Protecting People

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Physical Concerns for People

People are susceptible to nearly the entire scope of physical threats.

• extreme temperatures
• liquids, gases, or toxins
• living organisms
  • animals
  • molds
• movement
  • earthquake
  • mudslide
• energy anomalies
  • mechanical or electrical faults
• other people
• smoke and fire

Ensuring Safety

Because many data centers use dangerous chemicals, gases, or liquids to extinguish fires, facilities managers often equip fire suppression systems with safety overrides that prevent them from going off if there are people in the area.

• prioritize protecting human life over equipment and data

Evacuation

3 principles

• where
• how
• who

Where

• need to get everyone to the same place to ensure that they’re at a safe distance from the event and that you can account for everyone
• must be orderly and consistent
• display evacuation meeting places with signs and maps

How

When planning routes:

• consider location of nearest exit in each area and alternate exits
• alternate trajectories in case passages become blocked
• avoid crossing potentially dangerous areas
  • elevators
  • rooms blocked off automatically by closing fire doors

Who

Getting everyone out of the building and accounted for at the evacuation place requires 2 designated people:

• one person to ensure that everyone has left the premises
• one person at the meeting place to ensure everyone has arrived

Practice

Ensure you practice, especially in large complex facilities. People panic during emergencies, practicing can help ensure people evacuate properly.

Personnel Safety Plan

• Escape plans — is a primary personnel safety plan that tells each person how to escape in the face of a disruption, including where to go once outside the immediate danger area
• Escape routes — outline the best routes to use to escape a danger and end up at a defined rally point to allow management to determine whether anyone is missing
• Drills — crucial walk-through tests of personnel safety plans and are essential for all personnel in order to know how to react in the face of a disruption
• Control testing — all controls should be periodically tested to ensure they are performed as designed

Administrative Controls

Administrative controls may be policies, procedures, guidelines, regulations, laws, or similar rules instituted by any authority, from companies to the federal government.

• E.g., background checks, exit interview, signing paperwork, NDAs