Successfully Managing the Experimental Area of a Large Physics Experiment from Civil Engineering to the First Beams

The role of "Experimental Area Manager" supported by a well organized, charismatic and motivated team is absolutely essential for managing the huge effort needed for a multi-cultural, multi-disciplinary installation of cathedral-size underground caverns housing a billion dollar physics experiment. Between the years 2002 and 2008, we supervised and coordinated the ATLAS work site at LHC, from the end of the civil engineering to the first circulating beams, culminating with 240 workers on the site, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with activities taking place simultaneously on the surface, in the 60 m shafts and in the 100 m underground experimental cavern. We depict the activities preparation scheme (including tasks ranging from the installation of 280 ton cranes to super-delicate silicon detectors), the work-site organization method, the safety management that was a top priority throughout the whole project, and the opencommunication strategy that required maintaining permanent public visits. The accumulation of experience enables us to summarize the critical success factors for a timely and successful completion of such a vast and complex project.