The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is a joint project between astronomical organizations in
Europe, North America, and East Asia, in collaboration with the Republic of Chile. ALMA will consist of at least 54
twelve-meter antennas and 12 seven-meter antennas operating as an aperture synthesis array in the (sub)millimeter
wavelength range. It is the responsibility of ALMA AIV to deliver the fully assembled, integrated, and verified antennas
(array elements) to the telescope array.
After an initial phase of infrastructure setup AIV activities began when the first ALMA antenna and subsystems became
available in mid 2008. During the second semester of 2009 a project-wide effort was made to put in operation a first 3-
antenna interferometer at the Array Operations Site (AOS). In 2010 the AIV focus was the transition from event-driven
activities towards routine series production. Also, due to the ramp-up of operations activities, AIV underwent an
organizational change from an autonomous department into a project within a strong matrix management structure.
When the subsystem deliveries stabilized in early 2011, steady-state series processing could be achieved in an efficient
and reliable manner. The challenge today is to maintain this production pace until completion towards the end of 2013.
This paper describes the way ALMA AIV evolved successfully from the initial phase to the present steady-state of array
element series processing. It elaborates on the different project phases and their relationships, presents processing
statistics, illustrates the lessons learned and relevant best practices, and concludes with an outlook of the path towards
completion.

/pdf/assembly-integration-and-verification-aiv-in-alma-series-2sklehah5z.pdf

Assembly, integration, and verification (AIV) in ALMA: series processing of array elements

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) will consist of at least 54 twelve-meter antennas and 12
seven-meter antennas operating as an aperture synthesis array in the (sub)millimeter wavelength range. The ALMA
System Integration Science Team (SIST) is a group of scientists and data analysts whose primary task is to verify and
characterize the astronomical performance of array elements as single dish and interferometric systems. The full set of
tasks is required for the initial construction phase verification of every array element, and these can be divided roughly
into fundamental antenna performance tests (verification of antenna surface accuracy, basic tracking, switching, and on-the-fly rastering) and astronomical radio verification tasks (radio pointing, focus, basic interferometry, and end-to-end
spectroscopic verification). These activities occur both at the Operations Support Facility (just below 3000 m elevation)
and at the Array Operations Site at 5000 m.

ALMA array element astronomical verification

The problem reporting and tracking system (PRTS) is the ALMA system to register operational problems, track unplanned corrective operational maintenance activities and follow the investigations of all problems or possible issues arisen in operation activities. After the PRTS implementation appeared several issues that finally produced a lack in the management of the investigations, problems to produce KPIs, loss of information, among others. In order to improve PRTS, we carried out a process to review the status of system, define a set of modifications and implement a solution; all according to the stakeholder requirements. In this work, we shall present the methodology applied to define a set of concrete actions at the basis of understanding the complexity of the problem, which finally got to improve the interactions between different subsystems and enhance the communication at different levels.

Problem reporting and tracking system: a systems engineering challenge

A team of researchers worked with public health officials and clinical decision makers to create real-time models to help predict COVID-19 cases and hospital bed needs in the East of England. These models used up-to-date data and allowed officials to explore different scenarios and make informed plans. The models have also been applied in other countries and can be a valuable tool in future epidemics.

An Adaptive Research Approach to COVID-19 Forecasting for Regional Health Systems in England

Pool testing with dilution effects and heterogeneous priors

During the COVID-19 crisis, the Chilean Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Sciences, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation partnered with the Instituto Sistemas Complejos de Ingeniería (ISCI) and the telecommunications company ENTEL, to develop innovative methodologies and tools that placed operations research (OR) and analytics at the forefront of the battle against the pandemic. These innovations have been used in key decision aspects that helped shape a comprehensive strategy against the virus, including tools that (1) provided data on the actual effects of lockdowns in different municipalities and over time; (2) helped allocate limited intensive care unit (ICU) capacity; (3) significantly increased the testing capacity and provided on-the-ground strategies for active screening of asymptomatic cases; and (4) implemented a nationwide serology surveillance program that significantly influenced Chile’s decisions regarding vaccine booster doses and that also provided information of global relevance. Significant challenges during the execution of the project included the coordination of large teams of engineers, data scientists, and healthcare professionals in the field; the effective communication of information to the population; and the handling and use of sensitive data. The initiatives generated significant press coverage and, by providing scientific evidence supporting the decision making behind the Chilean strategy to address the pandemic, they helped provide transparency and objectivity to decision makers and the general population. According to highly conservative estimates, the number of lives saved by all the initiatives combined is close to 3,000, equivalent to more than 5% of the total death toll in Chile associated with the pandemic until January 2022. The saved resources associated with testing, ICU beds, and working days amount to more than 300 million USD. Funding: This work was supported by the ANID PIA/APOYO [Grant AFB180003 and AFB220003], used to hire research assistants for developing solutions, information systems, data management, and training of field staff. Fieldwork was funded by the Ministry of Health of the Government of Chile. M. Goic acknowledges the financial support of Fondecyt [Project 1221711] and the Institute for Research in Market Imperfections and Public Policy [Grant IS130002 ANID]. D. Sauré acknowledges the financial support of Fondecyt [Project 1211407]. Finally, G. Weintraub and A. Carranza thank the Stanford RISE COVID-19 Crisis Response Faculty Seed Grant Program for helpful financial support.

Analytics Saves Lives During the COVID-19 Crisis in Chile

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) will be composed of 66 high precision antennae located at
5000 meters altitude in northern Chile This paper will present the methodology, tools and processes adopted to system
engineer a project of high technical complexity, by system engineering teams that are remotely located and from
different cultures, and in accordance with a demanding schedule and within tight financial constraints The technical and
organizational complexity of ALMA requires a disciplined approach to the definition, implementation and verification of
the ALMA requirements During the development phase, System Engineering chairs all technical reviews and facilitates
the resolution of technical conflicts We have developed analysis tools to analyze the system performance, incorporating
key parameters that contribute to the ultimate performance, and are modeled using best estimates and/or measured values
obtained during test campaigns Strict tracking and control of the technical budgets ensures that the different parts of the
system can operate together as a whole within ALMA boundary conditions System Engineering is responsible for
acceptances of the thousands of hardware items delivered to Chile, and also supports the software acceptance process In
addition, System Engineering leads the troubleshooting efforts during testing phases of the construction project Finally,
the team is conducting System level verification and diagnostics activities to assess the overall performance of the
observatory This paper will also share lessons learned from these system engineering and verification approaches

https://www.eso.org/sci/libraries/SPIE2012/8449-6.pdf

System engineering of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array

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Analytics Saves Lives During the COVID-19 Crisis in Chile

System engineering of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array