OOI Program Update Tim Cowles

OL Board of Trustees October 22, 2010

Ocean Observatories Initiative

OOI Program Update

Tim Cowles


OOI overarching goals

OOI has two fundamental scientific and research

mandates that underpin its construction:

• Sustained delivery of high-quality data for two to three

decades;

• Maintenance of the expandability of the infrastructure

to support new capabilities.


OOI overarching goals

We address those mandates by meeting the science

requirements during construction, and by building in the most

cost-effective approaches to operating the infrastructure.

The most cost-effective approaches include:

• A model for the lowest possible annual operating cost

• No compromises to science, safety, and data integrity

• Incorporation of established change control processes, risk

management process, policies for adding new science...


Baseline Design

• 4 Global sites

• 3 Regional cabled sites in the NE Pacific

• 2 Coastal arrays: Mid-Atlantic Pioneer Array, PNW Endurance Array

• Each scale incorporates fixed and mobile assets

• Cyberinfrastructure: enables adaptive sampling, custom observatory views, collaborative analysis

• Interfaces for education users

OL Board of Trustees October 22, 2010 5

Coastal and Global Scale Nodes (CGSN)

Global

Pioneer

Endurance


Regional Scale

OOI assets off PNW coast are unique

Cable provides high power and bandwidth to

- Instrumented nodes on Juan de Fuca plate

- full water column moorings at Axial Volcano and Hydrate Ridge

- 2 moorings of Endurance Array connected to the cable


Creates an interactive ocean laboratory integrated by a leading-edge, multi-scalar software tools.

Creates an interactive ocean laboratory integrated by a leading-edge, multi-scalar software tools.

Cyberinfrastructure

open access...

fueling science, education, and policy

open access...

fueling science, education, and policy


Construction Review - June 2010

Positives (quotes from the panel report)

• Significant progress has been realized over the first 9 months of

the project.

• The COL project team holds the project to high standards and

seems truly dedicated and concerned about project cost, schedule,

and performance

• The Panel is enormously impressed and encouraged by OOI’s

efforts over the past year


Construction Review - June 2010

Areas needing improvement

•Scheduling

•Safety and quality assurance

•More efficient management structure

•More frequent engineering design reviews

•Contingency plans for vessel use


O&M Review - August 2010

Modest encouragement

“The panel is optimistic that OOI can achieve operational

success within the general budget and schedule framework

outlined by NSF. We anticipate that this will not come about

without some changes in staffing and structure, but based on

the information we have seen, we view the general plan as

viable, and the overall approach as appropriate.”


O&M Review - August 2010

Areas needing improvement

• Experienced O&M staff at IOs

• More detailed budget / cost analysis

• Data management and planning (links to MREFC)

• Clearer description of the transition from construction to O&M

• Risk analysis - in several areas


O&M

Important upcoming O&M deliverables

• Integrated O&M Plan by November 15

•Rigorous cost analysis of 2011 by November 15

•Data Management Plan by January 1

•Full analysis of steady-state O&M costs (2015 and

beyond) to be completed in 2011


New

Organizational changes within OOI Project Office and OL

• New Senior Systems Engineer - Ed Chapman

• Eliminated Project Director position in late August

• Moved Schedule/EV under Project Manager in late August

• Science Communication Director (part-time OOI) moved to IODP

full-time in July. Advertising for full-time Communication Manager

• New OL financial administrator largely dedicated to OOI

• Preparing advertisement for O&M Manager - current manager

has accepted a senior management position in private industry


New

International cooperation

• Europe: NSF and EU will be developing formal collaboration

between OOI and EMSO

• Argentina, Chile: working on logistical issues

• POGO meeting in Jan 2011 to further the international

understanding of the project


Gaps

•Some high-value work elements are behind schedule

•Procurements have been a problem

•Still understaffed across the project even with

remarkable growth over past 12 months

•Under pressure to show improvements in progress over

the next few months

•Web site and external communications


Progress based on Earned Value

Cumulative-to-Date Earned Value Schedule Variance: - $20.146 M ($48,739K – $68,885K)Cumulative-to-Date Earned Value Cost Variance: $ 5.91 M ($48,739K – $42,829K)Cumulative-to-Date Earned Schedule Variance: 3.20 Months


Staffing ProgressC o n s t r u c t i o n S t a f f i n g - O O I

0

2 0

4 0

6 0

8 0

1 0 0

1 2 0

1 4 0

1 6 0

1 8 0

S e p 0 9 O c t 0 9 N o v 0 9 D e c 0 9 J a n 1 0 F e b 1 0 M a r 1 0 A p r 1 0 M a y 1 0 J u n 1 0 J u l 1 0 A u g 1 0 S e p 1 0 O c t 1 0 N o v 1 0 D e c 1 0

FTEs .

P l a n n e d

A c t u a l

A n t i c i p a t e d

The OOI project has implemented a 2.7 fold increase in staff over the past 12 months. Initial staff will triple by December 2010.


Action Plan

Our adjustments as Year 2 begins

• Continued acceleration of staffing across the project

• Unfinished Year 1 work will be completed with ‘surged’ resources

• Some Year 2 work may be outsourced or reassigned

• Procurement process has had intense focus for past 2 months -

major procurements will occur by end of 2010

• ‘replan’ of the project schedule will be conducted over the next four

months


Education and Public Engagement

•RFP issued in July

•Responses received by August 23

•Source selection panel convened Sept 8-9

•Clarification questions posed to responders with late Oct

deadline for submission

•Expect final selection within next two weeks, award to

follow as quickly as contracting process permits


Advisory actions

OOI PAC providing excellent feedback

New UNOLS committee just formed - Ocean Observing

Science Committee (OOSC) - with a charge that goes

beyond OOI

PAC and OOSC will have ex-officio representation at

each other’s meetings


Workshops

“External” - NSF supported

Subject to proposal pressure and funding availability -

one has been funded with FY10 $$ - Shelf-Slope

processes

Need pressure from outside OOI to convince OCE and

GEO to issue ‘Dear Colleague’ letters

Internal - OOI supported

Focus on sampling, data, and science scenarios


Construction Challenges

Transition from planning to building

•Must have systems engineering practices in place

•Make sure business processes can accommodate 5

to 10-fold increase - contracts, funding, personnel

Preparing for the pace of construction

•Sufficient numbers of skilled staff

•Vetted schedules

Planning team may not be the building team

OOI Program Update Tim Cowles

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