Data center terms, matched to oil and gas

Switches a load from utility power to generator power, and back, without anyone touching it.

Getting your site access badge: background check, drug test and safety orientation. It can take days to weeks.

In oil and gas: Like TWIC and site orientation, often stricter.

The control system that runs and monitors the mechanical equipment: chillers, pumps, CRAHs, valves and alarms.

In oil and gas: The DCS for the building's mechanical side.

Overhead metal-enclosed conductors that carry power along a row of racks, with plug-in tap-off boxes instead of individual circuits.

In oil and gas: Bus duct, used far more heavily here.

Pumps, heat exchanger and controls that move coolant between the building water loop and the liquid-cooled racks.

In oil and gas: A skid with pumps and a heat exchanger.

The piping that carries cold water from the chillers to the cooling units in the data halls and back. Building-services piping may fall under ASME B31.9. Always confirm the governing code in the project specifications.

In oil and gas: Like a plant cooling water system. The governing piping code is set by the project specifications, not assumed to be B31.3.

Makes chilled water for the building by pulling heat out of the water loop. Usually a row of large units in a central plant.

In oil and gas: Same machine as a plant chiller, with tighter uptime rules.

A data center that rents space, power and cooling to many tenants.

Rejects the heat collected by the chillers to the outside air.

In oil and gas: The same heat-rejection principle used in industrial cooling towers, configured for the facility's cooling load and redundancy requirements.

Like a CRAH, but with its own refrigerant compressor instead of chilled water.

A fan and coil unit that uses chilled water to cool the air in the data hall.

The firm hired, usually by the owner, to write the test scripts, witness the tests and confirm every system works as designed.

In oil and gas: Like the commissioning team plus an owner's witness in one firm.

The rooms where the server racks go.

Software and meters that watch every breaker, UPS and generator in real time and log every event.

Everything that supports the data halls: electrical rooms, the chiller plant, generator yards.

In oil and gas: Like the utilities side of a plant (OSBL).

A hold point stops work until the named party inspects. A witness point needs notice, but work can go on if they don't show.

In oil and gas: Same terms.

Walls, doors and ceilings around rows of racks that keep cold supply air and hot exhaust air from mixing.

Very large campuses built by the biggest cloud and AI companies for their own use.

The CxA's running list of problems found during commissioning, tracked to closure.

In oil and gas: Like a punch list, kept by the commissioning team.

Lists every inspection and test for a scope, who does it, and where the hold and witness points are.

In oil and gas: Same word, same document.

Equipment is tested at the factory before it ships.

In oil and gas: FAT.

Delivery and installation checks on site: receiving inspection, nameplates against submittals, damage, torque, labels.

In oil and gas: Receiving inspection and installation QC.

First power-up and vendor startup, with pre-functional checklists signed. "Level 3 complete" is a project milestone.

In oil and gas: Pre-commissioning. Mechanical completion is an important predecessor to commissioning. The exact boundaries depend on the project's commissioning plan.

Each system is tested on its own against its sequence of operations, often on load banks.

In oil and gas: System commissioning and function checks.

Everything is tested together by failing it on purpose: utility power is pulled, the UPS rides through, generators pick up and cooling has to hold.

In oil and gas: No exact match. The closest is startup trip and ESD testing on a new unit.

Coolant piped right to cold plates on the processors instead of cooling the room air. Increasingly used in high-density AI data halls.

In oil and gas: Closer to process piping than HVAC: cleanliness, flushing and leak testing matter a lot.

Portable equipment that draws power and makes heat like servers would, so systems can be tested at full load before any servers are installed.

Construction where downtime isn't acceptable: data centers, hospitals, some labs. Job titles use it to mean data center work.

A written, step-by-step plan, approved in advance, for any work on live or critical equipment.

In oil and gas: Like a detailed switching or isolation procedure.

How much backup a system has. N is what the load needs; N+1 adds one spare unit; 2N doubles everything so either side can carry the full load alone.

In oil and gas: Like running spare pumps or dual trains, written as a design rule.

Records work that doesn't meet the spec and how it will be fixed. Usually tracked in the GC's software.

In oil and gas: Same term.

The US standard for electrical safety at work: arc-flash boundaries, PPE and energized work permits. Enforced hard on data center sites.

In oil and gas: Same standard, applied to far more energized gear.

A transformer and panel cabinet in or near the data hall that feeds power to the server racks.

The checklist signed at L2 and L3 to show a piece of equipment is installed and ready to test.

In oil and gas: ITRs and check sheets.

The cloud software most GCs use for drawings, RFIs, inspections, NCRs and punch lists. Expect to work in it daily.

In oil and gas: Replaces the paper forms and spreadsheets many plants still use.

Remaining items to fix before a system or area is accepted.

In oil and gas: Same term.

A formal question to the designer when the drawings or specs are unclear or conflict.

In oil and gas: Technical query (TQ).

The date a data hall is handed to the owner to install servers. Everything on the job works back from it.

In oil and gas: Like the startup date the whole turnaround schedule hangs on.

The written description of how a system should behave in every mode, including failures. The L4 tests are built from it.

In oil and gas: Cause and effect, plus the control narrative.

Diesel or gas generators that start automatically when utility power is lost and carry the site until it comes back. Large campuses have dozens.

In oil and gas: Emergency generator, but sized to carry the full critical load.

Product data, drawings or samples a sub sends for approval before buying or installing. QA checks the installed item against it.

In oil and gas: Vendor data and approved-for-construction documents.

The breakers and buses that distribute power from the utility and generators to the rest of the building. Usually medium voltage in, low voltage out.

In oil and gas: Same word, same idea as plant substations and MCC lineups.

Every record for a system, from submittals and inspections to test reports and checklists, handed to the owner. Split by system and phase.

In oil and gas: Turnover or completions package.

Batteries and electronics that carry the servers for the seconds or minutes between a utility outage and the generators taking the load.

In oil and gas: Like a UPS on a DCS or safety system, scaled up to run a whole building.