SLAC Main Control Center UpgradePeter Schuh for the SLAC Operations Group
April 14, 2010

Overview• In the September 2008, SLAC Main Control
was updated for LCLS operation– Layout of room changed– New countertops– New computer workstations– New overhead display monitors (and software)

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Outline• Building HVAC upgrade (2007)• Change of experiment at SLAC (PEP-II to LCLS,April 2008)• Constraints– Control room staffing– Room layout– Ergonomic considerations– Time and budget• How we came up with a plan
• Implementation
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Building HVAC upgrade• Common complaints– Room too noisy (fans and building HVAC)– Lighting bad• Prefer indirect lighting to minimize monitor glare– Room often choked with people and felt “cavelike”

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Building HVAC upgrade• Raise ceiling 2 feet
• Install indirect lighting– 4 quadrants, each individually controlled,dimmable• Upgrade HVAC system– Add user control of temperature in room by ±3°– Programmable system; room temperature
increases 5 degrees at night• Done during one summer downtime
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Before remodel

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After ceiling, lighting and HVAC work

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Change of Experiment(PEP-II to LCLS)• Change of experiment at SLAC (PEP-II toLCLS)• New software and new control system
resulted in need for new computers anddisplays• Early LCLS commissioning run gave us apreview of control room and workstation
requirements
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Control Room Staffing• Continuous– 3 Accelerator Operators– 1 Operations Engineer (i.e. Crew chief)• Day shift– 1-2 additional operations staff– 1-2 physicists– 1 Program Deputy– 1 or more controls staff
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Control Room Staffing continued• Accelerator physics studies / commissioning– Everyone from previous slide– More physicists– More controls people• Design must accommodate both high andlow occupancy periods

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Control Room Layout• Control room dated back to the 1970s• Racks surrounded 80% of the room
• Removal of racks difficult due to existing
cabling• Decided not to remove any racks and workwith existing room perimeter

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Ergonomic Considerations
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neck strain due to overhead monitors (5)eye strain: distance, brightness of monitors, font sizes, display colors, room & local
lighting (4)wrist discomfort, repetitive stress: keyboard & mouse placement, adjustability (4)table height adjustability, chair adjustability, and footrests (4)control of shared interactive displays/applications from any location (4)ability to move around between work stations easily, traffic flow (4)telephone accessibility (4)availability of desktop space, for writing, phones. (3)flexibility of workspaces, for varying number and types of personnel (3)placement & availability of knobs, Master Beam Control, etc. (3)air flow & room temperature (2)storage space for personal effects (1)sound or noise control (1)waste disposal (1)SLAC Main Control Center Upgrade
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How we came up with a plan
• At the beginning of a 3 month downtime, ~6interested group members formed a “controlroom redesign task force”– Met daily for first week to set requirements for newdesign– Met daily for second week to agree on a design and thenpresented it to the entire operations group for feedback– Third week created task list and split up the work. Met
every other day to track progress. Wrote procurement
request.
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Timeline and budget• Three month window to make changes• Furniture takes time to order or build• Equipment in racks difficult to move• Budget a concern, so implementation must
be done in phases

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Console Redesign (before and after)

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Desk and overhead display height

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After countertops removed

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After new countertops installed

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Present day

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Workstation considerations• Each workstation needs– 1 keyboard/mouse and multiline telephone– At least two 24” monitors for desktop
applications– 4-6 extra displays within easy view that show
information about the accelerator (we call these“CUDs”)– Access to custom-built hardware accelerator“master beam control”
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Workstation picture

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Overhead display considerations• Operators came up with a set of standards
for overhead displays– High contrast, font size > 36
– Fill a 24” monitor in landscape mode
– Launched and controlled remotely from any
workstation in room
– Printed remotely

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Overhead display considerations• Operators created several overhead displays
themselves using EPICS to replace olddisplays

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Telephone layout

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Budget• Countertops and center desk: $15,000• Workstation computers– Linux workstations: 8 x $5,000– Monitors: 4 x $600

• Lower overhead displays– Monitors:12 x $350
– SunRay workstations: 6 x $400

• Upper overhead displays:– Monitors: 6 x $1500– SunRay workstations: 3 x $400
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Budget continued• Keyboard tray arms: 7 x $300
• Sunray server: 2 x $5,000• Total: ~$90,000 not including operator laboror building HVAC work

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Thank you

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