Cooperation is key when building data centers in challenging times

At Green Mountain’s OSL1-Enebakk site, a new 13.5 MW colocation data center was recently completed. CTS Nordics (CTS) was the Design & Build contractor for the project and worked closely with Green Mountain to realize this project despite demanding circumstances.

A special challenge with this project was to create an extremely flexible design. A design that could accommodate enterprises needing standard colocation, all the way to hyperscalers’ needs.

As this was a cooperation between Green Mountain and CTS it was important that the team members trusted each other. Very early in the process, a team gathering was organized so they could get to know each other and create the essential trust between the team members. This way, no one hid away problems or tried to blame each other. Instead, we discovered challenges early and were able to address them straight away.

Long production and delivery times is a global challenge in these uncertain times and it also affected the progress. One solution was to split deliveries, instead of waiting for the components to arrive together. This way, we could perform parts of installations and secure as much progress as possible while waiting for remaining deliveries. In addition, the team tried to mitigate delivery problems by close follow-up of suppliers.

“By involving CTS from the very beginning and establishing a good relationship we got a head start in the project. During design development, the team needed to look at both the master planning and the building to coordinate a viable and efficient solution. It would not have been possible to complete this project had it not been for the cooperation, trust and shared competence between the two parties. At the end, it is all about the people.” says Nils Christensen, CTS.