Occupational safety for data centres and hosting
The Occupational Health and Safety Act, the Occupational Safety Act and DGUV Regulation 2 apply to every business. What differs for data centres is where the risk assessment puts its focus.
- Data centres & hosting
Important: The administrative part is an office business; the technical floors are not. Support group III therefore does not apply to the whole business as a block. What counts are the actual activities and the classification by your accident insurance institution.
What is different here
Here the server room is not a side room but the main working area. Conditions apply there that do not occur in an office: a permanent noise level, cold draughts, high electrical loads and round-the-clock operation.
The four points that matter
- Noise and room climate. Ventilation and cooling create a permanent noise level and directed draughts at low temperature. Both have to be assessed, and depending on the level hearing protection has to be provided.
- Lone working on shifts. Round-the-clock operation means night shifts, often with few staff. An arrangement is needed for how an emergency during lone working is noticed, for example a personal emergency signal system or fixed check-in intervals.
- Extinguishing systems and access. Where gas extinguishing systems are installed, their activation and its consequences for anyone present belong in the assessment and in the training. Access has to be regulated and documented.
- Lifting and handling in the rack. Servers, storage systems and uninterruptible power supplies are heavy and get mounted at height. Manual handling and suitable aids are not a side topic here.
What a walkthrough typically turns up
The office wing is unremarkable. The findings accumulate on the technical floors: cables across traffic routes, material in front of distribution boards, missing or illegible labelling, and step aids unsuitable for the actual working height. On paper, what is regularly missing is an arrangement for lone working at night and an assessment of noise and draughts.
What that means for safety training
Training separates administration and technical work. The technical part covers what to do when the extinguishing system triggers, handling electrical equipment, lifting and mounting in the rack, wearing hearing protection, and the rules for lone working including check-in intervals. External service providers are briefed before their first entry.
Related
- External occupational safety specialist: the scope under section 6 ASiG, the three support models compared and how the number of hours is calculated.
- Regions: an occupational safety specialist on site in eight regions across Germany, with the responsible VBG district office for each.
- Occupational safety by sector: what sets law firms, IT, agencies, real estate, associations, financial services and other business types apart.
- Duties quick-check: which duties apply at your headcount, from the occupational safety committee through safety officers to the end of the Unternehmermodell.
- Support-hours calculator: your support hours under DGUV Regulation 2, including the split between specialist and physician. The cost logic is explained in What does a safety specialist cost?
- Risk assessment in the office and safety training in the office: the two duties that apply to every office business from the first employee.
- Services overview: the complete scope required by the ASiG and DGUV Regulation 2 in one contract, with every sector and location we cover.
Frequently asked questions
Do different rules apply to data centres?
Do we need a separate risk assessment per location?
From when do we need an occupational safety specialist?
What does support cost for a business our size?
Other business types
Worry-free occupational safety in 4 steps
A simple path from the first conversation to audit-proof documentation.
Free initial consultation
We set out what the law requires, what you don't need and what we deliver. Clarity from day one.
Contract signed
One contract, predictable annual costs, booked directly with us. First contact to signature: five working days at most.
Occupational safety specialist on site
Your specialist visits for the walkthrough, produces the risk assessment and checks: what is there, what is missing?
Audit-proof documentation in the portal
Every record sits in the client portal: digital, complete, current, easy to share.
Talk to us.
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