Open and Transparent Communication – Bartra Wealth Advisors
July 24, 2020
Data centre projects are large-scale undertakings that require significant financing investments. These projects involve the construction of specialized facilities that are designed to support the storage, processing, and distribution of large amounts of data. Data centres typically consist of a network of servers, storage systems, and other infrastructure that are housed in secure, climate-controlled environments.
Building a data centre requires significant capital investments to purchase and install the necessary hardware, as well as to develop and maintain the infrastructure needed to support it. Additionally, data centres often require ongoing investment to keep up with the ever-evolving demands of the technology industry.
In 2020, the global market for data centre construction was estimated to be worth £15 billion and is projected to reach £24 billion by 2027. The data centre industry is also anticipated to expand annually until 2024 despite a 10.3% decrease in data centre spending in 2020 as a result of the pandemic’s reduced financial flow.
With this level of financing, construction cameras become a valuable asset for data centre construction projects, helping teams to ensure that projects are completed on schedule and within budget. AI construction cameras are a powerful tool for project teams, as they allow teams to monitor multiple construction projects at the same time.
These cameras are equipped with AI technology that allows them to automatically capture and analyze images of the construction site, providing valuable insights and real-time updates to project teams and investors.
Time performance is one of the most crucial factors when working on a construction project. Data centre projects cannot bear the risk of losing money through any form of delay. Being high-value projects, construction cameras can help to reduce the risk of delays and financial losses by providing real-time footage of the construction site, construction cameras can help project managers identify potential problems early on and take corrective action to prevent the project from falling behind schedule.
For example, if the cameras detect that a piece of equipment is not being used efficiently, the project manager can take steps to address the issue before it causes significant delays.
Liquidated damages are a common feature of construction contracts, including those for data centre projects. These are predetermined damages that a contractor agrees to pay to the owner if the contractor fails to complete the project on time or within budget. The amount of liquidated damages is typically specified in the contract and is based on estimates of the potential losses that the owner may incur as a result of the contractor’s delay.
Real-time site monitoring can help to reduce the risk of liquidated damages by providing real-time footage of the construction site. This helps project stakeholders to make decisions based on the progress to ensure that the project is completed on time and within budget, reducing the likelihood of incurring liquidated damages.
Construction cameras provide data that can be used in the future. The images and footage captured by the cameras can provide valuable insights into the construction process, which can be used to identify best practices and improve the efficiency of future projects.
For example, if the cameras reveal that a particular method or technique is particularly effective, this information can be used to inform the design and planning of future data centre projects. The data captured by construction cameras can also be used for legal purposes, such as resolving disputes or defending against legal challenges. Overall, construction cameras provide a wealth of data that can be used for future reference in a variety of ways.
Site monitoring has over time become a vital part of any construction project that has the common goal to ensure that construction projects are completed within the constraints of the best quality, stipulated timeframe, and with the minimum cost possible.
This represents a substantial investment for developers, especially because the cost of construction can easily escalate if the construction project is not properly monitored. Anything that can cut construction costs, shorten delivery time, and provide quality outputs benefits both developers and contractors, which is why more commercial projects are deploying construction cameras.
The data centre industry has garnered increased attention as we begin to understand how our digital world is supported by this unseen physical infrastructure. With this attention, also come questions about faster construction of these facilities as well as achieving the highest quality of standard that is required of them. This is why construction cameras become a much-desired necessity when it comes to the construction of data centre facilities.
Turner & Townsend’s Data Centre Cost Index 2022 analysed construction input costs across 45 key markets and found that the cost of building data centres has soared around the world as contractors battle with materials and skills shortages. It goes without saying that due to the expensive materials required to set up a data centre, such as copper cables; storage systems; servers; network infrastructure, such as switches and routers; and various information security elements, such as firewalls, it is important to have live-view site monitoring to ensure that the site is protected against theft of materials and wastage.
Having a log of the vehicles that enter the site is important for any project. Evercam has developed a solution to aid the way vehicle data is captured on-site. With manual logging of vehicles entering and exiting a project site being difficult, activating Evercam’s Gate Report feature using a dedicated fixed position camera on a site gives the user more data and control of vehicle movement, just on-time deliveries, traffic control, and throughput. The report includes an accurate delivery log with time-stamped images as well as links for footage from Evercam cameras that can detect over 10 different types of vehicle types.
As part of data centre design, consideration must be put on equipment interoperability and compatibility. For quality control purposes, it is necessary to set up cameras that capture every step of construction to ensure that all design factors are adequately considered. Evercam can not only provide a tool for site monitoring but also long-term secure storage of high-quality video footage for up to 3 years after the project is complete.
Should there be a need for an upgrade or extension to the development, questions such as “how will the upgrade affect the rest of the data centre infrastructure? What about extensibility? Can you expand the existing systems without compatibility problems?” can be easily answered by referring to the footage.
The objective of data centre design is to maximize uptime while minimizing power consumption. Its construction from start to finish should therefore be monitored to ensure the proper installation of systems that will enable the achievement of this objective.
With progress monitoring, project teams can communicate key milestones and make informed decisions that will enable them to finish the project on schedule. Integrating an Evercam camera with BIM allows the project team to compare the real-time footage to the model to track the quality and precision of the project.
The BIM model is used for generating a graphic that is used during the constructability review. It demonstrates to investors and project stakeholders that the methodology is executed as described initially. At the end of a project, it is common for a full recording of the entire project to be provided.
This recording, often in the form of a video, typically includes an as-built Building Information Model (BIM) which can be used for reference and documentation. The BIM model provides a detailed representation of the completed project, including all of its various components and systems. It can be used to verify that the final project matches the original design specifications, and can also serve as a valuable reference for future maintenance or renovations.
Construction projects often require the coordination of multiple teams over large amounts of time, making it difficult to stay up to date on project progress. Using construction cameras helps project coordinators stay on top of key milestones, like structural constructions, concrete pours, façade installations, and more!
By having remote access to the camera’s images and videos, teams can easily collaborate with one another to ensure nothing is overlooked or left behind. Construction cameras enable teams to take a proactive approach when it comes to executing complicated builds, saving time, and ensuring maximum efficiency.
Data centre projects require the utmost capacity planning and precision when it comes to executing their construction. This is where recording every moment of the construction in the full video is essential.
Evercam is the only construction camera provider that captures every detail of a project with up to 18X beyond the basic zoom level in video. This ensures certain critical aspects of data centre construction such as network cabling, and thermal management is adequately managed and reviewed as the project progresses.
Construction companies are always looking for ways to improve the accuracy of their data and save time and money on-site. With the advent of new reality capture technologies, construction firms now have access to highly accurate 3D models that can be used for pre-construction planning, clash detection, as-built documentation, and more.
The benefits of using reality capture cameras in construction are clear, and the technology is only going to become more popular in the coming years. If you’re interested in seeing how a reality capture camera can help your construction project, contact us today. We’d be happy to show you how our products can make a difference on your next job site.
