sPHENIX is a new detector at RHIC.

[Spencer Klein <srklein AT lbl.gov>]

Ming:

The email is helpful, but lacking on specifics.  I completely understand 
the desirability of getting the budget under $5M.   My questions were 
about the feasibility of doing so.

How much additional uncosted labor is assumed, and what skill level is 
required?  What institutions have committed to providing this labor?  As 
I noted earlier, the gap between promises and reality was a huge issue 
during STAR TPC construction.

Regarding "reducing LANL hourly rate by using contracted labor," will 
LANL commit to those rate?

I am sorry to be asking all these critical questions, but I want to make 
sure that our promises are realistic.

Spencer

On 2/2/17 13:43, Ming Liu (ming AT bnl.gov) wrote:
> Hi Spencer and all,
>
> You raised the right questions. Here is a reply from Dave Lee this
> morning, detailing about the updated cost and schedule to Leo, somehow the
> reply didn’t go through the list. Hope this email can help people to
> better understand the changes. As we discussed it at LBNL last week, we
> are asked to keep the total project cost under $5M.
>
> Cheers,
> Ming
>
> ――
> Hi Leo,
> Let me reply and Ming can provide further.  As a backdrop I had a long
> conversation with Ed O'Brien concerning the MVTX project and strategy.
> The cost of new projects with the ONP has implications as to how the
> funding route would be.  For projects >$5M the project does not go through
> the CD process but does become part of the OMB budget process and
> therefore is at least a 2 year process.  For projects <$5M the project is
> funded directly from the ONP without being in the OMB budget process and
> thus can be approved internal to the ONP much sooner.  By trimming the
> budget to less than $5M we hope a much more favorable outcome from the
> late February DOE-NP will occur.  To achieve these savings we have trimmed
> resources across the project by using more uncosted or less expensive
> labor, moving some integration tasks to BNL engineers outside of the
> project,  moving part of the LANL design efforts on global integration to
> BNL, reducing LANL hourly rate by using contracted labor, reducing travel
> expenses by ~20%, and by reducing some durations so that we meet Ed's
> start installation date of 2/2021.  Nothing drastic was done to any
> activity or procurement cost.  Hope this helps
> Dave
>
> David M Lee. Ph.D
> MS H846
> tel:  505 667-8888
> Fax: 505 6665-7920
> Cell 505 690-4820
>
>
>
>
>
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>