Data centre facilities operations management have proven to be the key differentiator between a data centre that is performing well or badly. The old believe that a fully redundant data centre facility will save the day is no longer true as many research outcomes have revealed that the majority of downtime is caused by the human factor. Policies, processes, procedures and work instructions should be carefully developed, ideally following relevant standards, to ensure an effcient and effective data centre operations which are also compliant to the required regulations.

The CDFOS^® (Certified Data Centre Facilities Operations Specialist) course is a three-day course which will enable participants to fully understand the requirements of running the day-to-day operations of a mission critical data centre. Participants will gain all the required competences for running the daily operations, understand which processes should be in place, and the critical elements of those processes and how to execute them. The course is fully aligned with the DCOS^® (Data Centre Operations Standard).

The primary audience for this course is anyone who works in and around IT, facilities or data centre operations and needs to understand and improve the daily operations including important processes such as lock-out/tag-out, the right process for installing/de-installing equipment, safety procedures, capacity management and much more.

It is advisable for the participants to have some experience in data centre operations although it is not required. It is highly recommended to attend the DCFC^®/CDCP^® course before attending the CDFOS^® course.

After completion of the course the participant will be able to:

• Implement and support requirements for Service Level Management
• Practice safety aspects
• Maintain the security of the physical data centre facility
• Coordinate and supervise data centre facilities and equipment maintenance
• Provide service management for data centre services
• Operate the data centre making use of floor-, capacity and equipment life cycle management
• Monitor and report on data centre availability, capacity and capability
• Manage and implement basic data centre projects
• Manage and support the document life cycle
• Improve the overall efficiency of the data centre contributing to cost saving operations

Service Level Management

• Service Level Management
• Needs analysis
• Capability assessment
• Service portfolio and catalogue
• Service Level Agreements
• Reporting ‐ Complaint procedure 
• Customer satisfaction
• Service Improvement Process (SIP)

Safety and Crisis Management

• Most common type of accidents and why they often happen
• The roles and responsibilities of appointed safety staff
• The importance of the OH&S or WHS manual
• Calibration of measurement and test equipment
• Proper lock-out/tag-out procedures
• Emergency response plan requirement for various potential emergencies
• The importance of Permit To Work

Physical Security

• Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for security
• Security risk assessment
• Security zones
• Physical inspections / security patrols
• Delivery of goods / holding area
• Entry control of individuals
• Badges and key management
• Security monitoring
• Security incident reporting

Facilities Maintenance

• The importance of maintenance
• Maintenance definitions
• Maintenance operations procedures (MOP)
• Service reports
• Spare management
• Tools
• Housekeeping

Data Centre Operations

• Shift handover
• Walk around duties
• Service management
• Release management
• Configuration management
• Floor management
• Equipment life cycle management

Monitoring / Reporting / Control

• Monitoring requirements
• Facilities monitoring matrix
• Sensor / alarm point testing and calibration
• Notification matrix
• Escalation requirements
• Reporting

Project Management

• Project management
• Project organization
• Project manager
• Initiation
• Planning
• Execution
• Monitor and control
• Closing
• Evaluation / lessons learnt

Environmental Sustainability

• The importance of sustainability
• Environmental standards
• Power efficiency indicators
• Energy saving best practises
• Water management
• Sustainable energy usage

Governance and Compliance

• The importance of document management
• The six sub-processes of document management
• Asset management
• Requirements or asset recording

EPI courses are lectured by certified trainers. CDFOS^® is an instructor-led course that uses a combination of lectures and question-and-answer sessions to discuss participants' specific needs and issues experienced in their own environment. Participants are able to tap into their trainer’s extensive experience to enable them to solve practical problems in their current environment, thus adding tremendous value.

The CDFOS^® course is available in the following delivery formats:

• ILT – Instructor Led Training (Schedule)
• VILT – Virtual ILT (Schedule)
• TOD – Training On Demand (More)

Exam: Certified Data Centre Facilities Operations Specialist (CDFOS^®)

Certification exams are administered at the end of the course. The exam is a 90-minute closed book exam, with 60 multiple-choice questions. The candidate requires a minimum of 42 correct answers to pass the exam. Online exam results are known immediately and paper-based exam results will be known within one week. 

Candidates who successfully pass the exam will receive the official ‘Certified Data Centre Facilities Operations Specialist’ certificate. The certification is valid for three years after which the student needs to re-certify. Please see the EPI Recertification Program for available options.

CDFOS^® is globally accredited by EXIN, a fully independent exam and certification institute. 

For more info, click for brochure:
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1. Watch the CDFOS Sneak Peek (on-demand) 

Find a training schedule that suits you, click here.