French Particle Accelerator Crews Digitally Transforming Paper Processes Since 2004

Particle Acceleration company ESRF, the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, is using Hexagon’s j5 Operations Logbook, j5 Shift Handover and j5 Permit to Work applications along with j5 IndustraForm Templates at their site in Grenoble, France. How are j5 Operations Management Solutions helping ESRF reach their goals of operating a safe and efficient facility?

The ESRF operation is managed from the control room by a two-person crew, rotating over 24 hours in three shifts of eight hours. These crews are responsible for documenting all their observations and actions. Before ESRF implemented j5 Operations Management Solutions in 2004, most of their procedures were written in a paper template format. The biggest limitation of handwritten logbooks was the difficulty of retrieving old information when needed for inspection and review.

ESRF needed a solution that was customizable and flexible to adapt to their specific requirements, and Hexagon’s j5 Operations Management Solutions was able to meet their needs. The team found customizing j5 Operations Management Solutions easy and was able to adapt quickly to the fill-in-the-form procedure without any previous coding experience. Benefits of j5 Operations Logbook included its ability to use any standard database (Oracle, SQL Server, and Postgres), and it only had to be installed once onto an ESRF server PC, while still granting every user access via a standard web browser.

For ESRF, the most significant advantages gained from digitally transforming their paper processes have been the increased accuracy of recording information, time-savings through search and filter capabilities, and heightened visibility to the team and management.

“We have been extremely pleased with this product for more than ten years. It offers the advantage of having a proven industrial solution whilst having the option to provide any complementary module that you would need for a specific requirement,” said Laurent Hardy, Operations Manager, ESRF.

Read the entire case study to see how ESRF was successfully able to implement Hexagon’s j5 Operations Management Solutions to their advantage!