MAC certifies considerable progress

30 Oct 2009 - Sabina Griffith
The first meeting of the ITER Management Advisory Committee (MAC) in the new conference centre.

This week, it was MAC week again. For the sixth time since the formal inauguration of the ITER Organization, the Management Advisory Committee convened in Cadarache. During the three-day meeting the MAC discussed many topics, but in particular it reviewed the findings and recommendations reported by two subgroups: the Briscoe Panel and the subgroup on Technical Integration. The MAC was pleased to see the considerable progress that has been made since the last MAC meeting, and in particular in finalizing and implementing a cost methodology and tools, and the implementation of systems engineering and integration. "We were very pleased with these findings," Bob Iotti, the Chairman of the MAC said.

The MAC also reviewed what the Council had asked the ITER Organization to prepare, namely a realistic schedule to produce First Plasma in 2018, but MAC could not come to a definite conclusion. MAC will thus recommended to the ITER Council that the ITER Organization together with the Domestic Agencies revisit the schedule work performed to date, and jointly determine an aggressive early-finish date, relying on possible risk mitigation approaches, as well as what would be a late finish date, if risk mitigation is not successful. In this work, appropriate consideration must be given to the risks that both the ITER Organization and the Domestic Agencies have identified in the timely delivery of the facilities and components of ITER, particularly those which are on or near the project's critical path.

After chairing the MAC since the implementation of the ITER Organization, Bob Iotti will step down as Chairman as agreed by the ITER Members. The next Chairman, coming from Korea, will be appointed by the Council in its next meeting on 18-19 November this year.