TPL - CRITICAL
No two data centre projects are the same. There are endless permutations of layout, UPS topography, power distribution, cooling systems, fire systems, security systems, and other elements that can be applied and all need to be exactly matched to client requirements.
The best approach for your design and build project will depend upon a number of factors including the requirements of the IT equipment, the physical characteristics of the building, your organisation’s demands in terms of resilience, energy efficiency, expandability, life span, and of course the budget.
Why choose TPL-Critical?
TPL are known throughout the industry as data centre design and build contractors. Over 30 years of specialist experience, a partnership approach and our commitment to innovation mean that clients can be confident that their data centre will exactly match their requirements, incorporate energy efficiency best practices and provide the level of resiliency necessary for supporting business needs today and tomorrow.
Our designed and built data centres are innovative, resilient and energy efficient, and as a company we continue to push the boundaries of technological innovation to ensure all our clients end up with a cost effective, efficient, scalable, facility
Our Methodology
The starting point for every project is for us to fully understand your specific drivers, requirements and constraints. You may already have a written project brief and specification which contains all the information required but if not, we can prepare this for you.
Our philosophy is always to work in partnership with our clients and we take care to ensure that all relevant stakeholders are engaged with at an early stage, either through our requirements analysis workshop method, or individually. This means that we have a full understanding of all needs, wishes and concerns, and the perfect foundation for our holistic data centre design and build solution, one which provides an appropriate infrastructure platform for your organisation.
New Build Design
Whatever the size or type of data centre project, the build phase involves the exact meeting of the detailed design specifications and budgets whilst remaining within the given time frame. Where designs have been prepared in-house or by an external third party without build expertise, engaging with data centre experts to facilitate the construction phase will result in a more successful, and cost effective facility build.
Why choose TPL-Critical?
TPL have over 30 years’ experience in building data centres. We have a thorough and holistic understanding of the entire data centre design and build process and are experts in understanding exact client requirements. Where the data centre design we are provided with does not exactly match the needs and requirements of the organisation, or is conceptual rather than practical, our in-house team are able to make adjustments to the specifications to ensure that the end result is in line with the original objective whilst remaining within budget.
Our expertise in data centre builds of all size and type, from change of use or refurbishment of an existing facility, means that we are able to identify and overcome any constraints, make recommendations where appropriate and effectively and efficiently manage your data centre construction.
Methodology
All build projects begin with key stakeholder meetings to discuss the proposed design documentation and its suitability to meet overall requirements. Once designs have been assessed, approved and all areas of concern identified our in-house team work closely with the client to develop a project management plan which includes all budgetary requirements, time frames and key milestones.
All TPL build clients are assigned a full time project manager and site supervisor giving access to a single point of contact for the duration of the process. Our involvement does not end with the completion of the build. In order to ensure that all clients have a ‘soft landing’, we offer support through the witness testing and full commissioning phases, offer training for client staff and offer up to 6 months post delivery support.
Initially developed for military deployment in the field, modular and containerised data centres have increased in popularity across all types of organisation over the past 10 years. Such solutions can enable an organisation to use space unsuitable for a brick and mortar data centre, reduce time frames or deploy a temporary facility with relative ease.
Why choose TPL-Critical?
Our vendor-neutrality and our ability to match a solution exactly to corporate requirements, means that TPL is the obvious choice for any company considering a modular or containerised data centre. We have a detailed understanding of all the different systems in the market place, their pros and cons, and their relevance to individual projects. Once we have an understanding of your project’s specific drivers, requirements and constraints, If a containerised or modular solution is right for you, we can assist you in selecting a solution that matches your need.
Methodology
Like all data centre design and deployment, our focus is on the drivers, requirements and constraints of the project in question. Through years of experience, we know that in some circumstances, although the client may feel a modular solution is the correct approach, an alternative solution would better match their needs. Equally there are projects where a modular of containerised solution is ideal. Once we have established that such a solution matches your overall requirements, we work in partnership with you to determine which of the many and varied solutions in the market match your particular need.
The hardware selected for an individual data centre project should always be driven by the needs of the client. Factors such as operational performance, approach temperatures, power factors and minimum fan speeds as well as regional supply security, servicing costs and parts availability need to be considered as well as associated costs and budgets. Global location, environmental conditions, budget, delivery deadline and energy efficiency are just some of the factors that can influence the equipment and manufacturers specified on any data centre project, but ultimately, all equipment specified should be aligned to overall data centre requirements.
Why choose TPL-Critical?
