Since the Grenfell tragedy, public policy has shifted towards a zero-combustibility approach in certain higher risk buildings, making the use of engineered timber more complicated.
Being able to compress the time from project inception to occupancy, as well as having reliable procurement and supply chain, and a predictable construction programme, is hugely valuable in being able to defer CapEx and cost of finance.. One of the core principles of DfMA is the standardisation of parts and construction/assembly processes.It enables the ‘industrialisation’ of data centre design and construction.
This allows us to work with clients to standardise procurement, through a prearranged supply chain with stockholding, if necessary, of pre-agreed capital plant and equipment.It enables speed of installation through on-site assembly of prefabricated and pre-assembled parts in a safe and controlled manner.And given the nature of data centres, they lend themselves particularly well to this approach, where standardisation of the end-user product is paramount.. DfMA brings precisely the reliability, predictability and speed to market that our data centre clients want and benefit from..
Creating sustainable data centres.The biggest environmental impact of data centres is in their use of power and water for cooling, but they are also heavy in terms of embedded carbon.
Carbon is embedded in the structure of buildings as everyone knows, but in data centres significantly more so in the M&E equipment within them.
As we optimise the geometry and layout of the structure, plant and systems we can have a positive effect on the amount of embodied carbon in the building, structure and systems.. Our more sustainable approach to close coupling and integration increases efficiency in cooling and distribution losses and also lessens the carbon intensive materials used in these systems.. Our industrialisation and digital design approach allows us to quantify this carbon content during design, and minimise the content through optimisation and materials selection.This project looked at delivering a new technology to the company in a new and radical way.
Although the core ideas had been established, the next question was how this concept would be physicalised in a way that preserved and enhanced its potential value, in a business, like all, with multiple levels of moving parts..The standard way of scheduling such a study simply results in stress for those doing the work and/or the project manager.
Scheduling an organic integration is like trying to Christmas-wrap a puppy.We firstly looked to use a critical chain approach to planning, which naturally allows for flexibility in the schedule.