sPHENIX is a new detector at RHIC.

["Ming Liu (ming AT bnl.gov)" <ming AT bnl.gov>]

Hi Spencer,
These are important questions the review committee will ask and we need to
have real answers.
We are working on the labor and budget profile, and with that information,
we should be able to address these
concerns with some realistic numbers. At the end, the collaboration will
need to come up with a good plan to provide and coordinate the resources.

Cheers,
Ming 
 
-- 
Ming Xiong Liu
P-25, MS H846                   TEL:            505-667-7125
Physics Division                                        631-344-7821(BNL)
LANL                                                    630-840-5708(FNAL)
Los Alamos, NM 87545    FAX:    505-665-7020






On 2/2/17, 11:54 AM, "Spencer Klein" <srklein AT lbl.gov> wrote:

>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
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>   
>