The 7th Accelerator Reliability Workshop (ARW 2019), an international gathering focused on accelerator operation, was held for the first time in China from Nov. 11-15. The successful workshop was hosted by the Dongguan Campus of the Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) and held at the South Campus of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou. More than 110 accelerator experts attended.

Eleven scientific sessions were held. Altogether, attendees made 25 oral presentations and 45 poster presentations. The workshop covered a wide range of topics including reliability methodologies, performance tracking, maintenance, reliability before design, fault investigation optimizing availability, machine learning tutorial, recovering from downtime, software, accelerator systems, innovations in accelerator automation and robotics, and big data and machine learning. Attendees shared their experiences, including both achievements and challenges. Participants also spent an afternoon touring the China Spallation Neutron Source, a brand new facility operated by the Dongguan Campus of IHEP, which opened to users in 2018.

As one of the most important international workshops in the field of accelerator operation and maintenance, ARW attracts experts from world-renowned national laboratories, universities, and research institutions. Launched in 2002, the biennial meeting centers on discussing reliable accelerator operating techniques and sharing experience. Attendees also discuss key technical issues, accelerator design and construction, and the engineering management of accelerators.

ARW 2019 received strong support from local official organizations such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Sun Yat-sen University. It was sponsored by Beijing He-Racing Technology Co., Ltd. and Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable Co., Ltd.