Data Centre Commissioning

Mission critical buildings require a full commissioning process to ensure all systems perform as specified and single points of failure are identified and tested. AESG take a process driven approach to ensure mission critical buildings are handed over fully operational.

Testing Hierarchy

Pre-mobilisation Discovery & Planning

There will be a substantial amount of preparation that will need to be completed during the initial stages of the project deployment, project managers and construction teams will need to work as one team to assist with the commissioning development scope and review the project design brief.

One of the key factors in the early stages is to conduct a commissionability review of the design, develop a detailed commissioning plan and develop a commissioning issues log.

Dependant on the level of deployment AESG will develop and submit testing scripts, test sheets, method statements and data center related risk assessments.

Level 1: Factory Witness Test (FWT)

At AESG we never assume that products and systems will operate seamlessly unless we have witnessed at first hand the offsite testing, not all products undertake a witnessed factory acceptance test, from experience there are also VE changes that have been implemented at this stage that have not been checked with regards to protocol compliance, this is a critical factor to successfully ensure integration within the data center network. Costly and time-consuming issues can be avoided with a thorough interrogation long before any product arrives on site.

Level 2: Visual inspections (Site Observation Reports)

This is also a critical factor on fast-track sites. Making sure that any delivered equipment is visually inspected for signs of damage before and post installation on site, defects should be immediately reported and swiftly rectified. The DATA + system utilising tablet technology can generate a unique QR coding system fixed to the equipment, this will provide the asset/specification of the equipment and associated commissioning data during construction and post-completion.

Level 3: Site Acceptance Testing (SAT)

Each piece of equipment must be physically and independently tested on site to verify performance criteria and ensure alignment with the design and specification. This is considered as the SAT (Site acceptance testing). The physical testing operation is not synonymous with the release of the testing documentation, this needs to be independently tracked to ensure the process is completed.

Level 4: System Operation Verification (OAT)

Data networks are at the heart of data centre systems. All data transmission networks are to be independently certified ahead of any integrated systems testing to ensure the communication between equipment is functional. The isolation and certification of these networks is the foundation to full operations testing, this needs to be managed meticulously in a systematic process to avoid project delays.

Level 5: Integrated Systems Testing (ISAT)

The final integrated system test is the opportunity to observe the performance of a data centre at maximum design load. Absolute due diligence is fundamental at this stage, measuring and accurately recording the systems utilising the DCIM to demonstrate the stability and recovery of the mechanical and electrical systems during failure scenarios to ensure operational compliance. Efficient progression to this stage marks the operational handover of the data centre.

AESG always initiate detailed conversations with customers and key project stakeholders about the importance of commissioning if you want to meet expectations for a faster day one operational data centre facility.

By identifying those critical pathways and processes that can have the most detrimental impact on program, AESG can enhance project collaboration to deliver a better outcome. As technology advances, AESG can expect to see dynamic live reporting fall within our remit however our perspective will always remain the same, commissioning at this level is a critical activity to achieve successful handover of the data centre.