Mr David Loman, President of Data Clean Asia, discusses data center maintenance and cleaning.

When it comes to understanding and maintaining your data Center, many internal and external factors come into play and we know how the task of  maintaining your data Centre can be daunting and seem like a hassle so here are some questions to get you started on the path to choosing the right critical environment specialist . These may seem like basic questions, but the answers can hold critical information that will help you determine if this provider is one to whom you should entrust your most critical business assets.

1. Why should technical cleaning be a top priority for any data Center?

The equipment in the data centre represents a huge financial investment and protecting that investment should be no. 1 on your list. Keeping it clean, protecting the servers from dust and contamination should be a top priority. It is a common misunderstanding

 2. What is a common misunderstanding when it comes to cleaning a data Center?

That the filters in the air-conditioners will provide enough filtration to keep the DC clean. This is a common statement from data centre managers. However, look at this from your own home. Your room AC has a filter but you still need to clean your home by dusting, vacuuming, etc. Dust from exposed concrete is very corrosive and is constantly coming off the ceiling and from the floor. This is just one of many ways the DC gets dirty and needs cleaning.

3. How often should your data center be cleaned?

This is an age-old question and it all depends on the room. Minimally, the DC should be cleaned once per year. However, every 3 months the room should be checked to see if there is dust accumulation. The simplest way is to look at the top of the black server cabinets. If they are dusty in just three months, then everything in the room is dusty and it should be cleaned. A new data centre should be cleaned at least every 3 months for the first year to eliminate all of the dust created during the construction phase. Even if there was a post-construction cleaning, there is still dust and debris that can’t be removed in just one post-construction cleaning.

4. What is the risk of using an untrained cleaning personnel to clean your Data Centre and what is the optimal time and manpower needed to thoroughly clean your critical environment?

Your data Center runs the risk of damage and downtime.  Not only untrained but also wrongly trained cleaning personal can be a huge liability to a multi-million dollar DC. In addition to untrained people, pushing cleaners to clean faster than their ability can cause big problems in the DC. Having a 4-hour job but making your people do it in an hour in order to save money is a big concern and common practice among less qualified companies. Forcing people to work faster in a critical environment is just asking for mistakes and problem.

Depending on the size of your data centre and scope of work,there has to be enough manpower involved to properly clean the DC especially the underfloor area of the DC. Cleaning a data centre requires a lot more precision and attention hence rushing through the process will only increase the risk of human error.

5. Should you base your decision for your preferred cleaning service provider solely on price?

Many companies win over customers solely based on price. However, most of the time, basic cleaning standards are not met. Though they claim that have experience, you need to dig deep and understand that there is a significant difference between a company that has been cleaning data centres for many years and those that have recently transitioned from general cleaning into data centre cleaning . Many times, these companies lack the experience and usually end up servicing your data centre  solely by trial and error.

The old saying “haste makes waste” applies in all aspects of the service business especially when working with expensive sensitive electronic equipment. In order to clean a room fast, corners have to be cut, work is sloppy and most importantly, things can get damaged. A simple slip of a mop could mean an outage and in the data centre business, outages MUST be prevented at all cost. Quality work costs a little extra but that little extra could be the difference between a catastrophic event and a smooth running data centre.