Presented as part of the launch of the SEEEI Computer Facilities Forum on January 20, 2025
Data Center facility planning and construction project is a unique project in the building world. The purpose of this presentation is to highlight the differences and point out the unique challenges of the project manager.
OPR (owner project requirements) stage and Definition of Needs – A computer facility is characterized by distinctive needs that evolves from the customer’s requirements and the availability requirements of the equipment and application. As we are required to build a facility for very large customers (Hyperscale), the requirements are becoming more and more unique. Common characteristics demanding almost absolute availability, along with characteristics that distinguish each of the large customers.
Some of the features of computer facilities include:
- High energy consumption for the whole facility
- Requirement for multiple power connections along with supply constraints from utility.
- High rack power density
- Searching for power supply alternatives
- Striving for energy efficiency.
In Israel, in addition to the above-mentioned characteristics, there are also requirements for physical protection, underground construction, and continuity, which make the design of systems in general and air-consuming systems such as chillers and generators much more complex.
The main difference between a “regular” construction project and the construction of a data center is the understanding that the facility is a machine whose function is to serve as a reliable platform for the installation of IT systems, and less a building with design characteristics. Whenever protection is required, structural complexity is added to the machine.
The project manager must understand data centers, as he is required to be a partner in the characterization stage, and at the same time he must choose a suitable design team, one that is familiar with the complexity of data center design and its unique configuration.
It is necessary to define to the team at the initial stage what the planning stages will be, the design review stages and especially the unknowns, since it is not always clear at the initiation stage who the end customer will be and what his requirements will be at the fit-out stage. This requires the design team to have a level of flexibility in system design into a rigid shell.
In any project, it is necessary to make project related decisions, both regarding the configuration and the planning and regarding construction process. Since the MEP components are significantly higher in the project, the project manager is required to have deep understanding of these systems to be able to make knowledgeable and integrative decisions and not to rely on the recommendations of the consultants.
The schedule of data center project has, as in any project, financial significance. Nevertheless in data center project the delivery and operation date is MEP dependent and the rent fees is power related much more than payment per area.
In addition, understanding of the project manager in building control systems (BMS) is required. BMS in these types of facilities is not only a display window. It is critical for the operation of the building, for detecting faults, and as an infrastructure for measuring SLA and billing customers. The project manager must verify this system does not become part of the critical path nor at planning stage and certainly not of the implementation.
During the planning stage, the project manager is required to be attentive to the consultants on one hand, and to ensure coordination between them in the other, both in terms of system coordination and in terms of energy budget coordination. In these types of facilities, it is also required to integrate the commissioning agent into the team to serves as “red” team during planning stage, and later on to plan and to lead the testing and validation process.
The project manager must decide, together with the client, how to separate both the planning and the execution into separate blocks. On early planning stages, it is necessary to decide on the separation into implementation stages (excavation, core and shell and MEP systems) and separation of the procurement of LLI (Long Lead Items) from the rest of the tenders. Contracting methods should be considered (design-bid-build or design-build). Examination of methods such as COST+ might be beneficial to enhance the contractor’s focus on the execution and schedules and not in search of cost gaps.
During the construction period, it is necessary to allocate sufficient time for the execution of MEP systems, since the ratio between the time required for the construction of core, shell, and finishing is completely different from a “regular” project. The execution MEP systems, their startup and the testing of each system separately and all of them in an integrative manner requires substantial time.
Understanding that the project management and design of data center is different from other facilities and choosing an expert, knowledgeable and experienced team for such projects will benefit the project and all stakeholders.
