°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Council meets virtually
The Twenty-Sixth Meeting of the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Council convened on 17-18 June to assess the latest progress reports and performance metrics of the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Project, including preliminary assessments of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the first time in Council history, the meeting took place by videoconference.
International travel restrictions could not keep the 26th Meeting of the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Council from taking place, but they did contribute to modifying the format and the organization of the two-day meeting, which traditionally convenes at °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Headquarters.
On the east coast of the United States, participants logged in by videoconference at 6:00 a.m., while in Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo it was the end of the workday. In India, the start of the meeting fell late afternoon; in the European capitals and Moscow the discussions began closer to lunch. For the first time in °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Council history, Council members—high-level government representatives and experts from each of the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Members—carried out their review of °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Project progress in two three-hour remote sessions, one on each day.
"Thank you very much for this opportunity to meet in these exceptional circumstances ... and for accepting to hold this °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Council meeting remotely in order to allow the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Project to progress steadily in these unexpected and challenging circumstances," said Director-General Bernard Bigot during his opening remarks.
It was the first °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Council chaired by LUO Delong, from China.
The group commended the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Organization and the Domestic Agencies for the development and rapid deployment of a continuity plan during the global pandemic COVID-19. The plan permitted critical activities related to °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ's closely integrated project schedule to move forward, while ensuring the health and safety of staff and collaborators through rigorous adherence to hygienic measures. To date, there have been no instances of COVID-19 infection on the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ worksite.
Globally, the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Organization and the Domestic Agencies have been able to maintain productivity in oversight, in design activities, and in progress on many schedule-critical activities. However the extended shutdowns in the manufacturing of some key components in affected countries and the slowdown in some assembly activities might have potential consequences for the project schedule. The Council will review a follow-up report at its next meeting in November.
The Council also noted, with appreciation, the number of project achievements since its last meeting, including the completion and delivery of multiple first-of-a-kind components that have been five or more years in fabrication. Project execution towards First Plasma is nearly 70 percent complete.