When I first set out to write this article it seemed a fairly straightforward topic.

Perhaps the most critical equipment and systems in any critical facility are the monitoring and control systems.

The staff that’s entrusted to operate and maintain critical facilities are the most critical and valuable assets there are in the overall scheme of sustained continuous operations.

We often measure data centers and other critical facilities in terms of capacity. Capacity is used to measure power, cooling, and of course space. Saying a facility has 50,000 sq ft of computer room space doesn’t really describe its actual capacity.

There are industries where typical sites have accurate and comprehensive documentation.

In or around November 2006, I co-authored a white paper with Vali Sorell (vice president, Syska Hennessy Group) that calculated and compared the energy efficiency of cooling strategies employed in most data centers.

Many corporations and other large operations that previously would only consider owning and operating their own data centers are now considering moving at least parts of their enterprise into collocation sites.

The dictionary defines emergency as “an unexpected and sudden event that must be dealt with urgently.” It defines preparedness as “readiness for action.” So, emergency preparedness is being ready for sudden, unexpected events.

An absolute best practice for critical facilities is a site-specific performance-based training program.

Formal commissioning is now an accepted practice and included in almost all new data center construction projects