As mentioned in our June and July articles, CERN has put in place a structure to meet the need to manage and oversee concurrent activities during Long Shutdown 3 (LS3). One of the key measures is systematically declaring interventions.

Why declare your activities?

This is a key step in obtaining formal authorisation to carry out your activity at the chosen time and place. It requires you to first check the safety compatibility of your intervention in terms of working method, location and schedule.

Why use IMPACT?

The use of IMPACT, which has been a flagship CERN tool for more than ten years, is growing, with several thousand requests per year, for both above-ground and underground activities. A new interface has been in place since May 2026 and offers the following features:

• Routing: your request is automatically sent to the stakeholders concerned for approval or information, depending on the location and time period.
• Access: once approved, the request is added to the authorisations (via ADaMS) granting access to certain areas.
• Centralisation: other related authorisation requests are stored together (e.g. fire permit, IS37 authorisation to disable level 3 fire alarms, lockouts, etc.).
• Traceability: safety documents (working procedures, VIC reports, DIMRs, WDPs, etc.) must be entered in the tool in order to keep a complete record of the activity.

Please note: for Category 1 operations, the use of IMPACT is at the discretion of the Project Leader.

Remember:

• Plan ahead: ideally, submit your requests two weeks in advance.
• Be specific: describe your activities clearly and fill in all fields in an understandable way.
• Optimise: limit the duration of additional permits (fire permit, IS37 authorisation to disable level 3 fire alarms, etc.).
• Wait for approval: go ahead with your intervention only if all requests have been approved.

Need help with IMPACT?

• Take the IMPACT e-learning course.
• Make use of the pop-up writing tips integrated directly in the tool.

Check out the nine CERN Safety Fundamentals. Safety first. Safety always.