General Test Beam Rules & Safety Instructions

The test beams at DESY II are available to any interested research group. Please consult the DESY test beam schedule and contact the test beam coordinators to request beam time. Since 2014, the test beam coordinators are sending out regulary calls for test beam projects - subscribe here to be added to the e-mail list for the call for proposals.

Experiments at the test beams are approved and scheduled by the test beam coordinators.

 

Request for Beam Time

To request beam time, please login into our registration system and fill the Request Form. In case you don't have an account for our registration system, please contact us: testbeam-coor@desy.de.

A slot at the DESY II Test Beam Facility is usually one week long, Monday 0800 - Monday 0800. Since there are no extra-spaces available to prepare your setup, work in the test beam hall can usually only begin when your beam time starts. Additional time for preparatory work during e.g. machine development weeks or other free time slots needs to be explicitly requested and approved in order to minimize conflicts with other activities. Please note, that supporting the installation of user equipment is possible only to a very limited extend.

We have two times a year a call for beam time for the next half year which is distrubuted over the test beam announcements mailing list (click here to subscribe). Outside of the calls, the remaining free slots can be requested any time and are distributed on a first-come first-served basis.

 

 

Preparations

User Registration

All users need to register in the Test Beam Registration-Tool. An invitation for the beam slot will be sent to the group leader a couple of weeks before the beam time starts.

A DACHS card is mandatory to get an access to the DESY test beam; it controls access to the huts and is required to set the interlock.

In case, you do not have a DACHS card, please be sure that you made your registration in time (i.e. at least one week before your beam time starts), following the invitation from the test beam coordinators which contains a link to your testbeam registration page. The registration data will be used to issue a valid DACHS card for you.
DACHS cards can be obtained at DESY, in bldg. 6/ R110 (Mon-Thu 8:00-12:00 and 13:00-16:00, Fri 8:00-12:00 and 13:00-14:00).

 

Hazardous Materials and Equipment

For safety purposes, gases, especially flammable ones, cryogenics and radioactive materials all qualify as hazardous material and special rules apply. In particular, their use needs to be announced beforehand and cleared with the test beam coordinators.

Especially for handling radioactive samples additional requirements will apply, please see this document

Use of laser systems of class 3R, 3B or 4 (DIN EN 60825-1, 11.2001) has to be announced at least 4 weeks beforehand, including a written risk assessment and a sketch of the planned setup / procedures. They need to be protected by a laser interlock system.
 

Dosimetry

No dosimeter is required for working at the test beam, unless additional radioactive material is in use.

 

Safety Requirements

Before the experiment starts installation at the test beam, the DESY test beam users group has to know the safety rules:

For this purpose it is necessary designate one person of the group, who is present during the entire beam time, (typically the project leader) as radiation and general safety contact. Additionally everybody who is working at the test beam has to attend a mandatory safety lecture. All users need to have a DACHS card to access the area. Finally, the setup has to be inspected by the test beam coordinator before taking data.

If there are special hazards, e.g. high voltages or flammable gases are used, an additional safety inspection by MEA and D5 might be required as well.

We offer a safety training Mondays 13:00 in the ATLAS Conference Room (Building 1c/room O1.310, 1st floor).

The safety training for the DESY II Test Beam Facility is valid for one year. The fulfillment of all safety requirements has to be documented by a signature of the above mentioned persons in the door form, which copy should be posted at the entrance door of the beam hut for the duration of the experiment. In this way the personnel of the hall and the safety group are kept informed about the ongoing activities at the test beam.

 

Data Taking

Only after one of the test beam coordinators has given his/her signature, the rights for the interlock system are given in the DACHS system.

Then, the experimenter takes over the responsibility for the radiation protection. In case of two groups working in one area in parallel, the leader of one group has to take the responsibility for the entire area.

All participants of the experiment have to learn how to use the test beams and the interlock system in time and respect all rules given in the safety instructions for the test beam facility (see above).

 

After Data-taking

After the end of the experiments all users have to remove their equipment and garbage from the test beam area. Approval from the test beam coordinators is necessary if equipment is left behind for later use. The test beam area will be inspected at the end of the period.

 

Shipping Equipment

It is the responsibility of the users to handle their shipment to and from the DESY II Test Beam Facility. DESY will take no responsibility.

Please use the following adress with your data to send your equipment to the test beam hall:

Your Name (Your Experiment Test Beam)
c/o Marcel Stanitzki/Ralf Diener/Norbert Meyners
Geb 27 - Halle 2 Nordtor
DESY Notkestr. 85
22607 Hamburg Germany

The first line is essentail to relate incoming shipments to the correct user group. Do not adress your shipping to an individual coordinator. If an email contact is needed for the shipping, please always use the general coordinators email adress.
Inform the coordinators of the shipment, preferably with a tracking number, and choose a shipping option where the custom duties are handled and paid by the sender.

Remember to send your equipment in time since shipping (incl. DESY internal transport) and customs can take some time.

Please contact the coordinators for return shipment, so we can provide you with the necessary customs forms.

 


        


Visiting the Test Beam Facility

If you want to visit the DESY II Test beam Facility, you can contact the coordinators to see when a tour would be possible.

For organizing tours or visits to the test beam facility, always contact the coordinators beforehand. Every visit and tour has to be approved by the coordinators. Tours may only be conducted by authorized tour guides and the maximum group size for a tour is 9 including the guide. Bigger groups can be split in smaller sub-groups, please contact the coordinators for detailed planning.