As a mission critical systems/facilities designer the last 20 years, I have found that most of the time (my earliest designs) my approach was as an "expert" on HOW the facility/system MUST operate. As many proffesionals that start designing I assumed that I Knew everything, but the reality crashed very quickly against my position, then I understood that for doing an efficient but more than that an effectiveness design I should gather those people that really new on each subsystem involved in each kind of facility.

Then I started (10-12 years ago) to design more data center / Main Equipment Rooms for those projects that need to fit all the components in such facilities ( Architecture/Civil works; Automation; Cooling; Energy; Safety; Security; IT transport and so) and then another milestone was "shown" just in front of me. I have to do a "handover" or a "turnkey delivery" to those that will live and suffer my decisions on HOW MUST the facility will run.

A good friend told me that those enginnering teams (sometime only one guy) have to take my "ideas" of how their jobs have to be performed, and showed me the "jigs, patches, band-aids, they have to figure out for those "expert design & construction" solutions gave by people like myself.

Well the "bottom of the line" is: As constructors/contractors/builders/ designers; we have to LEARN how the real Operation & Maintenance, is performed by those proffesionals that will take over our project and will make them useful for their organizations.

But what is your opinion?

roberto sanchez, RCDD