MANAGEMENT BOARD MEETING OF 31 JANUARY 2002
Industrial SupportA. Kurz, leader of SPL Division's Industrial Services Management group, presented a report on the use of industrial services at CERN, giving details of the evolution and breakdown of the associated expenditure, the estimated number of contractors' personnel engaged in the various industrial services activities and a definition of the different types of contract concerned. In the latter connection, he explained that contracts fell into the following five categories:
- 'Service contracts', covering all types of services, including industrial, technical, informatics, infrastructure-related and administrative support;
- 'Work and minor work contracts', covering installation, repairs, technical modifications and all other types of work on technical facilities, technical and building infrastructure, electrical and technical equipment, networks, communication systems, etc.;
- 'Maintenance contracts', covering maintenance of essentially technical equipment, technical facilities and basic infrastructure;
- 'Temporary labour contracts', covering short-time manpower requirements in specific cases like maternity leave and temporary increases in the volume of work; and
- 'Maintenance and leasing contracts covering data processing, printing and telecommunications equipment'.
The Management Board discussed various aspects of industrial services policy at CERN, including the interaction between service contracts and CERN's recruitment practices, the future use of industrial services contracts, how the appropriate type of contract is determined for each activity and the basis for the calculation of the price-revision formulae. It also requested clarification on the breakdown of industrial services expenditure not directly related to the LHC, an analysis of the reasons for increased expenditure in recent years, the cost impact of recent changes in Host State labour legislation and the projected industrial services costs to 2008.
Underlining that savings and improved cost control procedures in the field of industrial services would be an important element in the search for means to overcome the financial difficulties currently facing the Laboratory, the Director-General thanked Mr Kurz for his detailed report, which would provide a useful basis for determining a clear strategy adapted to the future needs of the Organization. It was agreed that the information presented in the report and the issues raised during the discussion would be examined by Task Force 3 as part of its ongoing analysis of industrial support and contracts.
Outcome of the December 2001 Meetings of the Scientific Policy Committee, Finance Committee, Committee of Council and Council and Preparation of the March 2002 Meetings, including the Budgetary Situation
Reviewing the main decisions taken at the December meetings, the Director-General reported that the Council had approved the creation of an External Review Committee (ERC) chaired by Dr R. Aymar, Director of ITER, and comprising a further eight recognised experts in the scientific, financial and managerial fields. The ERC, whose terms of reference were to examine the LHC machine, experimental areas and CERN's share of detector construction in the light of the LHC funding shortfall, as well as the part of the CERN scientific programme not directly related to the LHC, had begun its programme of work in January and was due to present an interim report to the Council committees in March before submitting its final written report in June. The Council had also approved a 1.3% salary adjustment with effect from 1st January 2002 in application of the new formula for the calculation of the salary adjustment index approved in the framework of the December 2000 five-yearly review. In the current difficult financial climate, that decision constituted an important signal to the staff. Finally, among a series of LHC contract adjudications, the Finance Committee had approved the award of the three important contracts for the supply of the dipole magnet cold masses and the extension of contract amounts for civil engineering construction and consultancy.
Turning to the 2002 Budget, he reminded the Management Board that the proposal submitted to the committees in December had incorporated the re-allocation of some 33 MCHF to the LHC and contained severe cuts in non-LHC activities and other savings. The proposal had been approved by the Council, subject to a provisional 5% freeze of the total expenditure, amounting to 53 MCHF, to be applied to the materials budget only. The Council would be invited to approve the unblocking of the withheld amount at an extraordinary session in March 2002 following examination by the various committees of the Management's proposals for aligning the 2002 Budget to the new medium- and long-term plans to be prepared for the June meetings.
Outlining the Management's current status of thinking on the budgetary situation, he presented preliminary figures for savings and reallocations in the period 2002-2009 and a provisional summary of the long-term anticipated budgetary position. A draft plan for LHC financing would be presented to the committees in March 2002, prior to the submission of the medium- and long-term plans in June. With a view to finding a sizeable part of the extra cost to completion within the Organization's own baseline budget, as requested by the Member State delegations, the five internal task forces were continuing to examine the cost of the different programmes and the possibilities for and implications of savings, increased efficiency and restructuring throughout the Organization. Their findings, together with the recommendations of the ERC, would be incorporated in the above-mentioned plans to be submitted to the Council and its committees in March and June 2002. Efforts were also being stepped up to find the missing manpower for the LHC inside the present staff complements by a further reduction of research and accelerator R&D, by changing the professional profile of recruited staff to match LHC needs in the installation phase and by exercising tighter control on the use of industrial support. At the same time, attempts would be made to make use of increased networking opportunities with Member State laboratories and to increase efforts to acquire further resources from outside for computing, testing, installation, etc.
Progress Report on Implementation of the Career Structure
The Director of Administration, J. van der Boon, reminded the Management Board that the revised version of Administrative Circular No. 26 dealing with the procedures governing the career development of staff members had been published at the end of 2001 following a long series of discussions involving the Standing Concertation Committee (SCC), the Directorate, division leaders and a special working group. In preparation for the 2002 advancement exercise, HR Division was currently holding seminars for supervisors within each division to familiarise them with the essential features of the new Merit Advancement and Promotion Scheme (MAPS). The 2002 advancement guidelines would be submitted to the Standing Concertation Committee the following week and the annual interview procedure would begin as soon as the seminars had been completed. In spite of the delay in the start of interviews compared to previous years, the overall advancement exercise should be completed by July as usual, with the usual exception of career path change decisions.
In closed session, the Management Board examined and endorsed the draft 2002 guidelines for annual advancement and promotions, including the schedule for the exercise and guidelines for senior staff advancement, with the proviso that the drafts had still to be discussed at the SCC.
