design &
facilities Management
Our experience at Sudlows
has always been one of balancing
continual innovation with
scientific review and thorough in-
house assessment to determine
the best solutions for a project.
We recognised early on that
correct appraisal of a technology
required an understanding of its
strengths and its weaknesses,
and not for it to be compared to
the weakest contender but to the
next strongest.
True standards, such as BS EN
and ISO standards, are a necessity
to ensure that as an industry
we maintain a common level of
quality, safety and, importantly
within an industry which consumes
so much energy around the globe,
consideration for sustainability and
the environment.
However, the development
and publication of standards is
not a quick task – some standards,
specifically their technical
committees, authors, and editors,
do an admirable job of keeping up
to date. One key limitation however
of how quick a standard can and
should move is founded in the
underlying need for a standard to
be built on an approach which has
a proven track record. By definition,
a standard would be on shaky
ground if it was too innovative.
26 | May 2017
Fortunately, there are a number
of good technologies which
are entering into a phase of an
established track record. However,
there are still improvements which
can be made.
Engineering diligence
Implementing established best
practices while identifying
opportunities for potential
improvement is the way new
best practices are formed but it is
important to make sure that new
innovations are implemented with
the highest level of engineering
diligence, and further monitored
for performance. If a new
approach is understood to have
improved efficiency or stability,
then it is best to have data to
support and substantiate this
claim. In addition, it is important
to monitor other elements of the
system such that any inadvertent
negative impacts can be identified
and mitigated.
Alongside all of this, as an
industry we demand the highest
levels of availability, reliability,
and confidence. As data centre
designers, we have a responsibility
for an acute appreciation of the
balance between a leading-edge
technology and a risk.
True standards,
such as BS EN and
ISO standards,
are a necessity
to ensure that
we maintain a
common level of
quality, safety and
consideration for
sustainability and
the environment.
Continuing to develop first
class facilities and leading the
industry with new best practices
requires a continual investment
in due diligence, research and
development and computational
simulation, well before systems are
even considered for incorporation
into a live project.
With this approach, we can
ensure that we don’t stagnate,
that we don’t just settle for the
way it has always been done,
and that we don’t just accept
inefficiencies because removing
them is too complicated. Instead,
we can improve, develop and
innovate technologies in a safe and
confident way, tested and proven to
operate reliably with reproducible
results and developing a basis for
tomorrow’s best practice.