The personnel policy of the data center is laid during the design
After the publication of reports on the construction and internal structure of the DataPro data center in Tver, we received a large number of personnel questions that are involved in the facility. Alexey Soldatov, General Director of DataPro, told about the principles by which employees were selected, and what key factors influenced decision making on this issue.
- You recently opened a new data center certified for Tier III fault tolerance in Tver. There were features when hiring workers for such an object in the region, and if so, which ones?
- Requirements for data center personnel are largely determined at design time. At the stage of technological design, we realized that we need to build a data center as simple and reliable in terms of maintenance of engineering infrastructure. Top management will not always be able to personally be present and warn of possible mistakes, so we sought to create an object that is less demanding in terms of personnel qualifications and is resistant to possible personnel errors. To this end, we abandoned super-complex circuit switching circuits and created a fairly simple system with a high degree of redundancy. As soon as you make such an infrastructure, then potentially - I emphasize, potentially! - you will need performers who are not as professional as other objects.
We were looking for a compromise for the creation of engineering infrastructure, in order to build a facility using very reliable equipment that would not require daily maintenance staff. This was difficult due to the underdevelopment of the service infrastructure. But this is a common problem for the entire industry in the Russian Federation.
')
High-quality equipment in some way lowers the potential level of requirements for service personnel. Take, for example, cars. No one is repairing his car right now, and it doesn't break. Although 70 years ago, cars were like a DIY designer. The same approach was to the maintenance of civilian systems.
But in the military structures this approach was not applied. It was believed, “if tomorrow is a war,” then the qualification of a recruit who hasn’t seen a weapon for 10 years will not be enough to repair and replace modules. The architecture of the data center was built on the same principle.
This increases costs at the stage of capital construction, but, on the other hand, it requires fewer attendants. This approach is often used in the West. At DataPro, we strive to come closer to Western experience due to the modularity of the design and the standardization of solutions.
- How did you collect the staff in the Tver data center? In your opinion, when opening a modern data center in the region, do you need to take specialists from Moscow or search locally?
- Moscow is a big city, it, like a pump, draws people from all over Russia into it. Or even the entire former Soviet Union. Perhaps this is the wrong approach - to build an object in the region and take people from Moscow. In principle, on the ground, you can find a specialist for any position, but the question arises with payment.
Based on the experience of operating such systems, which are owned by my deputies in IT and production, staff requirements were developed and an attempt was made to hire specialists in Tver. According to the investment agreement with the authorities of the Tver region, we were obliged to create a certain number of jobs for residents of the region. And we created them.
First of all, we filled vacancies for electrical engineering specialties. Were published ads in newspapers and the Internet - on such portals, such as Headhunter.ru. And although the specialists we were looking for to maintain the infrastructure do not have the habit of sitting on Twitter and Facebook, we found such people. Not to say that in a week, but within a reasonable time.
- This is a prerequisite - that the staff of your data center had experience in the industry or specifically in the data center?
“All the people we hired at DataPro had experience in servicing such installations, for example, repairing transformer substations. Our substation and generators are imported, the best models: they practically do not break. Uninterruptible power supplies are simple in terms of operation, and complicated in terms of repairs. But we did not plan to engage in repairs on our own.
An obligatory requirement is an experience as an electrician, because our service is a high-voltage substation of medium voltage. The fourth and fifth groups of electrical safety tolerance are required. Need to take the exam in Rostekhnadzor. I don’t know if such “crusts” buy in Moscow, but in Tver, people actually took exams.
Accordingly, not students, but specialists with life experience and professional baggage were selected for work. Those who understand why you need to follow the instructions, who will not take up the bare wire, and who, figuratively speaking, realizes that, in general, “buoys” are not in order to show valiant prowess, but to really not swim for them.
Retired people who served for 20–25 years in engineering positions are quite a good option.
- And was it so that someone dropped out during the trial period - not from the exposed wire, but because of the lack of knowledge of new technologies? After all, the DataPro Tver data center was mounted with the latest technology.
- No, we had an in-depth interview. All candidates who passed it were able to confirm compliance. At the interview, the person was given an electrical circuit to check if he could “read” it. Questions were asked regarding emergency situations: “And if this is how it is, what should be done? ..” They accepted the work if the person answered correctly.
