After setting a new personal best of 5.071 GeV in December, the accelerator made another jump in beam energy during a February 1 test run. The five-pass beam achieved 5.516 billion electron volts on its first high gradient run after helium processing of eight cryomodules (64 cavities) in January.

The accelerator was operating 36% above its original design specification of 4.045 GeV during the test. A few minor glitches were identified during the February run, according to Jay Benesch, senior staff scientist. "We're working these issues now and we'll do another test run March 7," Benesch said. "We'll start running beam at this energy to support physics experiments on March 26."

Achieving 5.516 GeV beam is a major milestone in support of the Lab's physics program

Many people have worked long hours over the past 18 months to bring beam energy up to 5.5 GeV. For some it was part of their job, but for others it was a chance to become more involved in the operation of the Lab's electron accelerator and do something new.

Such was the case for a group of Accelerator Division safety staff. Their first chance to help came last summer. Helium processing was scheduled over the Fourth of July break. It looked like the MCC Safety Systems Operators (SSOs) were going to have to work through a much-deserved holiday until Sandy Prior, Accelerator Division EH&S officer, realized that, with the necessary training and certification, Safety staff volunteers could fill in for the SSOs. "I had set a personal objective to become a qualified SSO because I thought the knowledge I gained would help me to better anticipate the EH&S needs of my managers," Prior said. "Charlie Reece and the Accelerator Development Department's need [for SSOs during helium processing] was the perfect opportunity for making my objective a reality." The next step was approaching the other division EH&S staff; they were also eager and willing to help.

"In order to do the job, we had to become SSOs," Prior explained. The safety volunteers attended eight hours of training given by Kelly Mahoney, Safety Systems group leader. Then they had to spend volunteer time, before or after finishing their normal duties, in the Machine Control Center working the Safety System console. The last step in becoming an SSO was taking and passing a test.

"I'm really proud of my safety staff for the time and energy they put into becoming qualified SSOs and for the amount of time they've volunteered during the helium processing. This was a good opportunity for crosstraining. We were able to expand our experience and provide a vital service. I think this is an important aspect of integrated safety management," Prior commented. "But most important for me is that I now feel like I'm really part of the team!"

Prior feels the experience also enhanced her primary job. "I can better evaluate TOSPs (Temporary Operational Safety Procedures) with my new insight into the accelerator¹s operation and Personnel Safety Systems," she said.

The helium processing offered the safety staff a good time to ease in to SSO duties. "Normally, the SSO is dealing with 10 things at once," said Kevin Crossett, industrial hygiene specialist. "Things were pretty slow during He processing. Our most important tasks were keeping up with log entries and coordinating the Development Department's activities with other maintenance going on in the accelerator," Crossett added. "Normally, I don't have a lot to do with the accelerator. This was a great opportunity to re-familiarize myself with what goes on down there [in the accelerator]."

Eric Hanson, Accelerator Site safety warden, took advantage of his two owl shifts. To fill the hours when SSO demands were minimal, Hanson learned the steps involved in processing the cavities. "Later, I was able to give Charlie [Reece] an extra set of hands to work on the module. It was a great opportunity."

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