Proof of Concept Experience in the SPES Experiment: First Solutions for Potentiometers Replacement in System Maintenance

SPES (Selective Production of Exotic Species) is a large facility, currently under advanced construction at the INFN-LNL (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro) for the production of Radioactive Ion Beams (RIBs). Coordinated efforts are being dedicated to the development and upgrading of both the accelerator complex and the up-to-date experimental set-ups. This paper describes a work of upgrading as far as the inspection and maintenance of the system is concerned, and it deals with human-centered design methods to reduce the time spent in the radioactive environment of the facility during ordinary maintenance operations and to simplify them, also considering stress conditions of the operator and the mandatory wearable radiation protection devices (such as tracksuit, gloves, oxygen tank mask) which make simple operations difficult.