5 Critical Health and Safety Risks When Building a Data Centre

A data centre might look like a large commercial building from the road. Inside, the job is quite different.

There are heavy generators to position, kilometres of cable to install, cooling systems to connect and banks of batteries waiting to be commissioned. Electricians, builders, mechanical contractors and specialist technicians can all be working within metres of each other.

Then the power starts coming on while construction is still underway.

That change deserves close attention. A room that was safe to enter yesterday may contain live equipment today.

Good data centre construction health and safety starts with knowing what could kill or seriously harm someone, putting effective controls in place and checking those controls where the work happens.

Here are five critical risks that deserve a place near the top of a data centre construction risk assessment. The priorities will change with the design and stage of the project.

1. Electrical shock, arc flash and unexpected energisation

Electrical work is a major part of a data centre build. Switchboards, transformers, generators and uninterruptible power supplies—usually called UPS systems—provide the power needed to keep the facility running.

The danger increases during testing and commissioning, when systems are brought into service.

One contractor may believe a circuit is isolated while another team is preparing to energise it. Backup supplies and batteries can also leave equipment energised after the normal supply has been disconnected.

An electric shock can be fatal. An arc flash can cause severe burns and a pressure blast.

What needs to happen on site?

• Identify every energy source, including generators, batteries, stored energy and possible backfeeds.
• Use an isolation and lockout process appropriate to the equipment and work.
• Have competent, authorised electrical personnel verify isolation and prove equipment dead before work starts.
• Control access to electrical rooms and clearly identify equipment that is live or being tested.
• Agree who can authorise energisation and how affected contractors will be told.
• Have specialists assess arc flash risks and specify the necessary controls.

A label on a door helps. It does not establish that the equipment behind it is safe to work on.

The question to ask: “Who has verified this equipment is safe, and could another supply make it live?”

2. Heavy lifts, moving plant and crushing injuries

Data centre equipment is often large, heavy and awkward to move.

Generators, cooling units, transformers and switchboards may arrive on trucks, be lifted by crane and then moved through a partly finished building. There may be little room between the load, the walls and the people guiding it.

Someone caught beneath a load or between equipment and a fixed structure may have no chance to get clear.

What needs to happen on site?

• Confirm the load’s weight, centre of gravity and approved lifting points.
• Plan the lift using suitable equipment and competent lifting personnel.
• Check ground conditions, crane support and the capacity of floors along the delivery route.
• Establish exclusion zones around lifting and positioning work.
• Keep people clear of suspended loads and crush points.
• Separate pedestrian routes from trucks, forklifts and other moving plant.
• Agree clear signals and stop the movement if communication is lost.

The final few centimetres of positioning need as much thought as the crane lift. That is often when hands and bodies get too close.

The question to ask: “If this load shifts, where could someone be trapped?”

3. Falls from height and objects falling onto workers

Roofing, overhead cable trays, pipework and ventilation systems all bring work at height into the programme.

Open service penetrations, incomplete stairs and unprotected edges add to the risk. Below the work, another crew may be installing equipment or walking through the area.

WorkSafe guidance gives priority to designing out work at height where practicable and using suitable protection when it remains necessary. Falling tools and materials also need to be controlled.

What needs to happen on site?

• Assemble equipment at ground level where practical.
• Provide suitable scaffolding, work platforms and edge protection.
• Secure and identify covers over floor openings.
• Select mobile elevating work platforms for the task, access conditions and floor capacity.
• Keep workers within the platform’s operating limits.
• Secure tools and materials, and control access below overhead work.
• Plan rescue arrangements wherever fall arrest equipment is used.

A harness needs a suitable system, a sound anchorage and a workable rescue plan. Issuing one does not finish the job.

The question to ask: “What stops the fall, and who would carry out the rescue?”

4. Silica dust, welding fumes and other harmful exposure

Some harm arrives slowly.

Concrete cutting, drilling and grinding can release respirable crystalline silica: fine dust that can reach deep into the lungs. Welding, adhesives, coatings and engine exhaust introduce other airborne hazards. WorkSafe identifies these exposures as construction health risks.

During a data centre fit-out, the building may be enclosed before its permanent ventilation is working. Dust and fumes can then affect nearby trades as well as the person doing the task.

What needs to happen on site?

• Choose methods that avoid or reduce dust generation.
• Use suitable water suppression or on-tool extraction.
• Capture welding fumes close to their source.
• Assess ventilation before using chemicals or carrying out fume-producing work indoors.
• Keep combustion-powered equipment out of enclosed areas unless a competent assessment establishes safe arrangements.
• Use appropriate hazardous-dust vacuum equipment.
• Provide suitable, fit-tested respiratory protection where required.
• Arrange exposure monitoring and health monitoring where the assessment identifies a need.

WorkSafe’s silica guidance calls for eliminating exposure where possible and using controls to minimise it where elimination is not reasonably practicable.

The question to ask: “What is this task putting into the air, and who else is breathing it?”

5. Fire, battery incidents and uncontrolled commissioning

A data centre build can bring fuel, batteries, hot work and newly energised equipment together before permanent fire protection is fully operational.

The hazards depend on the equipment installed. Lead-acid batteries can present acid and hydrogen hazards. Lithium-ion batteries can present thermal runaway hazards, where a battery overheats and may release fire and hazardous gases.

Commissioning also introduces movement and stored pressure. Pumps, fans and other equipment may start automatically or remotely.

What needs to happen on site?

• Assess battery hazards for the specific chemistry, equipment and installation.
• Follow manufacturer requirements for storage, installation, ventilation and commissioning.
• Control welding, cutting and other hot work, including fire watch arrangements where required.
• Manage fuel storage, spills and ignition sources.
• Confirm suitable fire protection is available at each construction stage.
• Keep escape routes clear and update emergency arrangements as the building changes.
• Control automatic starts, remote commands and stored pressure during testing.
• Coordinate commissioning boundaries so construction crews know which areas and systems have changed status.

Emergency arrangements must match the batteries and equipment present. Workers need to know when to withdraw and raise the alarm.

The question to ask: “If a fire or equipment failure happens today, can everyone get out safely?”

The gap between contractors needs managing

These risks often meet at the boundary between two trades.

A crane blocks an escape route. A drilling crew works beside newly energised equipment. Hot work continues near battery installation. Each contractor may understand their own task without seeing what the neighbouring team has changed.

Under New Zealand health and safety law, businesses with overlapping duties must consult, cooperate and coordinate their activities. That is particularly relevant to a data centre construction site with several specialist contractors. See WorkSafe’s overlapping duties guidance.

Daily coordination should establish what is changing, who could be affected and which controls must be checked before work starts. Fatigue and pressure to recover the programme also need attention, especially during commissioning and night work.

Need help reviewing your construction safety controls?

Auditsure provides construction health and safety consultancy in Auckland, including critical risk assessments, site safety audits, contractor safety management and Site-Specific Safety Plans.

If you are planning a data centre build or reviewing an active project, Auditsure can help check whether your risk assessment and site controls reflect the work being done.

Contact safety1stconsultants@gmail.com or visit www.auditsure.nz to discuss your project.