New International Operational Sustainability Standard for Data Center Operations Announced

The Uptime Institute recently introduced “Tier Standard: Operational Sustainability,” a new standard for data center owners, operators, and managers. This standard addresses a facility’s management behaviors and risks that affect long-term data center uptime by aligning the infrastructure’s capabilities, as defined by the tier classification system (I-IV), with its ongoing management.

The Operational Sustainability Standard, which works in tandem with the institute’s international tier classification system, is structured around the three most influential elements of a data center’s ongoing performance in the following prioritized order: management & operations, building characteristics, and site location.

Each of the three operational sustainability elements has multiple categories and components pertinent to a data center’s tier level (detailed tables are provided in “Tier Standard: Operational Sustainability”). Following are summaries of these elements:

• Management & operations: Staffing and organization; maintenance processes and procedures; training; and planning, coordination, and management.
• Building characteristics: Building features that include the condition, age, and type of structure; design principles; and the operational conditions of the equipment.
• Site location: Potential local or regional natural and/or man-made disasters and corresponding mitigation plans. This includes everything from the likelihood of a tornado or flood to a disruptive accident at a nearby railroad system.

“Tier Standard: Operational Sustainability” is a downloadable tool available to the industry at no charge.

Source:The Uptime Institute