Mission-Critical Facilities - “Store Fronts” of the Future

How to build data centers and colocation facilities smarter, faster, better in a “24x7” world. DPR Powers up to provide comprehensive services.

The explosion of the Internet, coupled with the growing telecommunications industry, has given birth to a new realm of projects - designed and built specifically to handle Internet hosting, e-commerce telecom switching and data processing operations. These mission-critical facilities must provide users with continuous up time to meet the needs of the “24x7” business environment. Whether the facility is a corporate data processing center, call center, e-commerce or colocation hosting center, down time for any reason is not allowed.

Just as important as the facility itself is the time to market. As companies race to beat the competition, project delivery expectations are rising, and “fast-track” is now the norm. To ensure a smooth, timely and cost-efficient delivery process, DPR recently formed a data/com facility group, featuring a team of estimators, M/E/P specialists and project managers, to provide comprehensive services that take these technically challenging projects from building evaluation and preconstruction through startup and commissioning.

“Setting the Stage” Preconstruction

Upfront planning sets the stage for the entire project. During preconstruction, DPR develops action plans for everything from site selection through design and procurement of long-lead-time equipment and materials.

Selection of the right project team is also critical in this stage. Often the telecommunications and e-commerce industries require multiple facility locations in different regions to take advantage of major Internet fiber portals. By picking team members who have national resources, owners can reduce a team’s learning curve - saving time and money - as well as ensure that facilities are being built to the same exacting standards each time.

Once the team is in place, “act one” begins with a meeting to develop a fully defined facility-planning guide, which outlines the various physical design and related requirements. A detailed conceptual budget and a schedule model for all design, permitting, buy-out, construction and equipment activities also need to be outlined and discussed. Constant communication is crucial to the success of these fast-track projects. Although owner mandated deadlines and the need to get the product to market may compress upfront planning, preconstruction plays an extremely important role in the delivery process and can save valuable time in the long run.

“The Show” Implementation

The show must always go on. Just as the cast works closely together during a production, a project team must perform with the same mindset and remain flexible to adjust to any issues that arise. An experienced team understands that once the facility goes live at the end of the project, the facility needs to be ready for no fault tolerance.

Having the entire team on board at the outset is one way to ensure a seamless transition from preconstruction through project completion. The early involvement of trades also allows design coordination, detailing, material ordering and pre-task planning to start early on.

The following are additional critical factors for successfully delivering these highly technical, fast-track projects:

Project design and delivery approach:

The customer’s goals and objectives should be reflected in the project design and delivery approach. A due diligence investigation should be conducted that analyzes various building conditions, the regulatory impact of locations arising from local building codes and zoning ordinances, and any special approvals that may be required.

Site Selection/Building Evaluation:

“Location, Location, Bandwidth?” The old real estate adage is changing in today’s high-tech world as access to Internet connectivity plays a larger role in a company’s real estate decisions. E-commerce companies want to be located as close as possible to Washington D.C. and San Jose, Calif. - the two hubs where major networks converge and pass Internet traffic around the world. As real estate around these hubs is at a premium, leases are being signed quickly, sometimes without a full-site/building evaluation, leaving the owner vulnerable to a variety of factors that may negatively effect facility development.

Procurement of Long-Lead Items:

Long-lead equipment procurement can make or break a project. Once equipment is identified as being long lead, the team should manage the vendor selection process, track fabrication and delivery timeframes, and coordinate delivery and installation. This ensures timely delivery and a coordinated installation.

City Permitting:

Maintaining strong relationships with municipalities and government agencies in metropolitan areas is particularly helpful when building on the fast track. An upfront, in-depth knowledge of a city’s various requirements and regulations can expedite a project.

Availability of Power/ Fiber Optic Connection:

The availability of permanent power from the electric utility is critical to equipment startup once it arrives on site. The team works to ensure that adequate power is available at the required milestone dates and also that fiber optic cabling is available on-site when needed.

System Startup and Commissioning:

Because of the importance of equipment startup in these facilities, a mechanical and electrical coordinator should be assigned to work with the engineers from the outset to conduct a detailed survey, walk down and punchlist for each system prior to startup.

As time is usually a priority for developing these mission-critical facilities, the final and most important requirements for the project team are to continuously think proactively and remain as flexible as possible while building smarter, faster, better in “real time.”