While construction was in progress, the staff participated in the technical supervision of the work. People got acquainted with the object, studied the electrical circuit, passed refresher courses from equipment manufacturers. Knowledge consolidated with the help of trainings that were conducted during the commissioning process: shutdown, switching, transition to emergency mode. Such trainings are constantly repeated after a certain period of time so that people do not forget the sequence of actions.
- Is it necessary for a Tier III qualification data center to have a higher specialized education? Or have experience in the data center, service operation is more important?
- There are two ways to get knowledge - practice and training. Practical experience is the most reliable: it is earned by blood and is then remembered for a long time. Knowledge in a higher education institution is given faster and in a more concentrated form, but wean off of the head more quickly. Even if a person with secondary special education, but has exploited such systems, he can do it in a data center. But we took people with higher education - with a sight, which I will discuss later.
- How to recruit managers and deputies?
- To the leaders of the special requirements. They considered for each post 5-6 candidates. They took into account both human qualities, and managerial skills, and references - where and how he worked. So any middle manager is hired. This is a responsible and painstaking work. Two people for senior management were looking for longer than the rest of the staff.
- Employment agencies attracted?
- Thus, it is possible to recruit staff to data centers in Moscow, but not in cities with a population of less than half a million, like Tver. In principle, we decided to do on our own. I personally participated in the interviews, although not in all.
I believe that the task of staff recruitment for a unit should not be handled by a HR department: the head of the unit is responsible for this. How he will do it - on his own, to turn to his friends (by the way, a very effective way), to attract an HR department or recruitment agency, if there is a budget, this is entirely his decision. He must accept and approve this decision if it requires some investment.
My deputies are responsible for these questions. We discussed with them whether to attract a recruitment agency. They agreed that, judging by the dynamics of the interviews they are conducting, it does not seem to be necessary. And they did it themselves.
- This year you are renting a large and even more modern data center in Moscow. How will you look for staff in the same way?
- In Moscow, the situation is more complicated. Here you can find people even from the profile industry. Another thing is that the industry is now growing and personnel are in short supply. We discussed in the company the question of whether to take workers in Tver and take them on a rotational basis to Moscow.
The service team worked for two weeks - and went home. At this time, another shift arrives. Such a substitution has its advantages: there are always two brigades on the site - one is awake, the other is resting; if something happens, there are always people in the data center who can perform complex repairs.
For shift shifts need residential and sanitary facilities. The large facility has facilities including a kitchen, shower and washing machines. This IT specialist works in an office space, and the engineering service in the data center sometimes does not do the cleanest work. When servicing the same diesel engine that is on the street, it is possible to pour diesel oil on it, and to get dirty with oil, which means that it should be possible to change clothes and wash clothes. In our Moscow data center all that is necessary for this is - it remains only to put the bed. Do this or not - look at the state of the labor market and what will happen with wages.
This question is not strategic, but tactical - you need to calculate how cost-effective it is.
- Will you involve personnel from DataPro Tver in Moscow when you build a capital data center? Or will you recruit people again?
- DataPro data centers in Tver and Moscow have several different technologies. But one cannot say that we will do everything anew. The selection scheme is already there. Having a base in Tver, it will probably be easier to recruit people, including from this city.
It is not unusual to take Tver engineers from the first data center. If it is necessary to strengthen the team in Moscow, then by the order of the Director General of DataPro, an employee from Tver will go on a business trip to Moscow.
A regular train to Tver takes two hours. I often go to the station platform and see people who travel from Tver to work every day. We can take a person who lives in 4-5 hours from Moscow. Even after spending a day on the road, he would be back in two weeks. If necessary, we will do it.
- In the end, what kind of personnel structure has developed in your DataPro data center in Tver?
- According to the requirements of the legislation, if a medium voltage station is serviced, the facility should have two people in the standard duty service. We honor the criminal, administrative and labor codes. This is not easy, I assure you: many reputable organizations do not take into account the last set of laws at all.
