The world is ready for the next energy revolution. Innovations like high-capacity storage and next-gen superconducting materials could transform the way people create and consume energy. But so far, researchers have failed to bring those ideas to life. A major obstacle to progress is the lack of deep understanding of nanoscale materials. To take the next big leap forward in energy technologies, global scientists needed a tool that would let them develop, understand and manipulate some of the world's smallest materials, says Frank Crescenzo, site manager, Brookhaven National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Upton, New York, USA. DOE is a PMI Global Executive Council member. Scientists "needed a facility that could study materials at the single-atom resolution, and there was no facility in the world that could do that," he says. In response, the DOE's Office of Science launched the US$912 million National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) project at Brookhaven in 2005. The 10-year project deliv
PHOTOS COURTESY OF BROOKHAVEN NATIONAL LABORATORY
The world is ready for the next energy revolution. Innovations like high-capacity storage and next-gen superconducting materials could transform the way people create and consume energy. But so far, researchers have failed to bring those ideas to life.
A major obstacle to progress is the lack of deep understanding of nanoscale materials. To take the next big leap forward in energy technologies, global scientists needed a tool that would let them develop, understand and manipulate some of the world's smallest materials, says Frank Crescenzo, site manager, Brookhaven National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Upton, New York, USA. DOE is a PMI Global Executive Council member.
Scientists “needed a facility that could study materials at the single-atom resolution, and there was no facility in the world that could do that,” he says.
In response, the DOE's Office of Science launched the US$912 million National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) project at Brookhaven in 2005. The 10-year project delivered the world's most powerful photon microscope for high-impact, discovery-class science and technology. It creates X-rays allowing scientists to see how materials in systems—such as batteries or fuel cells— behave at the nano-level while operating in real-world conditions. Such research could foster global breakthroughs for health and energy.
But to make all this possible, the project team had to develop cutting-edge imaging capabilities—and mitigate the risks that come with innovation, says Steve Dierker, PhD, former project director for Brookhaven National Laboratory. “In many cases, we identified technologies that were not quite sufficient. So we carried out a research and development program to advance those technologies to beyond what was the state-of-the-art,” he says.
The resulting design centered around a light source that would be 10,000 times brighter and five times larger than the lab's original facility, NSLS, says Erik Johnson, PhD, PMP, deputy project director for the NSLS-II project.
“If you want to go small, you have to go big,” he says.
Going big also meant casting a wide net for global scientific experts who could zero in on the intricate requirements for such a precise tool. Facilities like NSLS-II generate light by accelerating a beam of electrons around a large ring. The light gets brighter as electrons move faster and are packed more tightly. But for scientists to view materials on the nanoscale, the electron beam also must be incredibly stable—vibrating no more than 25 nanometers in any direction. That's 1,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair.
The lab's powerful microscope is designed to deliver a suite of unprecedented X-ray imaging capabilities.
“To make that beam as narrow and precise as possible, you have to have a very gentle deviation,” Dr. Dierker says. “So one of the key ingredients for being able to achieve a higher brightness is having a larger accelerator.”
The project team achieved the necessary brightness and stability by setting technical specifications that pushed the cutting edge. The team also did R&D, built prototypes and consulted with global experts from a scientific advisory committee to make sure the new technology would meet the project's needs.
“Peers would come in and do a very careful design review to make sure that we were capable of building the technology, that it would operate properly at the end and deliver the mission need,” says Mr. Crescenzo, who also served as federal project director, or the sponsor's on-site representative.
“Peers would come in and do a very careful design review to make sure that we were capable of building the technology.”
— Frank Crescenzo, U.S. Department of Energy, Upton, New York, USA
Through this process, the team designed a storage ring with a circumference of 792 meters (2,598 feet) that uses 826 large magnets to propel electrons along a circular path. In one second, each electron will circle the ring about 375,000 times—traveling at more than 99 percent of the speed of light with almost no vibration.
“We drew upon the expertise of scientists from around the world, including scientists from other facilities who had recently constructed facilities and had up-to-date experience with what the challenges were and what the alternative options would be,” says Dr. Dierker, who is now a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA.
From left, Erik Johnson, PhD, PMP, deputy project director; Diane Hatton, director of planning, performance and quality management; Frank Crescenzo, site manager; and Steve Dierker, PhD, former project director
Global advisory committees and review teams also provided guidance and direction that helped the team identify potential problems with the design—and mitigate those risks before they were realized. For instance, advisory committee experts knew the specifications for the giant magnets, some more than 13 feet (3.96 meters) long and weighing more than 6,000 pounds (2,722 kilograms), would be tough for suppliers to deliver. This led the project team to contract five magnet vendors, which reduced their reliance on any single manufacturer, says Diane Hatton, director of planning, performance and quality management, Brookhaven National Laboratory.
NSLS-II dedication ceremony in February 2015
TEAM PORTRAIT BY RAYMOND PATRICK
“This gave us flexibility to increase some of those contracts or decrease others, depending on how successful those suppliers were,” she says. “We sent some of our technical staff out to live with those manufacturers during hard times where they were struggling.”
“When we started the project in 2005, we didn't know what the requirements were necessarily going to be in 2015.”
