Project Management in Large Collaborations: SNS Lessons Learned for ITER

Abstract

Collaborations of research institutions and industry have been increasingly employed to accomplish the design, procurement, fabrication, assembly, installation, testing and commissioning of complex science facilities to support enhanced research capabilities in many areas. The large cost and significant breadth of technical knowledge, skills and abilities needed to bring into successful operation such complex facilities makes it likely that collaborations among National Institutions and Nations will become the norm for future facilities projects of this nature. The spallation neutron source (SNS), a $1.4 billion accelerator-based facility for neutron science nearing completion at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee, is a major collaboration among six US national laboratories and an industrial construction partner whose objective has been to design, construct and operate the world's most powerful neutron source to support world-class materials research. Some of the more important factors that have contributed to the success of the SNS collaboration include the development of an effective project management organization across institutional boundaries, a project focus on integration, involvement of partners to oversee procurements closest to the work, and top-level risk management to include a centrally-controlled reserve for unforeseen events. The lessons learned in planning, executing and managing this successful, multi-partner collaborative project have significance for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project. ITER is a planned partnership among six National organizations (China, the European Union, Japan, the Russian Federation, South Korea and the United States) that is coming together to design, construct and operate a full-scale technology demonstration facility for producing power from fusion energy. The ITER project presents unique challenges for project management with its mix of "in-kind" and "in-cash" deliverables, the risks associated with the division of scope among the participants and the government-to-government agreements required. SNS lessons learned that can benefit ITER include the early assignment of experienced project leadership, a project-directed risk assessment and technical integration review, development of a realistic integrated project schedule, the creation of a reserve fund under project control to mitigate unforeseen risks, and the development and acceptance of a means for periodic, thorough review of overall project performance. Instituting successful project management within the ITER collaboration will require aligning the project management philosophies, accounting for cultural influences, understanding the participants' political environments, selecting and implementing useful management systems, and successfully incorporating the project management strengths and experience of the ITER partners