MANAGEMENT BOARD MEETING OF 29th AUGUST 2002
'Morges III' Manpower Planning ReviewThe Director-General announced that at the end of September he would be visiting each division in turn with a view to discussing their projected resources and requirements prior to the CERN-wide manpower planning workshop known as 'Morges III' on 28th and 29th October. To allow the Human Resources Review Board (HRRB) and the Planning Unit to pursue their preparatory work in parallel, divisions were requested to comply with the 1st September deadline for the prioritisation of the specific work packages and services needed to fulfil their respective mandates, with consolidated data for each sector to be submitted to the Chairman of the HRRB, J. van der Boon, by 21st September. Ultimately, the results of the 'Morges III' exercise would serve as the basis for the 2003-2010 staff plan to be presented to the Council in December.
Preparation of the September Committee Meetings
The Director-General observed that one of the main items on the agenda of the Committee of Council's meeting on 19 September would be the Management's presentation of the action plan and timetable for the implementation of the External Review Committee's recommendations, as requested by the Council at its June session. Outlining the various items covered by the document, he remarked that the Plan presented in June envisaged CERN fully engaged in LHC construction, except for a number of ring-fenced activities in research and accelerator R&D that were vital for the diversity and future of the Organization. In that framework, divisions had now been made fully responsible for administering the resources for the Project and for enforcing the savings programme set out in the medium-term plan, including the ceilings placed on industrial services. As far as the LHC machine and experimental areas were concerned, the Project Management and group leaders had now agreed on the full budget-to-completion of the work packages, staff redeployment to the LHC was under way, a new Risk Assessment Unit had been set up, an annual review of cost and schedule had been established and Earned-Value Management and other monitoring tools were to be implemented by the end of the year.
In the area of LHC detector construction, he noted that annual reviews of the installation and integration plans for each experiment had been instigated, the first of which would take place in September, and that the relevant EP groups now reported directly to the Technical Coordinators. The non-LHC programme was as defined in the medium-term plan, and alternative resources for fellows were being sought within the European Union's Sixth Framework Programme, partly compensating the scheduled reduction of the Fellows and Associates Programme. On the human resources side, the tendency was towards integrated personnel and materials resource management ('P+M'), the 'Morges III' review of CERN-wide staff and industrial services needs would take place in October, and discussions were in progress regarding internal mobility, contract policy and the introduction of a new Locally Recruited Staff category.
Finally, in the area of management and control, a Finance Director and a Programme Controller had been appointed and steps had been taken to improve the flow of information to the CERN Committees. The implementation group set up by the Council in June to make proposals on the creation of an Independent Audit Committee had held its first meeting on 15 July under the chairmanship of the United Kingdom Council delegate, Professor I. Halliday, and was due to meet again on 10 September before presenting a report to the Committee of Council on 19 September. Other important issues for discussion at the September Committee of Council meeting would include, under non-Member State Matters, collaboration with India and a proposal regarding further contributions from Russia to the LHC.
Annual Review of LHC Cost to Completion and Risk Monitoring
The Director-General explained that the purpose of the new Risk Assessment Unit for the construction of the LHC machine and experimental areas was to
- identify risks concerning the cost and schedule,
- identify the alternative responses to the risks and assess their impact on the cost and schedule,
- identify early signals indicating the need for action from the LHC and CERN Management and propose a range of possible actions where necessary, and
- function as a crisis unit in the event of emergencies, with additional members being brought in if necessary.
The annual LHC status report would also comprise the findings of the new annual LHC cost and schedule review. The latter would be carried out by an external panel which, for 2002, would be chaired by Dr J. Peoples of Fermilab. The review would begin on 21st October with the aim of updating cost-to-completion figures, making recommendations on the use of contingency and assessing the work schedule.
Locally Recruited Staff
The Director of Administration, J. van der Boon, summarised the status of discussions on the proposed introduction of a Locally Recruited Staff (LRS) category, originally put forward by Task Force 4 on Personnel Issues with a view to solving the issue of activities currently carried out on manpower-oriented industrial services contracts not convertible into result-oriented contracts and for activities currently executed by CERN staff in career paths A and B. The proposal, which had been endorsed by the ERC, had been discussed at TREF's May meeting in the context of the report from Task Force 4 and was currently under examination with the Staff Association at the Standing Concertation Committee (SCC).
Underlining the complexity of the various financial, legal and employment issues at stake, Mr van der Boon explained that the various ramifications were being explored and that feasibility studies were under way to ascertain whether LRS was a viable proposition and to what extent existing regulations would need to be modified. Issues being addressed included the estimated recruitment potential, possible savings, social security and other benefits and contract policy. Although the potential savings now seemed likely not to be feasible, it was important to bear in mind that the proposal was also designed to resolve long-standing organisational and legal issues. The Management Board agreed that, if savings should not ultimately prove possible, the proposal must at least be cost-neutral.
Following an oral presentation to TREF at its next meeting on 17 September, proposals would be drawn up for submission to the Forum in October and November, taking account of further internal preparation at the Management Board, SCC and HRRB. The use of LRS would also be discussed in the framework of the Morges III meeting. The ultimate goal was to present a detailed proposal to the Council and its committees by the end of 2002 with a view to gradual implementation from 1st January 2003 onwards, a timescale consistent with the scheduled retendering of activities currently outsourced on manpower contracts.
Actions Taken concerning the Mechanical Workshops
D. Güsewell, Leader of EST Division, informed the Management Board of the decision to streamline the production and support activities covered by the S070 contract for the mechanical workshops run by the EST-MF group in order to adapt the work capacity to the shrinking demand for on-site machining. As a consequence, the associated activities currently performed in Building 904 on the Prévessin site would be closed down with effect from December 2002 and all EST-MF mechanical workshop activities concentrated around Building 100 on the Meyrin site. He underlined that vital activities for the LHC, such as welding, would not be affected by the measure. The Management Board took note of the information and agreed that the operation and the future role of CERN's main mechanical workshop for the LHC would be discussed at the next meeting of the Accelerator and Technical Board.
Declaration of Insolvency by an Important CERN Supplier
Announcing that the German industrial group Babcock Borsig A.G had declared itself insolvent on 4 July, the Director of Finance, A. Naudi, gave preliminary information on the seven contracts concerned.
