The Data Center Journal’s Industry Outlook column recently featured a piece by SPEC-CLEAN‘s Founder and President Rich DeBlasi. From the article:
Industry Outlook is a regular Data Center Journal Q&A series that presents expert views on market trends, technologies and other issues relevant to data centers and IT.
This week, Industry Outlook asks Rich DeBlasi, founder and president of Spec-Clean, about cleaning and maintenance of data centers. Spec-Clean provides specialized cleaning of data centers, server rooms and critical environments. Rich has over 30 years of experience in the critical-environment maintenance industry working with companies such as Beth Israel Medical Center, Citibank, Fidelity Investments, Morgan Stanley, Pepsi, Pfizer, RBS and UBS.
Industry Outlook: What should you be aware of when engaging outside cleaning and maintenance services for your data center?
Rich DeBlasi: You should work with someone who has experience. This should be somebody who has been in the industry for at least five years, understands the sensitivity of working in a data center and prepares a MOP (method of procedure) before arriving on site, including a site walk-through. A minimum of three to five years of prior experience is important because if someone has just started this type of work, they’re not going to be as good. It gives them time to prove themselves in the industry and make sure that they understand the proper cleaning techniques. Otherwise, there remains the potential for an improperly cleaned space and damaged critical equipment.
IO: What is the advantage of establishing a maintenance program for your data center?
RD: Ultimately, the room consistently stays clean. If there’s a tour from the executives, the facility managers want to be able to showcase the computer room and how clean it is, rather than showing an ill-cared-for space. Also, a regular cleaning program will reduce any contaminants infiltrating the equipment over time, thus avoiding the possibility of a downtime disaster.
IO: Are there recommended levels of cleaning and deep cleaning a data center, and what is the time frame for these procedures—for example, monthly, quarterly or yearly?
RD: There are different levels of cleaning when considering the maintenance of a data center, and we recommend an underfloor cleaning (if applicable), a floor-surface deep cleaning and an exterior equipment and overall environment cleaning once every year, at a minimum. Then, the amount of traffic into and out of the data hall and the amount of movement of equipment in it will help identify what the service frequency is to keep the room clean.
IO: Should you use tacky mats in the entrance areas to a data center? And if so, how often should you replace them?
RD: We do recommend that critical facilities use tacky mats. It all depends, however, on how much traffic enters the room and how clean you want to keep the data center. Every site is a little bit different.
IO: What main steps can a data-center operator take to keep airborne contaminants out of the data center?
RD: There are several “don’ts” for this question. On the basis of our experience, the following are the top offenders: Don’t leave cardboard boxes around. Don’t allow food in the data center. Don’t bring in shop vacs. Don’t allow cutting of floor tiles or any other type of construction in the computer room.
IO: What are some common types of damage or other problems caused by people trying to clean their own facilities without proper knowledge or by using improper equipment or damaging chemicals?
RD: The one we see the most often is using too much water on the floor, which will delaminate the high-pressure laminate (HPL). This damage then becomes a safety issue: people can trip and harm themselves or critical equipment if the laminate erodes.
IO: What’s your advice for keeping a room clean when new construction, reconfiguration of a room or power upgrades are occurring in a data center?
RD: Staff should consistently use a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) vacuum each day and not allow any construction activity in the computer room except for imperative installation processes. Additionally, the equipment must be protected while still allowing for proper cooling of each cabinet. If construction is taking place outside of the data center, a plastic barrier should be carefully set at the points of entrance into the room so that no contaminants find their way into the data center.
IO: If you are a colocation tenant, should your service-level agreement (SLA) include a clause about cleaning?
RD: Yes, because if construction is underway by another customer, for example, it will eventually make your space dirty. Because of this possibility, we recommend that the colocation provider administer, at the very least, a thorough annual cleaning of the entire space.
IO: Is there a different approach or different concerns involved when considering the maintenance of a server closet versus a multi-thousand-square-foot facility?
RD: This is an excellent question, although the answer boils down to common sense. The multi-thousand-square-foot facility will need more service than a room that is not being entered all the time. The basic principles of data-center cleaning remain the same, however.
IO: What would you say to IT managers who ask why the data center should be cleaned and how often?
RD: I tell them it’s important to have your equipment and AC units maintained periodically, so it is important to have the room in which they operate professionally cleaned. Having the subfloor professionally HEPA vacuumed and inspected at least once a year will help reduce any fire-suppression discharge, which can be costly in refilling their tanks. Inspecting under the raised floor will make operators aware of any potential problems such as water, rodent droppings, openings in the surrounding walls and any loose floor stanchions.
IO: What trends are you seeing in the overall cleaning and maintenance of facilities in the data-center industry?
RD: The biggest trend we have noticed is that the company that provides the service now follows a certain protocol and particular procedures before cleaning the room. Previously, mission-critical facility and data-center cleaning operated on something like a service ticket, but it’s moved more to the expectation for a MOP and a more regulated process. Now and in the future, the cleaning company arrives with an established plan in place.
