Fill in the Blanks on Your Next Data Center Construction Project With a Project Manager to Oversee Base Building and Data Hall Fit-Out

On your next data center build, will one hand know what the other is doing? A Project Manager can bridge the link–and solve process gaps–between core-and-shell construction and data hall fit-out.

As anyone who has lived through a data center construction project knows, time frames for delivery are growing dramatically shorter. This is especially true in the current environment, where e-commerce has exploded, straining the current capacities of cloud-based data providers and turning up the heat to serve a growing consumer audience.

Indeed, the pressure is on for end users to build, fit-out and monetize their centers. Projects that once might have taken two years to complete are now expected to deliver in less than a year, transferring that pressure to all involved in the construction process.

In the rush to get on line, and with so many hands on deck, vital information key to the successful completion of a project is easily lost. Nowhere is this truer than in the hand-off from the construction phase to fit-out, when the data hall is deemed ready for service and the installation of critical equipment–racks, servers and low voltage cabling and connections–can commence.

Devil in the Details: Taking a Concept and Turning It Into Realty

One driver of that risk in this last leg of the project comes in the highly technical details, which may have been negotiated in general terms in the sales process, but now must be implemented. Seemingly small details, such as the types of busway and the layout of racks, can derail a schedule that is already closing in.

One sure way to avoid the miscommunication that accompanies the race to the finish line is the presence of a Project Manager to advocate for the interests of the landlord, of course, but foremost, those of the end-user client.

Coordinating the vast number of moving parts in the fit-out is a massive task demanding a clear vision of project outcome shared by the key stakeholders. But at the core of that vision stands an understanding of the relationship between project budget, project schedule and project quality.

Give and Take: The Interplay of Project Budget, Schedule and Quality

The goals of quality, schedule and budget are very much interrelated and dependent on one another. When greater emphasis is placed on one, there is a natural effect on the other two. Quality in execution and performance are always expected, of course. But, as stated, speed to market is also critical, especially when the project crosses the mile marker into fit-out and lease payments begin. And no one ever wants to spend more than is absolutely necessary. But if the mission is to deliver high quality in an expected time frame, that will have a direct impact on the budget. Likewise, if budget and time frames are the driving forces, that will have ramifications on quality.

The Project Manager is best positioned to translate the client’s vision for all three goals into actionable items. A good Project Manager can come into a fit-out project with a short delivery schedule and deliver on timing, while keeping costs reasonable and managing the quality benchmarks as they are being checked off.

In Verity Commercial’s experience, Project Managers who have the proven ability to manage the costs, scheduling and quality of Phase One set the stage for the fit-out to follow. By communicating constantly with the various fit-out vendors on the realization of the user’s goals, Verity’s Project Managers can virtually guarantee customer satisfaction.

Consistency Is Key To Successful Project Management

A great Project Manager brings to that last leg of the process an understanding of the work to date, an awareness of the players involved in both parts of the project and an up-close and personal understanding of the client’s vision. That arrangement of players guarantees a consistent voice throughout the process, filled as it is with last-minute decisions, many of them made on the fly and in a much more rapid-fire and informal method than was typical during core-and-shell.

Naturally, every project is unique, and the specifics of customer expectation change with each. Yet, no matter how much one project varies from the next, the goal for Verity Commercial is always the same, which is delivering space that meets the customer’s needs in terms of budget, schedule and quality.

Want to learn more about how Project Management can bridge the gap between base building and fit-out? Contact Verity Commercial today.

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