Our vendor neutrality sets us apart from other organisations offering data centre design and build services. It is this neutrality that enables us to select and specify equipment purely on its ability to carry out a specific function within the constraints of a particular project and also means we remain at the forefront of data centre innovation. Not only that, our in-house teams have considerable experience and expertise in equipment selection, enabling us to provide better, more resilient, more efficient data centres to our clients.
Existing Data Centres
Your data centre is a mission critical business asset. As corporate needs grow or change, your data centre infrastructure may not be adequate to support your current and future requirements. Whilst a new data centre may seem like the solution, often a current data centre can be refitted to increase capacity, increase efficiencies and improve optimisation. Or it may be that your legacy data centre infrastructure is at risk of failure, in which case, a refit or refurbishment will dramatically reduce the risk of unplanned downtime.
Why choose TPL-Critical?
TPL are experts in data centre refresh and refit projects. During over 30 years, we have designed, project managed and delivered an extensive variety of data centre refurbishment projects ranging from upgrades of power and cooling infrastructure to complete facility redesigns and fit outs, most of which involved data centres remaining ‘live’ during the process. Our meticulous planning ensures that risk is minimised, downtime is avoided and impact on day to day business operations is negligible.
Methodology
The key to the success of a data centre refurbishment is that all drivers, requirements and constraints are clearly defined before any solutions or methodologies are decided on. As with all data centre projects, these fundamental elements often determine the correct approach and final data centre solution. Establishing these fundamentals at the start will save you time, money and most importantly limit the risk to any of your live IT services.
This is often the key driver for performing such planned visits however a further benefit is that your plant equipment, in particular your cooling equipment, will continue to operate at optimum efficiency.
Why choose TPL-Critical?
Being able to spot potential problems before they occur has been a significant contributor to our uptime record of better than 99.999%. Data centre plant equipment is operating 24 hours per day 365 days per year, components do age and failures can happen. By being aware of all assets that support your facility and regularly servicing them in line with their manufacturers guidelines greatly reduce the chances of a failure happening.
Methodology
All Proactive/Planned Preventative Maintenance visits are carried out by one of our Service Team Engineers and the specific manufacturer of the plant equipment in question. Our engineer provides you with a single point of contact for any visits. This engineer will deal with all security aspects associated with bring 3rd party engineers in to your data centre. Our engineer will also have specific knowledge of your data centre systems, how they are configured and commissioned. This avoids manufacturer’s engineers putting systems back to “factory setting”. This is particularly important if your systems have been configured to your facility’s specific IT load or external ambient conditions.
Upgrading Data Centre Systems
Legacy, or older facilities will be less efficient, more costly to operate and less able to deal with increased capacity needs than new build data centres. This doesn’t mean that an organisation needs to build a costly new facility in order to take advantage of more recent improvements in data centre infrastructure – a data centre systems upgrade can have an enormous impact on efficiency, operational cost and capacity for much lower capital outlay.
Why choose TPL-Critical?
TPL have a wealth of experience in projects involving upgrades and improvements to legacy data centre facilities. Our expertise in data centre innovation and commitment to vendor neutrality means that we are able to design and implement a bespoke solution whatever the type or size of facility and whatever the budget. We have personally maintained and managed data centres through multiple equipment refresh cycles and pride ourselves on our ability to increase efficiency and reduce operational cost with the minimum capital outlay.
Methodology
TPL work in partnership with our clients to ensure that any systems upgrade project is successful and meets corporate objectives. A thorough and in-depth understanding of current issues together with overall project objectives and the desired outcome is always the first stage of any project and regular meetings are held with clients and key stakeholders to ensure that key milestones and targets are met. This approach ensures a successful and cost effective systems upgrade.
Key Data Centre Systems
Whatever the type or size of your data centre, it will require cooling infrastructure. IT equipment produces heat and it is vitally important to remove that heat from the data centre if IT equipment is to operate efficiently and without failure. The range of solutions available are considerable, but the most appropriate will depend on a range of factors including location, type of building, budget and corporate requirements.
Over the past 30 years, TPL have designed and installed the following bespoke data centre cooling systems:
- Direct fresh air free cooling
- Indirect fresh air free cooling
- Chilled water free cooling systems
- Water cooled direct expansion systems
- Traditional direct expansion
- Evaporative cooling
Why choose TPL-Critical?
Our considerable experience in the design and deployment of a wide range of cooling solutions, together with our vendor neutrality, means that TPL clients can be confident that their solution has been specifically selected to match their needs and requirements, and also takes into account any project constraints. With contractor awards for innovation in cooling systems, a design team of individual experts, and a holistic approach to the entire data centre infrastructure, TPL really can be found at the forefront of data centre cooling best practice and deployment.
