The LHC Continuous Cryostat Interconnections: The Organization of a Logistically Complex Worksite Requiring Strict Quality Standards and High Output

The interconnections of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) continuous cryostat have been completed in fall 2007: 1695 interconnections magnet to magnet and 224 interconnections between the continuous cryostat and the cryogenic distribution line have been executed along the 27 km of the LHC. The very tight schedule, the complexity of the interconnection sequence, the strict quality standards applied have required the creation of an ad hoc organization in order to steer and coordinate the activities on the worksite dispersed along the whole accelerator ring. The concatenation of construction and test phases carried out by CERN staff, CERN collaborating institutes and contractors have led to the necessity of a common approach and of a very effective information flow. In this paper, after having recalled the main technical challenges, we review the organizational choices that have been taken and we briefly analyze the development of the worksite in term of allocated resources and production.