New white paper from RS warns of the data centre commissioning cliff

A spotlight on data centres… How maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) is central to their future explores the expanding role of MRO within modern data centres, as the sector expands to meet growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing and digital infrastructure. It incorporates commentary and insights from data centre professionals, combined with survey responses gathered in partnership with the Data Centre Alliance (DCA), from 74 professionals across the UK and Ireland. 

The white paper covers a variety of themes shaping the future of data centre operations. These include the ‘commissioning cliff’ - the gap between completed facility handover and shift to live operations - where MRO planning often hasn't been sufficiently embedded. 

This operational risk pitfall is where spare parts planning is delayed, supplier relationships under-established and procurement processes reactive. It is one many new facilities end up defaulting to, according to the white paper.

"It's an industry growing at pace. The priority and focus is on building capacity, getting planning permission, getting the facility built and online. The ongoing management is something that gets pushed to the back of people's minds. Rapid expansion will leave gaps around resource and capability, with engineers living hand-to-mouth, and procurement professionals who haven't yet got up to speed with what a procurement strategy needs to look like," said Richard Graham, industry sector manager at RS UK and Ireland.

Supporting research included within the white paper indicates there is significant variation in how organisations approach MRO planning: 

• Nearly half of operators either have no formal MRO strategy or are unsure whether one exists
• 77% say they feel at least slightly exposed when a critical spare is not held on site  
• When assessing MRO suppliers, speed of delivery was rated as very important by 82% of respondents, product availability considered very important by 71% and supplier responsiveness scored 80%. Price ranked lowest of the five criteria, with just over half (51%) considering it very important
• 62% believe their operations are exposed by limitations in regional supplier coverage

The white paper also advises operators should avoid pursuing traditional linear supply chains, and focus on building supply ‘webs’, as new data centre capacity expands beyond London into regional locations. This means connected networks of suppliers, regional stock locations and shared data. This will help multi-site operators understand where inventory is located and how quickly it can reach each site, to improve availability and support resilience across multiple sites. Regional coverage should be a primary consideration in MRO supplier evaluation.

"We talk increasingly about supply webs rather than supply chains. By webs, I mean a network where you have regional stocking hubs, people pulling inventory on high-value, low-frequency items. Supplier consolidation improves availability and responsiveness. And if you are aggregating data around failure across multiple sites, you are improving your forecasting," stated Phil Broughton, special projects manager of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS).

Another key theme is the discoverability challenge. Finding the right part is becoming as important as having it, but the research revealed identifying critical replacement components remains a significant operational challenge. The white paper suggests rather than relying on generic product catalogues, operators should look to develop facility-specific critical spares frameworks, aligned to installed assets and operational risk. 

The white paper offers practical insights for data centre operators, and highlights why organisations should treat their maintenance supply chains as a strategic business function rather than simply an operational necessity.

"Operators should look to work with trusted suppliers - people who have strong governance within their own supply chain and relationships with trusted brands and original equipment manufacturers (OEMS), as well as strong ESG credentials. Combined, all these things can help organisations in this space maintain uptime," Graham concluded.

The new white paper - A spotlight on data centres… How maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) is central to their future - can be downloaded here. Find out how RS supports the data centre sector here.