How to become a Critical Facilities Operator
Walks the rounds of a data centre’s power and cooling plant, answers routine alarms and helps with maintenance, following the site’s procedures.
There’s a page for this role in , with its licences and local details.
What the role does
Walks the rounds, answers routine alarms, and takes part in maintenance under the site’s procedures. Needs no licence: the employer qualifies the operator for its site.
What a shift looks like
Shifts on a roster, days and nights, often twelve hours. Rounds of the plant with readings, alarms on the building management system, planned maintenance with the crew, and a handover to the next shift.
What employers call it
- Critical Environment Ops Technician (hyperscale)
- Data Center Engineering Operations Technician (hyperscale)
- Critical Facilities Technician I (colocation and wholesale)
- Critical Environments Operator I (colocation and wholesale)
- Critical Operations Technician I (colocation and wholesale)
- Site Engineer I (colocation and wholesale)
- DCO Facilities Technician I (colocation and wholesale)
- Facilities Technician (colocation and wholesale)
- Data Center Technician – Mechanical & Electrical (FM and service contractor)
- Critical Facilities Technician (Level 1) (FM and service contractor)
- Facilities Operations Technician (hyperscale)
- Associate Service Technician (colocation and wholesale)
- Associate Critical Environment Technician (colocation and wholesale)
Skills
The level the role needs in each, on FacilityVR’s five levels from Aware to Authority.
Site safety
- Hazards of a critical facility Independent
- Select and use protective equipment Independent
- Assess risk and plan safe work Assisted
- Electrical safety awareness Assisted
- Move equipment and handle loads safely Assisted
- Work at height Assisted
- Work under a permit to work Assisted
Safe isolation
- Isolate and lock out a single energy source Assisted
- Prove dead before touching Assisted
- Remove isolations and restore plant Assisted
Emergency response
- Evacuate and muster Independent
- Raise the alarm and escalate Independent
- Report an incident or near miss Independent
- Use a portable fire extinguisher Independent
- Recognise and report a suspected cyber incident Assisted
- Rescue from a live electrical incident Assisted
- Respond to a spill or leak Assisted
Procedures and documents
- Follow a standard operating procedure (SOP) Independent
- Carry out a method of procedure (MOP) Assisted
- Complete work orders and maintenance records Assisted
- Keep the shift log and hand over Assisted
LV distribution
- Read loads and capacity Assisted
- Trace the power path and its redundancy Assisted
Power transfer and generation
- Respond to a utility failure Aware
UPS and batteries
- Battery room safety Assisted
Cooling plant
- Psychrometrics and the thermal envelope Assisted
Monitoring and response
- Walk the rounds and take readings Independent
- Triage DCIM and BMS alarms Assisted
BMS and fire
- Respond to a fire alarm Assisted
Physical access and security
- Badge in and out Independent
- Escort visitors and contractors Assisted
White space and IT hardware
- Take electrostatic discharge precautions Independent
- Keep hot and cold aisles right Assisted
Liquid cooling
- Liquid-cooled IT and its loops Assisted, desirable
- Respond to a coolant leak or a CDU failure Assisted, desirable
Licences and credentials
Licences depend on the country you work in, and sometimes the state. The role’s page for Australia lists them there.
Ways in and ways on
From outside the industry
- From IT support to Critical Facilities Operator
- From facilities or building maintenance to Critical Facilities Operator
From another data centre role
- From Critical Facilities Trainee, typically 6 months
- From Data Centre Operator
- From Data Centre Technician
- From Operations Centre Technician
Where it leads
- Critical Facilities Technician, typically 18 months
- Data Centre Operator (a sideways move)
- Operations Centre Technician (a sideways move)
- Facilities and IT Technician, typically 18 months
Jobs open now
None right now. See every open job.
Questions about data centre careers? Ask about data centre careers
Sources and licences
Occupation codes: 7412 Electrical mechanics and fitters.
- Critical Facilities reference framework © Facility Labs. (CC BY 4.0)
- ISCO-08, International Labour Organization, as published in ESCO v1.2.1. This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission. (Commission Decision 2011/833/EU on the reuse of Commission documents)