UPTIME TIER CERTIFICATION PROCEDURE

The Tier Certification process typically starts with a company deploying new data center capacity. The data center owner defines a need to achieve a specific Tier Level to match a business demand.

Data center owners turn to Uptime Institute for an unbiased, vendor neutral benchmarking system, to ensure that data center designers, contractors and service providers are delivering against their requirements and expectations.

Tier Certification is a performance based evaluation of a data center’s specific infrastructure, and not a checklist or cookbook. Uptime Institute is the only organization permitted to Certify data centers against the Tier Classification System. Uptime does not design, build or operate data centers. Their only role is to evaluate site infrastructure, operations and strategy.

The first step in a Tier Certification process is a Tier Certification of Design Documents (TCDD). Consultants from Uptime Institute review 100% of the design documents, ensuring each subsystem among electrical, mechanical, monitoring, and automation meet the fundamental concepts and there are no weak links in the chain. Uptime Institute then provides a report to the owner with the Tier deficiencies. Uptime Institute conducts a compliance review of the revised drawings, and then awards a TCDD letter if the design meets the criteria. All Tier Certificatin of Design Document awards issued after January 2014 will expire two years after the award date.

The next phase (and most critical) of certifiction requires review of the constructed facility. Uptime Institute consultants will observe tests and demonstrations to prove Tier Compliance. Upon meeting all requirements and addressing all deficiencies from Uptime Institute, the facility will be awarded a Tier Certification of Constructed Facility (TCCF) letter, foil and plaque.