{"id":15841,"date":"2019-07-19T11:00:06","date_gmt":"2019-07-19T19:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/2019\/07\/19\/news-9587\/"},"modified":"2019-07-19T11:00:06","modified_gmt":"2019-07-19T19:00:06","slug":"news-9587","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/2019\/07\/19\/news-9587\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Musts for Filling the Hyper Gap in Hyperscale Labor"},"content":{"rendered":"

Credit to Author: Frank Nash| Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2019 19:22:33 +0000<\/strong><\/p>\n

The statistics are both exciting and discouraging.\u00a0<\/strong>Hyperscale capex jumped 43%<\/a> in Q4 2018, with industry chatter around a 100 MW<\/a> deal later this year. To keep up with this demand, however, it\u2019s estimated that 400,000 skilled workers are needed in the data center market<\/a>. During a panel session at the 7×24 Exchange conference<\/a> last month, we took a look at this hyper gap in hyperscale<\/a> labor.<\/p>\n

As the societal focus on college boomed, the trades suffered. Now, as an aging workforce moves on, the population of the value chain is shrinking. Plus, the complexity of building data centers is leveling up the types of skill sets needed.<\/p>\n

My fellow panelists Nancy Novak from Compass Datacenters, Dennis Cronin from Resilient Solutions, Chris Jansen of Faith Technologies, and Bill Mazzetti of Rosendin Electric are at the forefront of trying to address this industry dilemma and reverse the paradigm. Here were four must-dos we discussed to fill the gap.<\/p>\n

\"man <\/p>\n

1. Advocate the Industry<\/h2>\n

A longer-term strategy is to reinvigorate the trades. Rosendin Electric \u2014 one of the largest specialty union shops \u2014 is focusing on students as they enter high school. Shop classes that once led down the path are now scarce.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re showing them that the trades are noble vocations and rewarding professions,\u201d Bill said. \u201cWe also have an aggressive intern program that allows kids from the office side to enter construction. There\u2019s so much cool technology in our industry now. It often surprises them.\u201d<\/p>\n

In another area, Dennis believes that the trades should be better integrated with higher education. His company is working with community colleges and universities to bring more information about data centers and trade requirements into the curriculum.<\/p>\n

Having been in construction her entire career, Nancy is dedicated to advancing women and getting them more interested in STEM fields. \u201cFemales make up only 3% of trades. They are an extremely untapped part of the population and a huge missed opportunity,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s created a program that offers women with no experience the chance to become operations managers. Their enthusiasm spreads. \u201cI\u2019ve gotten so many thank you messages from women who say they never dreamt of doing this type of work.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to seeking gender parity, Chris believes an \u201cunrelenting look for quality candidates\u201d will result in a more diverse workforce.<\/p>\n

2. Transform Training<\/h2>\n

After awareness comes training. We can\u2019t prepare new workers for the trades with old approaches. Chris noted, \u201cI\u2019m a third-generation electrician, and the apprentice program hasn\u2019t changed since my grandfather\u2019s day. Out of our 3,300 employees, 67% are Millennials or Gen Z. We have to work the way they want to work by providing things like online training and luring them with exciting technology like lasers and 3-D modeling. We also have to give them a clear career path.\u201d<\/p>\n

To that end, his company created Faith University, which offers master classes, so workers can move beyond being a journeyman electrician. This growth helps them earn more. The continued learning also keeps the industry momentum going.<\/p>\n

Training must be more broadly focused said Dennis. \u201cWe need a different type of facility operator \u2014 particularly for hyperscale. They need to understand electrical, mechanical, information systems and how they all tie together. The next gen must also learn quicker than this gen. We absorbed in the field over a lifetime. Now, the industry needs mature processes to match its maturity.\u201d<\/p>\n

3. Utilize Smart Solutions<\/h2>\n

One of the ways to expedite and overcome both physical and knowledge gaps, is through technology \u2014 solutions that can save man hours on site. Chris and Nancy especially emphasized the need for an integrated modular approach. He called prefab: \u201cthe most critical piece of success for scaling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nancy explained that in many industries \u2014 not just data centers \u2014 electrical and mechanical trades play the biggest role in value creation. 75% of labor is in these pathways, as is 40% of the value.<\/p>\n

In a controlled environment, time and money isn\u2019t the only thing saved. Wear and tear on the body can be mitigated and safety vastly increased. All of the panelists\u2019 organizations rely on custom software to bridge some of the gaps.<\/p>\n

Kitting and prefab, however, won\u2019t fully address the labor shortage, according to Bill. \u201cWe don\u2019t have enough unskilled labor either, so we have to build buildings differently with more collaborative work among the trades. We have to reduce the overall labor footprint applied to a building.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say, he stressed, that people will be replaced \u2014 a common conclusion jumped to in the era of AI. \u201cRobotics, for example, can extend people\u2019s lifespans. We remove the need for them to be on their hands and knees for hours or stand on a ladder holding 75-pound busway. \u00a0Getting rid of the highly repetitive work makes everyone\u2019s job more palatable.\u201d<\/p>\n

To help in this area, Chris suggested breaking down the workflow to identify the structure. Figure out what tasks are primary functions (i.e skilled) and which are secondary (i.e. unskilled). The rest is where you can find and eliminate waste.<\/p>\n

4. Retain the New Workforce<\/h2>\n

As studies show, retaining talented and trained workers takes more than money. Supporting them with help \u2014 freeing them up to focus on their core competency \u2014 is one way to go. Surround them with people who know logistics or with material managers, for example.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can get them to 78% of primary function by complementing them with people who don\u2019t typically work in the industry,\u201d said Chris.<\/p>\n

Inevitably, people will leave, but Faith Technologies seeks to preserve the knowledge by converting them to instructors at Faith University or helping them secure roles as consultants.<\/p>\n

Nancy\u2019s main advice for retention: \u201cBe a mentor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bill concluded, \u201cExamine your company values, and consider how you treat people. If you have a big problem with retention take a hard look at your organization \u2013 are you really talking the talk?\u201d<\/p>\n

Scale for Hyperscale – with Prefabricated Solutions<\/h2>\n

The hyperscale trend will only get bigger. Focusing on these four approaches to level up the labor shortage is a must. Also consider technologies to scale up faster \u2013 like with prefabricated data centers<\/a> \u2013 check it out.<\/p>\n

The post 4 Musts for Filling the Hyper Gap in Hyperscale Labor<\/a> appeared first on Schneider Electric Blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/blog.schneider-electric.com\/feed\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Credit to Author: Frank Nash| Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2019 19:22:33 +0000<\/strong><\/p>\n

The statistics are both exciting and discouraging.\u00a0Hyperscale capex jumped 43% in Q4 2018, with industry chatter around a 100 MW deal later this year. To keep up with this demand,… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n

The post 4 Musts for Filling the Hyper Gap in Hyperscale Labor<\/a> appeared first on Schneider Electric Blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[12389,12388],"tags":[12390,12391,19955,15230],"class_list":["post-15841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-scadaics","category-schneider","tag-colocation","tag-data-center","tag-data-center-market","tag-hyperscale"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15841"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15841\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}