The resilience and dependability of a nation in the face of uncertain conditions determine its stability. Technical difficulties can be disastrous for unprepared or underprepared facilities during a crisis. Mission-critical facilities, in particular, must be created and maintained using a redundancy-based infrastructure. The question remains, how can a building be prepared for the tasks ahead? In the text below, we’ll discuss this and more.
What facilities need technical preparation?
A mission-critical facility is often described as any operation that, if disrupted, would have a detrimental impact on business operations. For instance, disruption to:
- Data centers or telecom centers could result in enormous economic losses and a threat to public safety.
- Military installations or jail systems could jeopardize national security or legal compliance.
- Hospitals, laboratories, and public safety facilities could result in fatalities and the incapacity to serve the public good.
These are only a few examples of mission-critical operations. The purpose of implementing redundancy in buildings that house these functions is to boost energy and/or climatic resiliency and make sure these facilities are operating within adequate conditions.
Biocontainment in laboratories, research centers, etc.
One use of the term “biocontainment” relates to laboratory biosafety and is relevant to microbiology labs where it is necessary to physically contain pathogenic organisms or agents (bacteria, viruses, and toxins), typically by isolation in environmentally and biologically secure cabinets or rooms, in order to prevent unintentional infection of staff members or release into the surrounding community during scientific research. The biomedical research enterprise relies heavily on animal studies and animal research facilities.
Therefore, while choosing a vivarium facility for animal research, one must make sure all the conditions are optimal and up to security standards to ensure the safety of everyone involved. For this purpose, experts well acquainted with all the designs and layouts should be put to the task, as their professional assessment can help facilities reach the highest levels of biosafety.
Depending on the needs of the facility, biosafety levels are secured, and not every safety facility needs to be secure on all levels. But, there must be a certain level of assurance when pathogens and microorganisms are being handled, no matter if the studies are restricted to animals or humans alone.
Preparing a building for technical purposes means preparing it for its initial goals and future taste, which also means making sure it fulfills all the requirements within the job description.
Energy source and safety
Energy security entails having access to adequate, steady sources of energy to meet building/operational requirements. Energy endurance goes past security to plan for a period when such energy sources may be unavailable.
An energy-resilient facility will prepare for such an occurrence by implementing fail-safes and redundancy to accommodate numerous conceivable scenarios. With these preparations in place, the facility will be able to maintain operations and recover from an interruption quickly and efficiently.
Climate resilience especially prepares for adverse scenarios caused by climate change. Climate resilience in the context of energy resilience focuses on how climate change affects energy access and usage. Changes in weather cycles, for example, might:
- Cause larger temperature peaks and troughs, resulting in increased energy use over a longer period of time.
- Contribute to extreme weather occurrences, which cause changes in electricity delivery or outright stoppage.
Mission-critical facilities can be made resilient by including redundancy and resiliency in the building design after calculating the risk of a shock to energy systems.
The right infrastructure
The infrastructure layout for facilities with a specific function must meet all the needed requirements in case of possible accidents. The exit points and entering points must be strategically placed across the facility to prevent any incidents where there is a higher frequency of staff members.
For safety reasons, certain rooms must be separated from others. This is especially the case in laboratories and research centers as well as military facilities where firearms cannot come into contact with hazardous materials. The infrastructure must meet the needs, and within the layout, parking spaces and relaxing rooms are integrated.
The infrastructure plan greatly depends on how the facility has been constructed from the beginning, but certain changes can be made to existing facilities no matter the initial plan.
Also, data storage is an important part of every facility for technical purposes. The data storage unit is closely related to the energy resilience of the building and therefore depends on constant energy flow and energy batteries in the case of shortcuts. However, hardware units must exist to ensure the compromised data is never deleted.
Every building needs “upgrades” and safety measures for the security of all members of the staff and to improve the technical purposes of the facility. With the help of professionals, these facilities can become up-to-date and safe spaces for everyone.