Technical Cleaning

Particles, gasses, and other contaminants can impact the sustained operations of the computer hardware in a data centre. Data Centre and Server Room environments therefore need to be cleaned on a regular basis to maintain the environmental quality of the room and to prevent build up of contamination.

Workspace Technology provides Technical Cleaning services which should be performed as part of an overall data centre Preventative Maintenance strategy. Depending on the facility the cleaning frequency will generally range from monthly visits up to a minimum frequency one clean per year.

The scope of cleaning can be adjusted to suite the existing level of facility cleanliness and the target level of cleanliness.

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Frequency

Monthly, Quarterly or Yearly.

Floor Void

This service is important not only for ensuring that equipment is kept in a clean environment, (particularly when there is a down flow system). Contamination in the floor void will be picked up by the airflow and circulated around the computer room. The contamination could then settle on tops of ledges, equipment, etc or more hazardously be drawn into computer equipment possibly causing media related problems.

Floor Void Clean

  1. Carry out a full risk assessment
  2. Cordon off a section of the floor void to avoid accidents. Remove panels by use of the correct tool i.e. suction (for vinyl) or spiked lifter (for carpet) either singly or in rows. It is not recommended that more than 3 panels are lifted in any particular area.
  3. Panels are removed by lifting them by only the depth of the floor panel and then turning them at an angle to ensure that they do not fall into the aperture and damage any cables in the void.
  4. Identify the fibre optic cables and other sensitive areas. Make all technicians aware of these and mark their location on a plan of the computer room. Detectors will be covered and marked on a plan. These will be checked off at the end of the day to ensure that they have all been removed.
  5. Remove contamination from all areas of the void including underneath, inside the cable trays, underneath pipes, services, etc. using a three stage micro-filtered vacuum cleaner 99.9% (0.3 micron) filtration. Wipe with an impregnated cloth and anti-static solutions that are safe to use on cables and services.
  6. If debris and contamination are allowed to accumulate on the pedestal heads the floor could become unbalanced and therefore dangerous.
  7. Replace panels, paying particular attention to panel edges and replace in the same order as taken.

Floor Surface – Carpet

Contamination within the carpet will abrade the carpet fibres and accelerate the ageing process. Contamination on the floor surface can be picked up by the airflow and circulated around the room.

Carpet Service

  1. Carry out specialised tests to identify the type of carpet that requires cleaning. These tests prevent costly mistakes being made, i.e., discolouring of carpet from use of wrong chemicals, shrinkage and balding of carpet from too vigorously scrubbing to remove stubborn stains.
  2. Remove spot stains and other soiling, where possible
  3. Vacuum thoroughly with micro-filtered cleaners
  4. Re-stick any loose carpet pads with suitable adhesive
  5. Clean the carpet to the manufacturers’ specifications by impregnating the pad with solutions and lift off the contamination with a rotary machine and finish with an anti-static solution to prevent static build-up. This process of cleaning the floor surface leaves the carpet virtually dry and is safe to use inside the computer room.

Technical Clean Service Plan Options

Dycem ProtectaMat As part of Workspace Technology’s strategy to help our customers improve the overall availability of data centre services Dycem ProtectaMat provides an alternative high performance solution to traditional “tack mat” systems. 

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