR of November 2014 – very good, RF staffing remains an issue Very good progress on maintaining the rebaselined schedule, project team deserves congratulating on the work achieved Schedule still remains tight, even with float Have started prelim data-taking for Step IV with weekend running – good work Staffing (general and specific skills) remains a critical issue Funding under control – accepting that MICE UK will need to apply for the last tranche of funding this summer. Project update now issued every two months

Project Management: sound, use of tools understood, agreed new methodology of reporting via the dashboard, lots of hard work Schedule Rebaselined schedule being maintained but no room for complacency, still looks very tight Critical milestone will be start of 24/7 Step IV running in August Revised baseline – key dates reconfirmed: End of Step IV full data taking 1 st June 2016 Start of Cooling Demonstration data taking 2 nd May 2017 End of CD data taking 31 st March 2018 If schedule slips may need to decide about length of running for Step IV and Cooling Demonstration to maximise science output

Finance Under control – the US finances are now well understood and planned US looks to have a potential underspend of ~$1.8M that could be used to fund US university participation in run- support and analysis Positive assurances from STFC regarding provision of contingency (~£170k) for FY15-16 The application for MICE UK funding beyond FY15/16 will be undertaken this summer and will include a working margin

Risk and risk mitigation Generally now well understood but a number of significant risks remain that continue to put pressure on the schedule Major risk remains staffing, both numeric in the Hall and specific in terms of skills (RF from Daresbury Lab) Good examples of risk mitigations from the US in the PRY with on-site assembly and fit-checking prior to shipping and use of airfreight to save time at the cost of contingency funding Concern about how many ‘unknown unknowns’ may pop up – see latest example of the hydrogen problem Mistake in the use of risks during the run-times indicates that the potential for slip of the Cooling Demonstration may be less than indicated

Staffing and other resources ‘Project’ staffing now appears stable As noted previously, adequate technical staff associated with construction and commissioning remains a major concern Critical areas regarding specific staff skills are RF and Control System The US has given assurances that dedicated staff will be available for the construction/commissioning phases Staffing for the running and data analysis is of concern – see Project Board Report Additional space now acquired in R9, which was an essential requirement at the last RLSL

Recommendations 1. The project should undertake a cost-benefit analysis to determine replacing the Lithium Hydride secondary absorbers with plastic. 2. The project needs to maintain a very close scrutiny on the staffing requirements in the MICE Hall for the installation and commissioning of the equipment for Step IV and Cooling Demonstration to maintain schedule. 3. The US should ship the RF modules sequentially in order to maintain maximum contingency in the schedule for the Cooling Demonstration

Actions 1. The STFC Executive should urgently identify solutions to resolve the RF Engineering staffing effort shortfall so that proper planning can be undertaken by the project.