12/23/2022

What is Mission-Critical Construction?

Mission-critical construction includes data centers and other essential facilities that must operate without interruption 24/7. Electrical and power concerns during construction are the highest priority for these businesses. Outages of any duration in these buildings can have severe or even life-threatening impacts. Many of these facilities require mission-critical construction to ensure continuous operation, allowing them to function smoothly during events that might otherwise cause disruption.

How Mission-Critical Construction Works

Facilities require different mission-critical standards based on their unique operating requirements. Although not all mission-critical requirements are necessarily technological, many relate to the utility and information technology (IT) infrastructure needed to maintain continuous operation.

Some mission-critical facilities plan for outages caused by severe weather and other natural occurrences by having redundancies and fail-safes in place for cases when power might not be available. Others emphasize data protection and implementing safeguards that prevent significant impact during a compromise.

Many construction companies utilize a need-plus-one (N+1) design, meaning they install a second electrical system and generator secondary to the primary power sources. Facilities that cannot tolerate even a millisecond of disruption often depend on batteries, fuel cells and other uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems that allow equipment to operate seamlessly during a prospective interruption.

Examples of Mission-Critical Facilities

The designation of “mission critical” refers to a system, application, service or task necessary for operational functioning. When a mission-critical system fails, the entire organization ceases to function. These circumstances can result in various adverse effects, from revenue loss to legal implications to human health risks.

Some examples of mission-critical facilities include:

• Data centers: Disruptions in data and telecom centers can lead to significant revenue losses and affect public safety.
• Military facilities: Interruptions at military facilities, government institutions and prison systems can jeopardize national security or endanger legal conformity.
• Health and public safety buildings: Power outages in hospitals, laboratories and other public facilities can lead to loss of life through the inability to provide proper health care.

New technologies in construction and design allow companies to perform infrastructure upgrades to existing mission-critical facilities. JRM Construction Management offers these services to businesses while their facilities remain fully operational. One JRM project in New Jersey involved comprehensive modifications to a Fortune 1000 company’s electrical, mechanical, security, fire protection and IT infrastructure systems.

Contact JRM Construction Management to Learn More

At JRM Construction Management, we strive to build long-lasting partnerships with each of our clients by delivering the highest-performing services on time and within budget, regardless of the size or scope of a project. Our team can help your organization plan for redundancy before or after initial construction. Connect with us online today to learn more about mission-critical construction and our other services.