More About Cooling..
Appropriate cooling methods and infrastructure may be determined by the age of your facility. For example, Legacy IT equipment operates within a tighter environmental window than newer equipment and over recent years this operational window has widened from the traditional 20°C +/- 1°C and 50% relative humidity (RH) +/- 5% to today’s ASHRAE allowable range of 22°C +/- 4°C and 50% +/- 30% RH.
Although this widening of data centre temperature set points may seem small it has a considerable impact on the energy consumption of the systems that provide cooling. As a very simple guide, for every degree Celsius you raise you server air-on temperature you are likely to see an approximate rise in efficiency of 2%. This means if your data centre cooling system is currently maintaining an 18°C supply air temperature and you are able to raise this to 23°C you will realise a circa 10% reduction in your data centre’s cooling costs.
The range in relative humidity (RH) has increased and also has a huge effect on energy consumption. By adopting the new ASHRAE allowable RH levels you may reduce your humidification energy consumption by 80%. Depending on the method of humidification used in your facility this could equate to a sizeable financial saving. Getting the right cooling solution in any facility is vital. Working with a company that has extensive experience designing and installing a broad range of solutions ensures resilience, efficiency and cost effectiveness.
The various data centre fire systems all have their own advantages and disadvantages. Identifying how you need your fire system to operate and what the risk parameters are will define which of the available solutions is most suitable for your facility.
Future-tech have worked with, and have considerable experience, in the following systems:
- FM200 gas suppression systems
- Novec gas suppression systems
- Argonite gas suppression systems
- Oxygen reduction fire prevention systems
- Water mist systems
- VESDA early warning smoke detection systems
- Fire rating requirements
Why choose TPL-Critical?
At TPL not only do we have extensive experience designing, installing and maintaining data centre fire systems, we are experts in matching a system to your own individual project requirements, drivers and constraints. Our vendor neutrality means we are not tied to any individual equipment supplier or solution so you can be sure that the system chosen is based on its suitability for your data centre, not because we have partnered with a particular vendor.
Power systems and their infrastructure are a crucial element of any data centre design. The aim is always to create the most resilient and efficient design possible within the constraints of the project. Removing single points of failure is always the goal.
A holistic understanding of your business need is important when determining the correct approach to power systems, as it is often easy to over-engineer and over-specify a project resulting in unnecessary costs for little payback. Conversely, under-engineering can lead to unplanned downtime and business risk.
TPL has designed and delivered data centre power solutions that include the following elements:
- High Voltage Transformers
- Low Voltage Mains Distribution
- Bespoke Designed Mains Distribution Boards
- Standby & Prime Generators
- Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS)
- Diesel Rotary Uninterruptible Power Supplies (DRUPS)
- Combined Heat & Power Solutions
Why choose TPL-Critical?
Our 30 years of experience in data centre and mission critical power systems, our vendor neutrality and our innovative approach mean that the systems we design are always the most appropriate and suitable for your facility. Our Electrical Design Teams have expertise in all aspects of resilient and reliable electrical power delivery, from high voltage transformers to rack mounted PDUs, and all.
Whether your facility is by necessity a high security data centre, requiring bio metric access readers, weight measuring security portals, high definition total facility CCTV coverage and more, or simply requires card swipe access linked to an existing house system, maintaining the correct balance ensures that the protection meets your business needs without wasting money on over specification. Over our 30 year history we have designed, installed and maintained many data centre security systems and solutions.
TPL have experience in the following data centre security systems:
- High definition closed circuit television cameras
- Infrared / night vision CCTV systems
- Security portals up to class 4 EN 1627:30 (2000)
- Anti tailgating devices
- Smart access control systems
- Biometric access systems
- Video and speech access systems
- Swipe card access systems
- Pin access systems
- Hybrid access systems
- Motion detection
- Optical detection
- Vehicle control systems
- Perimeter Security Fencing
- Electromagnetic screening
Why choose TPL-Critical?
TPL are known throughout the industry as leaders in data centre design and build. Over 30 years of specialist experience, a partnership approach and our commitment to innovation mean that clients can be confident that their data centre will exactly match their requirements, incorporate energy efficiency best practices and provide the level of resiliency necessary for supporting business needs today and tomorrow. Our designed and built data centres have awards for innovation, resilience and energy efficiency, and as a company we continue to push the boundaries of technological innovation to ensure all our clients end up with a cost effective, efficient, scalable, facility.