We have to deploy four shift shifts of two people each, and even in this case they have more than 120 hours of processing per quarter. In order to avoid overtime, we need another replacement person - in case of vacation, illness, and so on. These are 9–10 people at each facility to operate 24 × 7. At the level of 4-5 thousand racks in the data center in the shift should be a third specialist. It is at night. And there are still heads and those who are engaged in day-to-day repair work. The data center has an electrical engineer, a climate engineer, a security systems engineer ... In total, 15 people are recruited who are responsible only for the infrastructure.
- Is it necessary, in your opinion, to the heads of Russian data centers to study the industry experience of foreign objects: how do they work with personnel and manage objects abroad?
- In the West, the industry is more mature. And the question of conceptual design there came up much earlier than us. Having built several facilities, we firmly understood: instead of “picking up” engineering solutions from leading vendors, it’s better to stick to a clear concept.
The equipment in our data centers is no worse. At the same time in the West in the data centers, people work less. Often, there are not ten people in the duty shift of a commercial data center, and customers begin to perceive it more adequately.
A smart person learns from the mistakes of others - and we strive to be smart. Therefore, to learn foreign experience is interesting and useful. In principle, they have something to learn from us.
It cannot be said that we are far behind them in the conceptual design of engineering systems. In education, certainly not lagging behind. But there are “country” features of the business. Sometimes it comes to ridiculous. In Russia, for example, they require strong insulation of the data center so that it complies with the “standards of the administrative building”. This is a megawatt stove, and it is still warmed, after which ... they are taken to cool.
- And how is this problem solved?
- In Russia, there are generally a lot of problems both in construction and in the operation of data centers, because in our country the rules and regulations are outdated 20 years ago. To address these issues, there is an association of participants in the data center industry, which does not climb into building codes and regulations, but seeks to systematize standards and adapt existing practices, to find a common point of view on the process of creating and operating data centers.
To a large extent, we go ahead by trial and error. It is sometimes quite difficult to conduct a dialogue inside the country and the industry. In Russia, data center owners do not like to admit that something was done wrong on the site. On the other hand, they do not like to talk - in order not to teach competitors. Therefore, we are going to study in the West, where it is easier to communicate, and where we do not see rivals. And in Russia, the Association intends to gather information and experience, to formalize and create a certain document, on the basis of which it is already possible to decide how to develop further.
- You recently opened a new data center certified for Tier III fault tolerance in Tver. There were features when hiring workers for such an object in the region, and if so, which ones?
- Requirements for data center personnel are largely determined at design time. At the stage of technological design, we realized that we need to build a data center as simple and reliable in terms of maintenance of engineering infrastructure. Top management will not always be able to personally be present and warn of possible mistakes, so we sought to create an object that is less demanding in terms of personnel qualifications and is resistant to possible personnel errors. To this end, we abandoned super-complex circuit switching circuits and created a fairly simple system with a high degree of redundancy. As soon as you make such an infrastructure, then potentially - I emphasize, potentially! - you will need performers who are not as professional as other objects.
We were looking for a compromise for the creation of engineering infrastructure, in order to build a facility using very reliable equipment that would not require daily maintenance staff. This was difficult due to the underdevelopment of the service infrastructure. But this is a common problem for the entire industry in the Russian Federation.
')
High-quality equipment in some way lowers the potential level of requirements for service personnel. Take, for example, cars. No one is repairing his car right now, and it doesn't break. Although 70 years ago, cars were like a DIY designer. The same approach was to the maintenance of civilian systems.
But in the military structures this approach was not applied. It was believed, “if tomorrow is a war,” then the qualification of a recruit who hasn’t seen a weapon for 10 years will not be enough to repair and replace modules. The architecture of the data center was built on the same principle.
This increases costs at the stage of capital construction, but, on the other hand, it requires fewer attendants. This approach is often used in the West. At DataPro, we strive to come closer to Western experience due to the modularity of the design and the standardization of solutions.
- How did you collect the staff in the Tver data center? In your opinion, when opening a modern data center in the region, do you need to take specialists from Moscow or search locally?
- Moscow is a big city, it, like a pump, draws people from all over Russia into it. Or even the entire former Soviet Union. Perhaps this is the wrong approach - to build an object in the region and take people from Moscow. In principle, on the ground, you can find a specialist for any position, but the question arises with payment.
