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As data centers pile up in the construction queue, Redwood City, Calif.-based DPR Construction is seeing emerging pressures for both general contractors and project owners.
For example, project owners are under increasing pressure to complete these data center projects quickly, said Andy Kirby, DPR’s Central Region Advanced Technology Market Leader. This puts a strain on general contractors’ planning and execution timelines.
“Years ago, we were seeing 30- to 40-megawatt installations, and now it’s 500 megawatts to 1 gigawatt,” Kirby said. “That means hundreds of people on the general contractor side, not to mention business partners. That’s encouraging, but we have to start planning now.”
Here, Kirby talks to Construction Dive about offsite construction, DPR’s workforce approach, and the use of technologies in data center builds.
Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Construction Immersion: As data center projects continue to ramp up, what strategies are you implementing to ensure a steady labor pipeline, especially in areas where the workforce is already stretched?
ANDY KIRBY: DPR is working to create opportunities for off-site prefabrication as well as skilled labor training.
For off-site manufacturing, we are looking at how we can manufacture building components that could be assembled on-site. We are also looking at mechanical and electrical assemblies that will be built in off-site warehouses with machines that reduce skilled labor for on-site installation.
Andy Kirby
Permission granted by DPR
When it comes to work, we take a two-pronged approach.
We’ve prioritized in-house craft training programs for current workers to expand their skills and teach them how to grow their careers with mentors, which in turn promotes job retention.
To grow the pipeline of new workers, we partner with organizations like the Construction Industry Education Foundation to actively support educational opportunities with local high schools and trade institutions to spark interest in the construction trades.
What are some specific examples where prefab had a significant impact on cost, security or quality in a recent DPR data center project?
With increasing demand, it is not only important that these projects are delivered quickly, but delivered with quality in order to grow and scale.
In many data center projects throughout the state of Texas, we have been able to fabricate electrical rooms, central service plants, and major mechanical and electrical pipe racks to eliminate on-site construction, increasing efficiency along with quality , as more complex areas are managed off-site in a controlled environment.
When these elements can be assembled and installed, rather than built on site, labor is also reduced, which affects cost and safety.
What project management technologies or practices have been most effective in balancing the need for speed with maintaining quality and cost?
We use project management software and cost data tools to create analytical dashboards for our clients. Real-time data informs our clients and enables them to make decisions around their businesses.
All too often, costs take a backseat to high quality and a tight schedule in a construction project. However, we provide value to our clients through our VDC specialty. By digitally creating three-dimensional models of complex facilities and overlapping areas, teams can plan ahead and identify potential conflicts.
This increases the quality and reduces the cost of rework.
How is DPR addressing supply chain constraints, particularly to ensure timely delivery of materials to meet the demands of the project’s fast schedules?
DPR works with national networks of vendors and material suppliers to help inform our schedules and budgets very early in the design process.
We use this data to create delivery date scenarios for long-lead equipment, as well as alternative solutions for turn-on dates.
Some solutions include temporary measures to meet schedule milestones that can be replaced when the permanent team arrives. Other times we are working with our national networks to source materials to ensure billing dates are met.
How are you integrating energy efficiency and sustainability practices into data center builds?
We have seen many of the recent data center projects evaluate both energy consumption and water efficiency to integrate them into the design. It is imperative that we continue to reduce the use of some of our most vulnerable natural resources, while providing an efficient building that works at the intended scale.
Any other trends DPR is keeping an eye on in terms of data center construction?
DPR Construction continues to be a leader in building state-of-the-art data centers that include direct-on-chip cooling.
With the increased power in the racks and thus the overall heat build-up, our experience allows us to be creative in our strategies for cooling these high-performance chips to enable maximum performance.
