| | | The goal of IT equipment manufacturers is to
build smaller more powerful servers, effectively reducing the amount
of floor space required to house them. The downside is that it
dramatically increases the potential overall weight of an individual
rack of IT equipment. And given the small footprint of most modern
racks, this has serious implications. |  | | | It is now possible to install 2000kg of IT
equipment within one single 42U Rack. The load exerted on the floor
slab of a building is significant and in many cases the average
office block is just not designed to cope. Therefore, if you want to
install new IT systems on the 3rd floor of your building it is
prudent to have the loadings checked out by a structural engineer.
The Survey Report specifies whether the structural integrity of the
building is adequate for the intended use and if not, proposes
possible structural additions to achieve the required result. e.g.
spreader plates or additional steel frames underneath the floor to
spread the loads over a wider area. The Survey includes:
Physical Inspection – of the floor slab from
below and above
Core Drilling– to take samples of the construction for analysis
Construction Review – of the methods of
construction from inspection of the surrounding structure and of
available building plans to determine load paths/walls etc.
Suitability Determination (post-site visit) -
using the specific details of the loads planned for installation,
all the information is used in a series of calculations to assess
the feasibility for proceeding with the planned works
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