How to reduce the incidence of human error in data centers

Data center companies often encounter hardware and network failures due to improper operation by operation and maintenance managers. So, whether it is in the computer room or remote operation and maintenance staff, what daily affairs processing method should they choose to work efficiently and safely?

1. Clear and robust processes and documentation

The operations in the data center should be documented and carried out according to clear and specific verified and practiced procedures. Of course, in the beginning, data center managers need to spend time and energy to create, record and maintain these processes and procedures, establish a program library and train and learn staff, which can effectively avoid network problems caused by improper operation.

2. Professional knowledge training before taking up the post

Data center personnel should understand the basics of electrical and mechanical systems, how data center systems relate to each other, and how to troubleshoot common problems that can arise in these types of environments. In addition, personnel should have good interpretive and analytical problem-solving skills.

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To establish a consistent base of knowledge, service providers should also train their staff regularly. McClary pointed out that many data center facility operators only provide short on-the-job training, but not necessarily long-term. Training must be ongoing, and each employee should be responsible for his or her own education and ability.

Documented processes and procedures provide the foundation for training efforts. As the scope of knowledge changes and expands, additional training can ensure a keen understanding of each staff member's roles, responsibilities, and required skills.

3. Daily inspections and drills

It is vital that data center staff take the time to experience and inspect all critical systems within a data center facility. These drills can be combined with training efforts to help staff recognize critical components and any issues that may arise.

Data center managers should develop some documented procedures to help guide these efforts through their inspections. This should include a list of items that should be checked during the drill, the specific parameters that staff should record, and the steps to be taken in the event of parameter results.

Drills can help staff identify easily correctable problems and prevent bigger problems later.

When a data center provides rental services, it is inevitable that some errors will occur when manually wiring the computer room, mounting servers, installing systems, assigning IP addresses, adding hard disks, etc. When users encounter such problems, they can urge the operation and maintenance staff to be careful, and at the same time, they can properly understand the occurrence of such errors. The more advanced mirroring and backup functions now have a certain role in solving the problem of data loss.

In short, accidents are prone to occur if there are no appropriate management measures for the best equipment. Only when all managers of the data center are familiar with who they are and what they are supposed to do can they truly ensure the safe operation of the data center.