Data Center Design and Construction

As demand for digital infrastructure continues to grow, data center design and construction have become increasingly complex. Today’s facilities must deliver uninterrupted uptime, support rapidly evolving technology and maintain operational resilience under virtually any condition.

In mission critical environments, success depends on one thing: attention to detail.

GBA Builders partnered with GBA to complete an expansion of a leading-edge data center in Omaha, Nebraska. Projects like these reinforce an important reality of mission critical facilities: small oversights can create significant operational risk. From electrical redundancy to cooling system performance, the details matter. 

After years of designing, constructing and operating mission critical facilities, several challenges consistently emerge during project delivery.

Here are seven of the most common data center infrastructure challenges and strategies to help avoid them.

1) Designing for the Right Capacity

One of the earliest and most difficult decisions in data center design is determining the appropriate electrical and mechanical capacity.

The challenge? Technology changes quickly.

IT equipment refresh cycles, evolving rack densities and changing load profiles make long-term forecasting difficult. What seems sufficient today may be outdated tomorrow.

Best Practice:

Design for scalability and expandability whenever possible.

Flexible infrastructure allows facilities to adapt to future business growth and evolving technology requirements without major disruptions or costly retrofits.

2) Integrating Power and Cooling Monitoring

A successful mission critical facility design must prioritize monitoring from day one.

The phrase “You can’t manage what you can’t measure” applies directly to data center operations.

Power and cooling monitoring systems provide critical visibility into:

• Electrical loads 
• Cooling performance 
• Redundant power paths 
• Failover impacts 
• Capacity planning 

Without reliable monitoring, operators may struggle to identify inefficiencies or anticipate infrastructure limitations.

Best Practice:

Incorporate monitoring systems early in design and ensure they account for redundant electrical pathways and operational failover scenarios.

3) Coordinating Electrical and Mechanical Systems

In data centers, electrical and mechanical systems are interconnected.

A common oversight occurs when redundant cooling systems share the same power source.

For example, if both primary and backup cooling equipment rely on a single electrical panel, a power disruption can simultaneously shut down both systems, creating unnecessary operational risk.

Best Practice:

Coordinate electrical and mechanical systems early to ensure redundancy strategies function as intended.

Every backup system should be evaluated for hidden single points of failure.

4) Planning for Controls Availability

Control systems are often overlooked until something goes wrong.

In ducted cooling systems, for example, the loss of control to variable air volume (VAV) dampers could trigger closures that reduce airflow to mission critical equipment.

The result can be overheating, performance degradation or operational disruption.

Best Practice:

Evaluate the operational impact of control failures and determine where redundant control systems may be necessary to maintain uptime.

5) Establishing a Clear Equipment Labeling Strategy

Equipment labeling may seem minor, but it plays a major role in long-term operational success.

Without a clear identification system, troubleshooting, maintenance and commissioning become more difficult.

An effective labeling strategy should include:

• Unique equipment identifiers 
• Electrical and mechanical asset naming standards 
• Permanent placards and valve tags 
• Clear differentiation of redundant pathways (A/B systems) 

Best Practice:

Develop a logical equipment labeling standard during design, not after construction.

This creates smoother transitions into operations and improves long-term maintainability.

6) Prioritizing Acceptance Testing and Commissioning

One of the biggest risks in data center construction is treating testing as a checklist exercise.

Proper data center commissioning should go beyond verifying individual equipment.

It should include:

• Full system load testing 
• Design-capacity validation 
• Failover testing 
• Integrated Systems Testing (IST) 

Testing systems under real operating conditions may be the only opportunity to identify weaknesses before occupancy.

This becomes especially important when construction occurs within an active data center, where uptime requirements add complexity.

Best Practice:

Avoid reducing commissioning timelines to recover schedule delays. The risks of inadequate testing often surface after occupancy when failures become more costly and disruptive.

7) Managing Schedule Pressure Without Sacrificing Quality

In mission critical construction, schedules are often fixed.

Unfortunately, equipment lead times, labor shortages and supply chain disruptions can quickly threaten delivery timelines.

When delays occur, teams sometimes compress:

• Startup periods 
• Acceptance testing 
• Commissioning activities 

While tempting, shortening these phases increases operational risk and may leave unresolved issues undiscovered.

Best Practice:

Establish expectations for schedule management early and proactively plan contingency strategies to reduce downstream impacts.

Why Details Matter in Mission Critical Projects

The most successful data center projects are defined by reliability.

Every decision, from power redundancy to controls integration, affects long-term performance and uptime.

Teams that consistently evaluate lessons learned from previous projects are better equipped to reduce risk, solve problems early and deliver resilient mission-critical facilities.

How GBA Supports Data Center and Mission Critical Projects

At GBA, we understand the challenges that come with data center design, construction and operations.

Our integrated team helps clients minimize risk through:

• Mission critical facility planning 
• Electrical and mechanical coordination 
• Data center construction support 
• Commissioning and startup planning 
• Risk mitigation and operational readiness 

From project conception through closeout, we help clients deliver resilient infrastructure built for reliability, scalability and long-term performance.