—Diane Hatton, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York, USA
The team wanted each part of the facility to be state-of-the-art when it came online, so it also delayed some decisions that could be impacted by future technical advances. For instance, Ms. Hatton says the team waited as long as possible to make decisions about computing—so systems would be current when the project closed.
“When we started the project in 2005, we didn't know what the requirements were necessarily going to be in 2015,” she says.
Working with industry experts helped the project team to create a comprehensive risk registry that could be managed proactively throughout the process. At the same time, the scientific advisory group helped the team create a list of priority add-ons they'd like to see in the scope if additional funds became available, Ms. Hatton says.
“We kept a list of the items that would be future scope enhancements,” she says. “So when funds became available because we reduced risk, we had a list ready to go with things that could be added.”
The facility's space for 60 beamlines, or research stations, was near the top of this list. The initial scope only covered the construction of six of the US$20 million beamlines. But provisions for all 60 were fully designed at the outset, making it possible to incorporate more as contingency budgets were released. When the project closed, the team had completed seven beamlines and portions of an eighth.
2005: Project need approved by Department of Energy (DOE)
2008: Performance baseline approved by DOE
2009: Construction begins
2010: All construction contracts awarded
2011: Electron accelerator installation begins
2013: Accelerator's booster commissioning begins
2014: Storage ring commissioning begins
January 2015: Project completed six months ahead of schedule
February 2015: Dedication ceremony held with U.S. Secretary of Energy and elected officials
June 2015: Operations begin
An NSLS-II beamline under construction
Erik Johnson, PhD, PMP, NSLS-II deputy director for construction, Brookhaven National Laboratory
Location: Upton, New York, USA
Experience: 30 years
Other notable projects:
1. Deep UV Free Electron Laser, an R&D facility at Brookhaven National Laboratory completed in 2002. Dr. Johnson was project manager.
2. NSLS-I improvement projects, which included synchrotron beamlines and accelerator modifications, completed in 2007. Dr. Johnson was portfolio manager for the operations and engineering division.
Career lesson learned:
“Establish deep and transparent relationships with the project sponsor and other stakeholders as early as possible. Success in the project is much easier to achieve if the stakeholders have a shared vision of the long-term objective and are comfortable holding each other accountable for their respective responsibilities during the execution of the project.”
“Even more important than the contingency dollars was the contingency planning we did on various risks,” Dr. Dierker says. This allowed the team to be “very effective at maintaining costs as we went forward.”
Based on lessons learned from past projects, the team also had set aside sizable contingency budgets to cover procurement risks. For instance, it had allocated US$85 million to account for uncertainty around bids for the US$200 million conventional facility construction. But when the bids came in, the estimates were right on target.
“We were able to let that contract go for about the same amount that we had estimated, which meant a large amount of contingency was now available to use on other things,” Ms. Hatton says.
But adding scope also came with its own risks. The team had to make sure that, in addition to funds, staff would be available at the right time to purchase, install and test new items. By setting drop-dead dates and outlining dependencies for each addition at the outset, the team was able to successfully add more than US$68 million in scope enhancements.
FOR THE FUTURE
The project's innovative—and scientifically diverse—technical requirements called for a specialized staff. To ensure it could attract top global experts to the project when they were needed, the team worked with DOE to develop a human resources toolkit that would help compensate people for relocating to Brookhaven for a project role.
“That provided sign-on bonuses, performance bonuses, retention bonuses and incentives to bring people on quickly,” Ms. Hatton says. “All of those things helped us to ensure that we had the right people at the right place at the right time.”
Specialists from different fields needed the tools to collaborate efficiently, so the team recruited talent with a strong project management background—and trained others on the practices outlined in PMI's A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide).
Brookhaven Laboratory scientists tested a NSLS-II beamline in October 2014.
By closing nearly six months early and delivering additional scope, NSLS-II has had a lasting impact on future DOE projects. The organization's project management center and the tools and processes it used are delivering valuable lessons learned to other projects. Because of NSLS-II's successful outcome, “we regularly spend time reviewing the work of other projects and helping them get started, not only throughout the Department of Energy, but also around the world,” Ms. Hatton says.
Thanks to its close collaboration with the facility's end users and its planning for future needs years in advance, the project team delivered a facility that exceeded expectations. DOE believes the NSLS-II will drive innovation for the next 30 years.
“One of our missions is to study the basic science that will deliver the next generation of energy for the world and for the nation,” Mr. Crescenzo says. “But every kind of scientist that you can imagine will sometime, someday use this facility.”
DOE expects researchers from around the world to transform scientific research across disciplines and produce discoveries that will benefit everyone. For instance, breakthroughs in biology could help pharmaceutical companies design drugs to treat viral outbreaks. Research on superconducting materials could lead to zero-loss energy transfer. And computer scientists will have the information they need to develop more advanced computing devices, says Dr. Dierker.
“This project gives researchers worldwide an incubator for the development of knowledge in the science and technology that address the most pressing problems facing humanity today,” Dr. Johnson says. “The accomplishments of the people who will use it for decades to come will certainly change and astonish the world.” PM
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