The challenge
A weekend, a shutdown and a clock. Ten racks, 400U of equipment, and 24 hours to get it all decommissioned, packed and moved.
Windows like this are normal on rack moves. A building or a service owner gives you a few hours, and anything that overruns eats into the next slot. So the job gets planned backwards from the moment the trucks need to leave.
The friction is usually in the middle. De-racking is quick when the cabling is labelled and slow when it isn't.
Packing is quick when the cases are already in the corridor and slow when someone is hunting for them. On a 24 hour job, those small delays are the ones that decide whether the trucks leave on time.
Our approach
The job started on a Friday. Flight cases were lined up in the corridor, ready for the de-rack and pack. Some of our team were there for a phased shutdown of the 400U, which means the racks came down in stages rather than all at once.
Each rack was de-cabled, then de-racked, then packed into flight cases. Our trucks arrived the next morning to take the cases away.
Here's how we set up any job with a window this short:
- We ask for the rack list early and check it against what's in the racks.
- We trace and label the cabling and photograph each rack before anything comes out.
- We agree the shutdown order with you, so the kit that has to stay up longest is the last to come down.
- We write the RAMS for the building and arrange cover for the value of the kit.
- We book the trucks for a fixed time, so the cases don't sit in a corridor waiting.
The result
Ten racks, 400U in all, decommissioned, de-racked, packed and relocated inside the 24 hour window.
