Progress of the general control system for the Materials and Life Science Experimental Facility in J-PARC

For safe and stable beam operation, the general control system (GCS) of the Materials and Life Science Experimental Facility (MLF) comprises several subsystems, such as an integral control, interlock, server, network, and timing distribution systems. Since the first beam injection in 2008, GCS has operated stably without any serious troubles, even with annual upgrades to the target devices for ramping up beam power and annual incremental upgrades of the user systems. In recent years, however, it has been significantly improved with regard to sustainable long-term operation and maintenance. The monitor and operation system of GCS has been upgraded by changing its framework software to improve its potential flexibility for maintenance. The interlock system was also modified in accordance with a reexamination of the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC) risk management system. This study reports the recent progress of GCS. (author)