Reducing data centre risk & energy consumption through stakeholder collaboration

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Reducing data centre risk and energy consumption through stakeholder collaboration

Session 4 Paper 2, Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh, 14-15 April 2016

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The construction project cycle involves the contribution of several stakeholders at different project stages, all of whom ultimately influence the building performance. The challenge is how to successfully transfer knowledge between the various parties and deliver an optimised facility which performs as designed and meets the client requirements, including energy efficiency and low total cost of ownership. A collaborative workshop approach for data centre projects has been developed which has proven particularly effective when used to develop the design brief and optimise existing facilities. The data centre industry has the additional difficulty of bridging ICT and facilities management (FM) disciplines. The workshops allow stakeholders to gain a common understanding of the issues and include learning modules and analysis to enhance their technical knowledge. Most failures are caused by human error and hence awareness and learning are essential to improve reliability. Case studies include examples where these programmes have enabled operators to make significant operating cost reductions with short paybacks. This methodology whereby consultant knowledge of industry best practice is combined with maintenance team site knowledge helps operators to take ownership of continuous improvement.