Data Center Engineering Project Management
إدارة المشاريع الهندسية لمراكز البيانات
- Next date
- 1–5 February 2027Online
- Fees from
- £2,950per delegate
- Formats
- Online · Classroom4 sessions
- Duration
- 5 daysCertificate
Overview
Data center projects combine the urgency of a technology launch with the complexity of a major industrial build. Owners need capacity on dates driven by customer contracts and AI deployments, while designers and contractors must coordinate dense mechanical, electrical and controls systems, long-lead equipment, strict quality requirements and demanding commissioning programs. Late equipment, design changes, interface gaps and weak coordination between trades regularly cause delays and cost overruns. Engineers who move into project leadership need tools that reflect the specific risks and sequence of mission-critical construction.
This course provides a structured approach to managing data center engineering projects from concept to handover. Participants learn the data center project lifecycle, delivery models and stakeholder structures, and how to define scope, requirements and design basis clearly. The course covers integrated scheduling, long-lead equipment procurement, design management and coordination, construction sequencing, quality management and the integration of commissioning into the project plan. It also explains cost and change control, risk management, health and safety on live and new sites, phased capacity delivery, digital tools such as BIM, and handover to a reliable operating facility.
Objectives
- Describe the data center project lifecycle, delivery models and key stakeholders
- Define scope, owner's requirements and design basis for a data center project
- Build integrated schedules linking design, procurement, construction and commissioning
- Plan procurement of long-lead equipment and manage supply chain risks
- Coordinate design and construction interfaces across mechanical, electrical and controls trades
- Apply cost, change, quality, risk and safety management to mission-critical projects
- Plan phased capacity delivery and a structured handover to operations
- Use digital tools such as BIM to improve coordination and project control
Who should attend
Project engineers and managers, design and construction managers, owners' representatives and engineers moving into project leadership.
Training methodology
The course follows a realistic data center project from early concept to final handover. Participants define requirements, build an integrated schedule with long-lead items and commissioning milestones, prepare a procurement plan, and run design coordination and change control exercises. Risk workshops focus on supply chain, interfaces and schedule pressure. Case studies from hyperscale, colocation and enterprise projects illustrate common failure points and good practice. Teams present a project execution plan to a simulated owner review board at the end of the week. Each day ends with a short quiz.
Programme outline
Day1Project Lifecycle and Requirements
- What makes data center projects different from other building and industrial projects
- Project lifecycle from site selection and concept to operation and expansion
- Delivery models including design-bid-build, design and build and EPCM approaches
- Stakeholders: owner, tenant, designer, contractors, vendors and utility providers and their interests
- Owner's project requirements, basis of design and measurable performance criteria for acceptance
- Scope definition, work breakdown structure and interface responsibility matrices between packages
- Exercise: preparing a scope and requirements summary for a new data center
Day2Scheduling and Long-Lead Procurement
- Integrated scheduling that links design, procurement, construction and commissioning phases together
- Critical path drivers such as utility power, generators, switchgear and chillers
- Long-lead equipment strategies, framework agreements and early procurement packages with vendors
- Factory acceptance testing, logistics and site delivery planning for large equipment
- Supply chain risks, vendor capacity limits and practical options for mitigating them
- Schedule compression techniques and their effect on cost and quality
- Exercise: building an integrated schedule with long-lead items and milestones
Day3Design Management and Construction Coordination
- Design stages, reviews and the control of design changes during delivery
- Multi-discipline coordination, clash detection and the role of BIM models
- Prefabrication, modular power and cooling skids and the benefits of offsite manufacturing
- Construction sequencing for shell, mechanical, electrical and white space works
- Quality management, inspection and test plans and hold points agreed with the owner
- Health and safety management on large sites and live facility expansions
- Exercise: resolving design coordination issues in a sample project scenario
Day4Cost, Change and Risk Control
- Estimating and budgeting data center projects with cost per megawatt benchmarks
- Earned value management and cost reporting for large engineering projects
- Change control procedures and managing scope growth driven by tenant requirements
- Risk identification workshops and quantitative schedule and cost risk analysis
- Contract interfaces, claims avoidance and early warning mechanisms between project parties
- Reporting to owners, investors and steering committees with clear dashboards
- Exercise: running a change control and risk workshop for a delayed project
Day5Commissioning, Phasing and Handover
- Integrating commissioning into the project schedule from the very first stage
- Phased delivery of capacity while protecting live data halls already in service
- Readiness for operations: staffing, procedures, spares and training before handover
- Handover documentation, warranties and the formal close-out of project contracts
- Lessons learned from data center projects that missed capacity delivery dates
- Team project: presenting a project execution plan to a simulated owner review board
- Final assessment and discussion of project challenges in participants' organizations
Dates and fees
Fees are in GBP. per delegate.
Certificate
Every delegate who attends the full programme receives a Harfard Technology certificate of completion stating the course title, duration, dates and venue.
Frequently asked questions
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