Data centres are built on a high-quality foundation
The more we use various online services, such as AI, social media or streaming services, the more data centres are needed around the world — and right now, the level of activity in data centre construction is higher than ever. A data centre project is a long-term effort in which the first yards are crucial; behind data centres springing up across the landscape, there is always a tremendous amount of preparatory work to ensure safe, high-quality and cost-efficient operations.
Data centres store and process large amounts of data, and their operations must not be interrupted under any circumstances, which makes stable and sufficient energy supply and security crucial for their operational reliability. Once a suitable plot of land has been found and the project can begin, there is a long list of work phases to be completed before the actual construction of the data centre. Destia has data centre projects under way for an international customer. In these projects, Destia provides a wide range of services starting from design and project management.
“Compared to many other types of construction project, each contract typically involves exceptionally large amounts of foundation construction, excavation and earthmoving, among other things. Our activities in the actual construction phase can include demanding pipe installation, concrete construction, surface finishing and industrial construction, for example. Careful planning is also particularly important — as with many other types of project, safety, quality and efficiency are the highest priorities, and there is no room for rework,” says Project Manager Aki Partanen, who works on data centre projects at Destia.
Careful planning is also particularly important — as with many other types of project, safety, quality and efficiency are the highest priorities, and there is no room for rework.
Sufficient energy supply is at the top of the list of priorities in a data centre project
Finland is an ideal location for data centres due to the optimal cool climate, plenty of available space, a stable and secure operating environment, a highly functional main grid for electricity transmission, an abundance clean energy and the availability of skilled labour. Data centres have begun to emerge across the country in recent years, and there are dozens of planned data centre investments for the near future — so many, in fact, that the main grid cannot accommodate all of them.
The banks of computers within data centres require tremendous amounts of electricity, which means that data centres must be located in areas where sufficient energy supply and access to fibre optic networks can be guaranteed. The data centres that are currently in the planning and construction stages have energy requirements ranging from single megawatts up to hundreds of megawatts, peaking at as much as 500 megawatts. To put this in perspective, Finland’s total electricity consumption is currently just over 15,000 megawatts.
For this reason, electricity distribution is one of the key items on the list of considerations in data centre projects.
“A single data centre can consume as much electricity as an entire town. In our data centre projects, we implement practically everything the data centre needs to ensure access to energy: substations, possible transformer stations and power transmission networks, such as underground cables or power lines. Our ability to utilise our design expertise ensures comprehensive know-how for each project, as our organisation has diverse design expertise in distribution networks, industrial networks and substations,” says Rami Tuovinen, Production Director at Destia.
No compromises on safety and security in data centre projects
Once the operating conditions have been ensured in the form of sufficient energy supply, the focus of a data centre project shifts to the next key factors: safety and security and the profitability and sustainability of operations.
Occupational safety during construction is ensured through careful work planning and induction, as well as common operating practices and procedures that are specified further according to the work phase in question. Project-specific risk assessment is important, and the goal is always to have a zero-accident site.
Security is also one of the most critical requirements for a completed data centre due to the large amounts of confidential data being managed within. The location of a data centre determines certain aspects of security, and natural conditions, for example, must be taken into consideration right from the design phase. Careful preliminary surveys and the use of durable, high-quality building materials enable the secure implementation of the data centre from the start.
Successful implementation enables the data centre to operate cost-efficiently for as long as possible. From a sustainability perspective, it is also important to consider the environment in every decision made during the project.
The key to a successful project lies in people
Data centre projects are demanding undertakings: the quality requirements are high, the safety of the site must be carefully managed, and the environment, stakeholders and other contractors on site must be taken into consideration in every decision made At the same time, the schedule is often tight, so the operations need to be precise and efficient. For this reason, digital solutions, such as drones and data model-based production, are also used extensively in the projects, enabling continuous efficiency improvements, monitoring and analysis of operations. But what, ultimately, is the key to a successful project?
“In the end, everything comes down to people. Machines do not perform the work on their own, even at a data centre construction site. Everything needs a diverse and skilled team of professionals. Destia has experience in both demanding large-scale projects and data centre construction, and we have been able to make extensive use of our expertise in the projects, ranging from design to foundation construction and electrification and the management of large-scale undertakings,” Partanen concludes.
In the end, everything comes down to people. Machines do not perform the work on their own, even at a data centre construction site. Everything needs a diverse and skilled team of professionals.