New systems in place
The Department of Administration, with its 34 permanent staff and an equal number of subcontractors and interims, is currently busy with recruitments, placing contracts, budget preparation and implementation of issues following the ITER Council recommendations in particular concerning procurements and contracts.
We are happy to announce that the engineering support contracts for the Departments of Tokamak, Heating & Current Drive and Plant Support will be signed within the next days. Following the approval of all seven ITER Members for these contracts, we will now proceed in order to get the urgently needed manpower in as soon as possible.
As part of the Management Quality Program process, the overall procurement procedures have been reviewed. The prototypes for the new Procurement Tracking System and the supplier database are also being delivered. These new tools will be made available by the end of August and the registration on line through the ITER Organization website will be possible by the end of September. The tools will support the improvement of communication and the competitive process.
A procurement plan for 2010 has been established in close collaboration with the technical fepartments and offices in line with the updated schedule and budget.
The Finance & Budget Division prepared the 2008 Annual Accounts on time, and supported the audit by the Financial Audit Board, such that all could be approved by the Council at its June meeting in Japan. The Council also noted the draft budget for 2010 and the interim budget for 2011. The Finance & Budget Division also prepared the Implementing Measures which were approved by the Council, and updated internal circulars.
The latest document being prepared concerns the ITER Control Standards For Effective Management, for implementation throughout the Organization. This document is currently under discussion, and includes topics such as policies, procedures and management actions to ensure the economic, efficient and effective running of our organization.
The Division of Human Resources reports that we currently number 387 staff from 24 nations. Fully 92 new ITER staff members have been recruited since the beginning of the year. The recruitment of another 74 posts, the "second wave," has started and the interviews are currently ongoing.
An online recruitment tool will soon be introduced which will allow candidates to apply online and Members to nominate their candidates. The specifications have been prepared in collaboration with the European and the American Domestic Agencies and so this new tool should be implemented by September.
The HR Division is working closely with the departments—more than 50 staff are involved—on the development of an ITER Organization job classification. This project aims to improve transparency on the job structure. This is done by an integrated approach including all aspects of people management such as recruitment and selection, retention, training and development, succession planning, talent management and compensation and benefits.
Administration is also working to support the new staff to ensure they have a place to work when they arrive. The increasing numbers of people arriving at ITER is currently taxing Logistics as they seek ways to accommodate all departments' needs.
Substantial progress has been made in the use of SAP but we know that further developments are still needed to make the systems easier to use. Within the next days we will roll out a SAP-based Procurement Portal—a user-friendly tool that will facilitate and improve procurement procedures.
We are also happy to announce that the Internal Audit Service conducted by Yuichiro Ogino has carried out audits in relation to the payroll and travel mission reimbursements and Administration is generally implementing the recommendations.