For information MANAGEMENT BOARD MEETING OF 7 DECEMBER 2000

S. Myers, Leader of SL Division, reviewed the status of the LEP shutdown programme and the main modifications to be made to the SPS during the 2000-2001 winter shutdown beginning 20 November in preparation for future LHC activities. Presenting the 2001 SPS schedule approved by the Research Board on 23 November, which provided for a proton run starting on 12 July, he stressed that meeting the planned completion dates for the upgrades and alterations to the various buildings and equipment concerned was critical to avoid any delays in SPS physics in 2001. In that context, it was hoped that the present delay in the civil engineering for the water-cooling tower at Point 1 could be offset later on during the cooling and ventilation work phase. Following the Directorate's decision on 8 November not to extend LEP physics into 2001, work on the LEP shutdown was now well under way, with several zones currently in the process of being made safe and dismantling occurring in others, thus ensuring that dismantling would reach full pace in mid-January, all in compliance with INB regulations (for details of the complete eighteen-month dismantling programme see: http://cern.ch/LEP-dismantling).
A Scaramelli, Leader of ST Division, then outlined activities in the electrical and cooling and ventilation fields to be carried out during the winter shutdown. In the framework of the project to overhaul the BE substation network on the Prévessin site, the existing substation had been deactivated and the site was being temporarily supplied via the Swiss Grid; although the full twenty-five week shutdown would be required to complete the work, the new system was expected to be ready for 1st June as foreseen. On the cooling and ventilation side, work had also begun on the 'Water 2000' project concerning the renovation of the SPS water installations and the associated control and monitoring system, with full commissioning of the new facilities also scheduled for 1st June 2001. As far as transport, heavy handling and access control were concerned, the workforce provided for under the respective contracts would be up to full strength by January 2001 as planned.
Finally, R. Cashmore, Director for Collider Programmes, gave a status report on the LEP experiment dismantling operation being coordinated by C. Joram (see http://cern.ch/exp-dismantling/info.htm). Although the start of dismantling had been delayed with respect to the initial schedule owing to the one-month extension of the LEP run, the necessary preparatory work was now proceeding in all four experiments and good progress had been made in each case. The impact of the delay on the start-up of the civil engineering work in the various pits would be evaluated in due course.
The Management Board took note of the information provided and expressed appreciation for the major efforts being made on the LEP shutdown and dismantling work and for the close collaboration between all the services involved, as well as for the important contribution by the outside institutes.
The Board also briefly discussed the medium- and long-term shortage of storage space for conventional and radioactive waste and the implications of the SPS's status as an INB facility, particularly in terms of the financial and manpower resources needed to meet the relevant traceability, analysis and storage requirements.

Report on the Meeting of TREF held on 30 November

The Director of Administration, M. Robin, gave a brief account of the meeting of the Tripartite Employment Conditions Forum (TREF) held on 30 November. He reported that the main agenda item had been the presentation of the report from the restricted tripartite group, which contained a majority recommendation for a revised package of measures for the five-yearly review. TREF had examined the report in conjunction with a draft Council resolution on the package and a revised version of the funding options document presented to it at its October meeting; all three documents would be submitted to the Finance Committee, Committee of Council and Council in December for approval. TREF had further discussed a document setting out the main amendments to the Staff Rules and Regulations arising from the five-yearly review, which related to the provisions governing the career structure and the annual and five-yearly review procedures.
The report from the restricted tripartite group may be consulted on the Web at the following address: http://cern.web.cern.ch/CERN/Divisions/PE/welcome.html.

Preparation of the December Meetings of the Scientific Policy Committee, Finance Committee, Committee of Council and Council

The Director-General and M. Robin then outlined the agendas of the forthcoming round of Committee meetings in the week beginning 11 December. Among the main items for the Scientific Policy Committee were the submission of the LHC 2000 Study covering the LHC machine, experiments and computing, a final report on LEP operations, a report on the operation of other accelerators, examination of the final LEP results, a presentation on the commissioning of RHIC, a report from ECFA and the second in a series of discussions on the long-term future of CERN which had begun at the Committee's September meeting.
Items common to the agendas of the Finance Committee, Committee of Council and Council would include the above-mentioned documents relating to the five-yearly review, as well as the cost-variation index for 2001, the 2001 draft budget and a report from the Working Group on Procedures for the Payment of Member States' Contributions. In addition, the Finance Committee would examine an LHC Project status report and a substantial number of award-of-contract proposals, while the Committee of Council would discuss LHC computing, Member and non-Member State Matters, a report from the Working Group on the Enlargement of CERN's Membership and an LHC status report; the Council would further be invited to approve the adjustment of pensions for 2001, various proposals submitted in the framework of the Fellows, Associates and Students programmes, the renewal of the Co-operation Agreement between CERN and India and a number of appointments.
The Management Board took note that the Director-General would present a report on the outcome of the December meetings at a general staff meeting to be held at 4.00 p.m. on Tuesday, 19 December.

Computing Centre - Christmas Closure'

M. Delfino, Leader of IT Division, presented details of computing services during the 2000-2001 annual CERN shutdown (see separate article in this week's Bulletin). Furthermore, in the light of increasing demand for such services to be available 365 days of the year, particularly on the part of remote users, he advocated that the Management Board should hold a discussion the following year with a view to identifying which computing systems should be required to operate all year round in the future and establishing an official policy in that area. Following a brief exchange of views, the Board agreed to examine the possibility of permanent, all-year manning of certain essential computing services.

Reduction of Working Hours in French Companies

K.-H. Kissler, Leader of SPL Division, informed the Board that, in the wake of France's recent reduction of working hours to an annual maximum of 1600 standard hours and, for the year 2001, 90 overtime hours in the case of companies employing a minimum of twenty staff, his division was currently conducting commercial negotiations with French companies holding labour-intensive industrial services contracts with CERN. Although the new legislation would certainly be accompanied by a rise in the hourly rates charged by French companies in 2001, it provided for a large degree of flexibility with respect to the scheduling of working hours. Given that such flexibility was difficult to organise on a centralised basis, he therefore urged divisions to contact the individual companies concerned with a view to drawing up the best possible work schedules taking account of the new arrangements.

Last Management Board Meeting of the Director of Administration

Finally, the Director-General said that, on the occasion of M. Robin's last Management Board meeting, he wished to express to him his personal gratitude for his valuable advice and assistance and, on the Board's behalf, to thank him for everything he had done for the Organization as Director of Administration.