On 20 April 2014, an agreement for reconstruction of the roof of SESAME's experimental hall was signed with the contractor who built the SESAME building. The roof caved in on 14 December 2013 during three days of continuous, unusually severe snowstorms with intermittent rain and sleet.
Two independent reports, one by an international committee consisting of two experts from CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research), one from Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A and one from PSI (Paul Scherrer Institute), and a second by a Jordanian committee consisting of two experts from the University of Jordan and two from construction companies in Jordan, both concluded that the roof collapsed due to the snow load which caused failure of the gusset plates that led to severe deformation of the main truss. The two committees had been set up to identify what had caused the roof to cave in.
In the agreement signed with the contractor, the contractor will remove the collapsed roof and replace it with a new one having a new design. The crane in the experimental hall for removal of sections of the roof of the shielding wall when this is needed to install or remove magnets, girders and other heavy objects inside the shielded area will also be replaced. Two experts from the SESAME side (one from PSI and one from Elettra) will review and validate the new design of the roof, including the shop drawings. Construction of the roof will be under the engineering supervision, quality assurance and quality control of SESAME.
Construction of the roof will be completed within 6 months of the date of signature of the agreement, and there will be a 10-year warranty starting from the date that the roof is formally handed over to SESAME.
The estimated total cost of the work to be carried out is some US$1.3 million. US$500K of this cost will be covered by funds originating from Jordanian sources. The remaining cost will be borne by the contractor.
During work to be carried out on the roof the SESAME staff will continue their normal activities in their offices and laboratories. The SESAME Safety Committee will be issuing a set of rules to allow the staff to move around the building freely, and strong emphasis in these rules will be laid on their safety. An alternative work place has also been arranged at the IMAN1 supercomputer site in case this should be needed during some of the construction stages.