5 steps to avoid switchgear delays and improve lead times for data centre projects
Switchgear lead times are one of the most stubborn constraints in data centre construction. But schedule pressure is rarely the supplier’s fault alone. Here’s what experienced project teams do differently – and how you can shave weeks off your next deployment.
Every week of delay in a data centre fit-out has a considerable cost. Whether it’s a colocation provider missing a contracted handover date, or a hyperscaler burning cash on a facility that can’t take load, schedule overruns are expensive in ways that go well beyond the construction budget.
In fact, according to Bloomberg, “almost half of the US data centers planned for this year are expected to be delayed or cancelled. One big reason is the shortage of electrical equipment.”
According to Bloomberg, elements like high-powered transformers used to be delivered in 30 months. Now they’re required in as little as under 18 months, even though leadtimes can in reality now be up to five years.
Low-voltage (LV) switchgear – main distribution boards, PDUs, ATS panels and final circuit distribution – sits squarely on the critical path of most builds. Electrical infrastructure may only account for under 10% of total costs, but without power, there is no data centre.
And yet, delays in this category are almost entirely preventable.
Having spent years working on data centre power distribution, I’ve seen the same avoidable problems cause the same delays, project after project. The fixes are not complicated. But they do require a shift in how project teams engage with their switchgear suppliers.
Here are my top five pieces of advice that will speed up your data centre projects and help you avoid costly delays.
1. Approach switchgear manufacturers early
The single biggest driver of switchgear lead times is late engagement.
Teams often wait until they have a finalised single-line diagram and a complete specification before approaching a manufacturer. That instinct is understandable – nobody wants to commit to a supplier before the design is locked – but it consistently adds time.
In practice, a good switchgear manufacturer doesn’t need a finished design to begin useful work.
Preliminary layouts, notional load schedules and even indicative board counts are enough to start capacity planning, reserve production slots and begin standardised enclosure procurement.
If the specification changes – and it will – adjustments can be handled far faster when the manufacturer is already engaged than when they’re starting from scratch.
“We often don’t need a finished design to start useful work. Preliminary layouts and indicative board counts are enough to begin capacity planning and reserve production slots.”
2. Standardise your switchgear where possible
Bespoke switchgear takes longer to design, longer to test and longer to manufacture.
Every variation from a proven standard adds time somewhere in the process. The most schedule-efficient projects are those where operators and their consultants have made deliberate decisions to align with standardised product families – enclosure types, circuit breaker ranges, busbar systems – rather than specifying from first principles every time.
Manufacturers who have invested in type-tested standard designs can dramatically compress the front-end design phase.
Where a fully custom board might require weeks of technical submission preparation, a standardised equivalent can often be submitted and approved in days.
The same logic applies in production: repeatable designs mean repeatable build processes, which means predictable output.
This doesn’t mean accepting compromise.
Modern type-tested MDB and ATS designs accommodate a wide range of configurations. Controls integration and communications protocols are typically the only genuinely variable elements. Working within that framework, rather than outside it, saves significant time without sacrificing performance.
3. Choose the right switchgear supplier
Don’t base your procurement decisions primarily on unit price or brand recognition. This approach can often lead to schedule problems downstream.
To gauge if a switchgear supplier can actually deliver on time, look for indicators like:
- Depth of in-house capability
- Production capacity at scale
- Quality of the project management interface
A manufacturer with its own copper processing, in-house cable ferrulling and automated production lines can respond to design changes and compress build time in ways that a lower-cost assembler cannot.
Equally important is having a single, accountable point of contact across quotation, design, production and post-installation – someone with direct access to the decision-makers who can resolve queries the same day rather than routing them through layers of administration.
“The attributes that most reliably predict on-time delivery are depth of in-house capability, production capacity at scale, and the quality of the project management interface – not unit price”
4. Factor in customs and logistics from day one
For projects outside the country of manufacture, customs clearance adds a variable that’s frequently underestimated. Documentation errors, tariff classification disputes and inspection backlogs can add weeks to what looked like a comfortable delivery buffer.
The solution is not to leave logistics planning until the switchgear is ready to ship.
Experienced project teams build the full import process into the programme from the start: customs documentation requirements, any necessary import permits, site access constraints for heavy freight, and whether the switchgear will arrive pre-assembled or in panels.
Suppliers who regularly export will have this process well-rehearsed; it’s a reasonable question to ask when evaluating who to work with.
5. Plan for switchgear modifications before they happen
Data centre specifications change. Load profiles get revised. IT equipment selections shift.
By the time switchgear is being installed, there’s often a list of modifications that have accumulated since the original design was signed off. If the switchgear design does not accommodate change easily, those modifications become expensive and slow.
The operators and contractors who consistently hit their programme dates are those who treat their switchgear manufacturer as a project partner from the earliest stages – not a vendor to be managed at arm’s length until the purchase order is ready
Plug-in and pan-assembly systems for final circuit distribution offer a significant advantage here: modifications that would require re-wiring in a traditional hard-wired system can be made with a fraction of the labour, and in some cases without taking adjacent circuits offline.
Planning for this flexibility at the procurement stage costs relatively little. However, recovering time lost to modifications at installation stage is considerably more expensive.
In switchgear procurement, good project management can avoid delays
Switchgear lead times are, ultimately, a project management problem as much as a supply chain one.
The operators and contractors who consistently hit their programme dates are those who treat their switchgear manufacturer as a project partner from the earliest stages – not a vendor to be managed at arm’s length until the purchase order is ready.
Working to a tight data centre programme? Talk to our team about how early engagement and standardised designs can help you hit your switchgear delivery dates. Get in touch
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