Based on the experience of operating such systems, which are owned by my deputies in IT and production, staff requirements were developed and an attempt was made to hire specialists in Tver. According to the investment agreement with the authorities of the Tver region, we were obliged to create a certain number of jobs for residents of the region. And we created them.
First of all, we filled vacancies for electrical engineering specialties. Were published ads in newspapers and the Internet - on such portals, such as Headhunter.ru. And although the specialists we were looking for to maintain the infrastructure do not have the habit of sitting on Twitter and Facebook, we found such people. Not to say that in a week, but within a reasonable time.
- This is a prerequisite - that the staff of your data center had experience in the industry or specifically in the data center?
“All the people we hired at DataPro had experience in servicing such installations, for example, repairing transformer substations. Our substation and generators are imported, the best models: they practically do not break. Uninterruptible power supplies are simple in terms of operation, and complicated in terms of repairs. But we did not plan to engage in repairs on our own.
An obligatory requirement is an experience as an electrician, because our service is a high-voltage substation of medium voltage. The fourth and fifth groups of electrical safety tolerance are required. Need to take the exam in Rostekhnadzor. I don’t know if such “crusts” buy in Moscow, but in Tver, people actually took exams.
Accordingly, not students, but specialists with life experience and professional baggage were selected for work. Those who understand why you need to follow the instructions, who will not take up the bare wire, and who, figuratively speaking, realizes that, in general, “buoys” are not in order to show valiant prowess, but to really not swim for them.
Retired people who served for 20–25 years in engineering positions are quite a good option.
- And was it so that someone dropped out during the trial period - not from the exposed wire, but because of the lack of knowledge of new technologies? After all, the DataPro Tver data center was mounted with the latest technology.
- No, we had an in-depth interview. All candidates who passed it were able to confirm compliance. At the interview, the person was given an electrical circuit to check if he could “read” it. Questions were asked regarding emergency situations: “And if this is how it is, what should be done? ..” They accepted the work if the person answered correctly.
While construction was in progress, the staff participated in the technical supervision of the work. People got acquainted with the object, studied the electrical circuit, passed refresher courses from equipment manufacturers. Knowledge consolidated with the help of trainings that were conducted during the commissioning process: shutdown, switching, transition to emergency mode. Such trainings are constantly repeated after a certain period of time so that people do not forget the sequence of actions.
- Is it necessary for a Tier III qualification data center to have a higher specialized education? Or have experience in the data center, service operation is more important?
- There are two ways to get knowledge - practice and training. Practical experience is the most reliable: it is earned by blood and is then remembered for a long time. Knowledge in a higher education institution is given faster and in a more concentrated form, but wean off of the head more quickly. Even if a person with secondary special education, but has exploited such systems, he can do it in a data center. But we took people with higher education - with a sight, which I will discuss later.
- How to recruit managers and deputies?
- To the leaders of the special requirements. They considered for each post 5-6 candidates. They took into account both human qualities, and managerial skills, and references - where and how he worked. So any middle manager is hired. This is a responsible and painstaking work. Two people for senior management were looking for longer than the rest of the staff.
- Employment agencies attracted?
- Thus, it is possible to recruit staff to data centers in Moscow, but not in cities with a population of less than half a million, like Tver. In principle, we decided to do on our own. I personally participated in the interviews, although not in all.
I believe that the task of staff recruitment for a unit should not be handled by a HR department: the head of the unit is responsible for this. How he will do it - on his own, to turn to his friends (by the way, a very effective way), to attract an HR department or recruitment agency, if there is a budget, this is entirely his decision. He must accept and approve this decision if it requires some investment.
My deputies are responsible for these questions. We discussed with them whether to attract a recruitment agency. They agreed that, judging by the dynamics of the interviews they are conducting, it does not seem to be necessary. And they did it themselves.
- This year you are renting a large and even more modern data center in Moscow. How will you look for staff in the same way?
- In Moscow, the situation is more complicated. Here you can find people even from the profile industry. Another thing is that the industry is now growing and personnel are in short supply. We discussed in the company the question of whether to take workers in Tver and take them on a rotational basis to Moscow.
