Amazing work accomplishments

Progress at Sanford Lab was the focus of an all-hands meeting last Friday. Progress with current and future experiments, progress in shaft rehabilitation and maintenance, progress in safety policies, and progress in underground construction and at the new Visitor Center. 

"I am thrilled with the team's amazing work accomplishments and with the improvement in safety performance," said Executive Director Mike Headley.

Here are some highlights of the many accomplishments at Sanford Lab. 

Several months ago Berkeley moved its low-background detector to the 4850 Level, where it is seeing a substantial increase in its sensitivity, said Kevin Lesko, Operations Office Head. Next year, the CUBED and Berkeley detectors, with another five detectors, will move to the BHSU underground campus. 

Underground Access Director Will McElroy said bolting in the CASPAR lab space is finished, while bolting in the BHSU lab space continues. When finished, crews will install mesh throughout both caverns all in preparation for applying shotcrete and outfitting construction. McElroy also pointed out that the Hazard Mitigation Crew removed abandoned infrastructure that posed a threat to access. 

Ross Shaft crews rehabbed the 1550, 1700 and 1850 stations; installed 23 sets of steel since June, with nine sets and 150 feet of steel completed in August. "That's our best month ever," McElroy said. A major goal includes reaching the 2900L by July 2015. 

On the Yates side, crews removed 168 tons of debris from the shaft since January that's approximately 42,000 pounds each month. Additionally, crews are removing old lacing, legacy ladders and landings, and completed skip side refurbishment down to set 360 (2,460 feet).

Construction on the Visitor Center began in July with the demolition of the old building. As of Friday, pier 16 of 22 was drilled. The piers are 30 inches in diameter and 90 to 125 feet long; they provide support for the foundation slab of the building and can flex with horizontal movement. Engineering Director Josh Willhite said 900 yards of concrete will be poured in three sections to create the foundation, which he expects to be completed by the end of October. (See a video of a rebar cage, which weighs 7500 pounds to reinforce the concrete piers, being lowered here: https://vimeo.com/105167895)

Through it all, the lab has seen a dramatic decrease in work-related injuries in 2014. Headley pointed to a greater focus on job hazard analyses, detailed work planning, and effective management engagement with staff in the field. Mostly, he praised staff for their efforts. "I truly appreciate the staff's commitment to safety as they help advance Sanford Lab into the future."

Additional highlights through Sept. 12, 2014

Science:

• LUX-Zeplin was one of three second-generation dark matter experiments to be funded by the DOE and NSF. The new 7-tonne liquid xenon detector will fit inside the existing water tank.
• Sanford Underground Research Facility submitted information to house a 1-tonne neutrinoless-double beta decay experiment.
• The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) is expanding to include more international collaborators. The new collaboration is examining detector designs and even baselines, although Sanford Lab remains the most attractive alternative because of its advance state of designs (nears ahead of a "green field").
• The Berkeley low-background detector, one of the most sensitive in the world, is fully subscribed with LUX-Zeplin (LZ) and Majorana Demonstrator (MJD) samples. The High Energy Physics community has funded a second detector to help alleviate scheduling backlog. Installation is set for this winter. Five additional detectors will be located in the BHSU underground campus.

Safety:

• When it comes to safety, Sanford Lab puts people first. In 2013, the lab had 13 recordable injuries. As of August 2014, only three injuries were reported. In addition to a higher number of JHAs and work planning, the lab plans to increase training, provide more tools for field staff and redesign the EHSOC review. Additionally, Executive Director Mike Headley will have regular lunch meetings with groups of employees to hear concerns and suggestions for improvements.

Projects:

• The Waste Water Treatment Plant replaced the green tank with a new sludge-removal tank that will simplify the process of removing suspended solids. One of the best things; The new tank is inside the influent building so it will be climate controlled.

Yates Shaft:

• In top-down maintenance, Yates crews recently added ground control in the cage compartment from set 181 to set 191 to address the majority of a seam in the rock face.  They?ve also repaired or replaced 233 of 313 T3 panel pieces since the project began (T3 refers to the condition of the timber and is the most serious).

Ross Shaft:

• Crews working on the Ross Shaft installed steel sets to 2,069 feet and had their best month ever in August. They've also been trained on revised SOPs, completed a short survey and developed a new method for installing bearing beam saddles. Additionally, they're preparing for a cellular concrete pour, rehabbing the 2000 station, cleaning the Ross sump and performing rope cuts and runner change outs. In preparation for filling the 2000 and 2600 skip pockets, they are undergoing an internal readiness review.

Hazard Mitigation:

• In addition to work in the CASPAR and BHSU caverns, the Hazard Mitigation Crew began bolting in the vent drift, installed support (steel beams) at the entrance of the 300L Kirk portal, and completed water-inflow work on the 1850L. The crew is also focusing on preparations for LBNE and rehabilitating secondary egress routes.

CASPAR/BHSU Underground Campus:

• In the CASPAR (Compact Accelerator System for Performing Astrophysical Research) cavern, crews completed bolting and are now working on power routing and bolting the drift from 6 Winze to the refuge chamber. Preparations for the Underground Campus are also underway, with crews working on ground support. A rock wedge supported by a timber wedge will be removed in October. The campus will include a Class 1,000 clean room, Class 10,000 clean room and space for eight low-background counters. It will be used for experiments in a variety of fields.

Visitor Center:

• Construction on the new Visitor Center began in July with the installation of piers to support a concrete foundation slab. The building construction is expected to be completed on May 1. The exhibits will include a 3-D model of the underground, the old Ross cage, wall panels, experiment artifacts, photographs and video. The exhibits are expected to be installed before June 1, 2015 opening day.