Data Center Journal

VOLUME 52 | OCTOBER 2017

Issue link: https://cp.revolio.com/i/886554

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 13 of 32

THE DATA CENTER JOURNAL | 11 www.datacenterjournal.com space. Supplemented by informa- tion obtained during commissioning, photos and foundational knowledge gives operators a baseline on which to adjudge the functioning of sys- tems and troubleshoot shortfalls in performance. Training Provisions for proper initial and ongoing training are critical to effective building operations and can be aided by both consultants and vendors. Consultants should provide specifications for initial training, in- cluding content requirements, nature of hands-on versus classroom training and outcome expectations. So oen, training holds little value because it's inapplicable to the project or because it doesn't identify interdependencies with the rest of the site equipment. e material should be customized for relevance to the opera- tor, including specific nomenclatures, equipment options for the project equipment/system and omission of unnecessary equipment information and sales pitches. On-site training by the equipment vendor and/or commis- sioning consultant oen benefits from inclusion of effective visual aids and a refined presentation with leave-behind information. Providing operators with the abil- ity to physically operate the equipment during training will give them confi- dence to do so in live operation. It's particularly true in the mission-critical areas where operators are generally precluded from routinely operating equipment other than in designated risk windows. e hands-on effort should also include exposure to and practice of procedures including those for normal operation, maintenance and emergency configurations. Capturing and producing video that is le behind for operations is a good way to support refresher and new hire training. OCCUPANCY PHASE Once the building is occupied and the operations staff takes over, good vendors and consultants oen continue to supplement operator workloads. When the daily grind of operations begins, they can oen be too heavily loaded to operate proactively. Some examples of how vendors and consultants offer support are the following: • Development of elements such as improved and updated essential documentation, including emer- gency operating procedures, color- ized single-line documentation, condensed O&Ms and annotated drawing documentation to locate everything from duct smoke detec- tors to addressable fire alarms on individual drawings. • Particularly in more-mature build- ings, the performance shortfalls aren't readily apparent. In these cases, consultants and vendors oen provide facility evaluation, energy audits and retro-commissioning support. Once such an assessment is performed, specific and actionable problems can be defined and poten- tial solutions developed for action. e point is that active and insightful engagement of consul- tants and vendors with the facility operations team enables the team to gain a collective understanding of what's needed and to develop viable solutions. CONCLUSION e vendor and consultant community complement the opera- tions team of today in ways that are highly beneficial, yet have been less evident in the past. ey range from construction efforts, when a knowl- edgeable third-party representative can advocate on behalf of a busy operations team, to adds, moves and changes as well as in support of outage or near-miss root-cause analysis and report development. In business-case and budget development, as well as a host of other areas, strategic providers and operators have realized oppor- tunity through cooperation, working together to fill voids in the face of operational challenges. n About the authors: DLB Associates Consulting Engineers (www.dlbassociates.com) has been in business since 1980. DLB's global data center experience includes over 4,000 MW of critical (IT) power, data center campuses that total over 4,500 ACRES and thousands of mission critical projects with a combined raised floor (white space) area of over 16 MILLION square feet. DLB have provided design, commissioning and operations support services for a wide variety of large and small data center clients including hyperscale. Brian Durham is a DLB Principal and the firm's Field Services Group Leader in responsible charge of construction, commissioning and facility operations service offerings for DLB. Brian is an experienced people and project manager with extensive knowledge in areas ranging from construction and program management to commissioning and mission critical operations. Over a 21 year engineering / construction career, with 18 years in the data center industry, Brian has worked closely with numerous operations teams to improve their effectiveness. Richard Dennis is a recognized commissioning expert for data centers and other mission critical facilities. During his 40-year career, Richard has gained experience in engineering design and programming, construction management and facility operations, in addition to commissioning. Richard is a Professional Engineer who is a BCxA and ASHRAE Certified Commissioning Professional and also holds a LEED BD&C accreditation.

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Data Center Journal - VOLUME 52 | OCTOBER 2017