The service team worked for two weeks - and went home. At this time, another shift arrives. Such a substitution has its advantages: there are always two brigades on the site - one is awake, the other is resting; if something happens, there are always people in the data center who can perform complex repairs.
For shift shifts need residential and sanitary facilities. The large facility has facilities including a kitchen, shower and washing machines. This IT specialist works in an office space, and the engineering service in the data center sometimes does not do the cleanest work. When servicing the same diesel engine that is on the street, it is possible to pour diesel oil on it, and to get dirty with oil, which means that it should be possible to change clothes and wash clothes. In our Moscow data center all that is necessary for this is - it remains only to put the bed. Do this or not - look at the state of the labor market and what will happen with wages.
This question is not strategic, but tactical - you need to calculate how cost-effective it is.
- Will you involve personnel from DataPro Tver in Moscow when you build a capital data center? Or will you recruit people again?
- DataPro data centers in Tver and Moscow have several different technologies. But one cannot say that we will do everything anew. The selection scheme is already there. Having a base in Tver, it will probably be easier to recruit people, including from this city.
It is not unusual to take Tver engineers from the first data center. If it is necessary to strengthen the team in Moscow, then by the order of the Director General of DataPro, an employee from Tver will go on a business trip to Moscow.
A regular train to Tver takes two hours. I often go to the station platform and see people who travel from Tver to work every day. We can take a person who lives in 4-5 hours from Moscow. Even after spending a day on the road, he would be back in two weeks. If necessary, we will do it.
- In the end, what kind of personnel structure has developed in your DataPro data center in Tver?
- According to the requirements of the legislation, if a medium voltage station is serviced, the facility should have two people in the standard duty service. We honor the criminal, administrative and labor codes. This is not easy, I assure you: many reputable organizations do not take into account the last set of laws at all.
We have to deploy four shift shifts of two people each, and even in this case they have more than 120 hours of processing per quarter. In order to avoid overtime, we need another replacement person - in case of vacation, illness, and so on. These are 9–10 people at each facility to operate 24 × 7. At the level of 4-5 thousand racks in the data center in the shift should be a third specialist. It is at night. And there are still heads and those who are engaged in day-to-day repair work. The data center has an electrical engineer, a climate engineer, a security systems engineer ... In total, 15 people are recruited who are responsible only for the infrastructure.
- Is it necessary, in your opinion, to the heads of Russian data centers to study the industry experience of foreign objects: how do they work with personnel and manage objects abroad?
- In the West, the industry is more mature. And the question of conceptual design there came up much earlier than us. Having built several facilities, we firmly understood: instead of “picking up” engineering solutions from leading vendors, it’s better to stick to a clear concept.
The equipment in our data centers is no worse. At the same time in the West in the data centers, people work less. Often, there are not ten people in the duty shift of a commercial data center, and customers begin to perceive it more adequately.
A smart person learns from the mistakes of others - and we strive to be smart. Therefore, to learn foreign experience is interesting and useful. In principle, they have something to learn from us.
It cannot be said that we are far behind them in the conceptual design of engineering systems. In education, certainly not lagging behind. But there are “country” features of the business. Sometimes it comes to ridiculous. In Russia, for example, they require strong insulation of the data center so that it complies with the “standards of the administrative building”. This is a megawatt stove, and it is still warmed, after which ... they are taken to cool.
- And how is this problem solved?
- In Russia, there are generally a lot of problems both in construction and in the operation of data centers, because in our country the rules and regulations are outdated 20 years ago. To address these issues, there is an association of participants in the data center industry, which does not climb into building codes and regulations, but seeks to systematize standards and adapt existing practices, to find a common point of view on the process of creating and operating data centers.
To a large extent, we go ahead by trial and error. It is sometimes quite difficult to conduct a dialogue inside the country and the industry. In Russia, data center owners do not like to admit that something was done wrong on the site. On the other hand, they do not like to talk - in order not to teach competitors. Therefore, we are going to study in the West, where it is easier to communicate, and where we do not see rivals. And in Russia, the Association intends to gather information and experience, to formalize and create a certain document, on the basis of which it is already possible to decide how to develop further.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/218777/
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