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Takeaways From the Advancing Data Center Construction Conference

By December 19, 2021December 29th, 2021No Comments

Takeaways from Advancing Data Center ConstructionThe Epsilon team attended the recent “Advancing Data Center Construction” conference in Dallas. It was another solid Hanson Wade event, and a great opportunity to reconnect with folks in the industry.  We were pleasantly surprised by the amount of focus and emphasis on Off-Site Construction at the conference, as a means of meeting the schedule and quality demands of Data Center / Mission Critical projects.  Here are some of our key takeaways, including quotes that resonated with the audience:

“SHIFT LEFT” was a consistent message

  • The more time you spend on preconstruction, the more certainty you’ll have in key project outcomes; it’s worth the investment
  • “You must design for Prefab upfront… it’s almost impossible to design field-built and then convert to prefab later”

Get trade partners involved early – especially those who are prefabricating

  • Make decisions with partners based on comprehensive risk analysis
  • “Quality issues are schedule issues”

“Prefabrication is a PROCESS, not a Product”

  • “Ten Years Ago, we were trying to sell Owners a product – that was the wrong way to try and do prefab – customers want THEIR product, so the process is critical”
  • While prefab is essentially cost-neutral, owners are seeing ~33% productivity gains through a significant reduction in onsite labor hours
  • “Prefab is a disrupter – and it is a mindset”