Preventing Outages Through Expert Service & Commissioning

From Equipment Choice to Operational Excellence

The rise of AI‑driven workloads, edge deployments, and higher rack power densities is putting significantly more pressure on data center cooling performance and operations. Studies and industry guidance show that cooling issues remain the second largest contributor to outages and degraded performance after power. At the same time cooling systems represent roughly one third of total facility energy use and operating cost. In modern mission-critical environments, mastering the disciplines of the cooling‑system commissioning and service has become a decisive operational lever—directly influencing system uptime, thermal stability, and operational cost control. Rather than functioning as a secondary layer beneath equipment selection, rigorous commissioning protocols and data-driven service practices now serve as primary determinants of overall cooling‑system performance and long‑term reliability. As high-density racks regularly exceed 30–50 kW and AI clusters push even higher, these minor at first sight technical decisions play an ever-greater role in determining whether operators can safely realize the capacity they have built on paper or are forced to strand power and space to mitigate potential risk.​
 

Preventable Failures and Performance Gains

Evidence from best‑practice facilities suggests that regular maintenance of cooling facilities can yield double‑digit percentage reductions in energy consumption while improving reliability and IT equipment life. According to Uptime Institute's Annual Outage Analysis report, 2025 data showed cooling problems causing about 14% of outages, though air cooled systems can handle short temperature spikes before serious problems occur, liquid cooling has significantly changed the ball game when considering fault tolerance. Many outages could be avoided in practice. IEEE estimates that structured maintenance programs can reduce unplanned outages by up to 66% by addressing minor issues early. Proactive steps like regular inspections, cleaning and anomaly detection deliver cost reductions due to superior efficiency and enhance reliability. Well-executed commissioning and re-commissioning of cooling systems—validating sensor placement, airflow distribution, liquid flow rates, temperature setpoints, and failover behaviour—helps eliminate latent defects before they manifest as hotspots or downtime in production. Operators can directly see the impact of these actions in reduced utility costs and substantially cut the likelihood of an outage. For hyperscale and colocation providers, this level of technical excellence in cooling is no longer a “nice to have”; it is a strategic decision in an increasingly competitive market.​

Source: Uptime Institute Global Data Center Survey 2025

The Measurable Impact of Technical Training

Uptime Institute’s 2025 outage analysis shows that human errors caused by poor procedures led to 10% more incidents. Many of these issues could have been avoided with focused training programmes for technical staff. Facilities that engage  skilled technicians experience fewer costly, unplanned events than those relying on general HVAC service providers alone. STULZ remains committed to driving continuous development of its technical service teams. Stulz Asia Hub conducted another comprehensive technical training for service engineers across the region last month. This intensive program focused on advanced technical methodologies and hands-on fault finding simulations to strengthen expertise in STULZ product diagnostics, maintenance, and data center HVAC systems. Workshops led by Mark Langford (STULZ Asia Hub Technical Director) together with expert trainers Pang Jin Yuan (Regional Service Manager) and Tan Boon Chuan (Commissioning Manager) focused on testing and commissioning as well as BMS communication and integration protocols to ensure Service teams remain proficient in current customer interface standards and fully aligned with evolving remote monitoring, control, and optimisation expectations.

Regional Service Network Strengthened

STULZ Product Training has significantly improved technical confidence of participants while fostering knowledge exchange between engineers working in different infrastructure environments. This regional coordination demonstrates our ongoing commitment to providing guaranteed technical excellence of STULZ and local partners’  engineers regardless of deployment location. From Japan to Indonesia, STULZ service teams possess the in-depth knowledge that modern mission-critical operations demand — from commissioning to predictive maintenance and beyond.