PHY Physical Site, Building and Security Infrastructure

The facility owner shall maintain a site hazard assessment, prepared or reviewed by competent specialists, that quantifies flood (fluvial, pluvial, coastal and groundwater), seismic, wind, lightning, extreme-temperature, wildfire and subsidence hazards at the declared design exceedance levels. The facility owner shall record, for each hazard, the design level adopted, the protective measures relied on and the residual exposure, and shall reassess the hazards when hazard mapping, climate projections or the site layout change.

Evidence required: E1 Documentary and declarative; E7 Derived and analytical. Optional: E5, E6. Operating states: NORMAL, EMERGENCY.

The facility owner shall identify external exposures within a defined radius of the site, including major-accident-hazard installations, pipelines, rail and road corridors carrying hazardous goods, flight paths, high-voltage corridors and sources of smoke or corrosive emissions. The facility owner shall specify perimeter protection (stand-off, hostile vehicle mitigation, blast and intrusion resistance) proportionate to the assessed threat, and shall show that no single external event can impair both redundant utility intakes, both generator yards or all heat-rejection plant.

Evidence required: E1 Documentary and declarative; E7 Derived and analytical. Optional: E3, E5. Operating states: NORMAL, EMERGENCY.

The facility operator shall maintain a logistics and access plan that defines routes and constraints for fuel delivery, emergency services, rack-scale IT deliveries and replacement of the largest plant items (transformers, generators, chillers, CDUs). The facility operator shall verify that loading docks, lifts, corridors, ramps and doors along each route are rated for the mass and dimensions of the heaviest declared item, and shall maintain an alternative access route for fuel and emergency services when the primary route is obstructed.

Evidence required: E1 Documentary and declarative; E3 Operational and observational. Optional: E4, E6. Operating states: NORMAL, MAINTENANCE, EMERGENCY.

The facility owner shall identify adjacent occupancies and shared building elements (party walls, roofs, risers, plant rooms, car parks and loading areas) and the hazards they present, including fire load, water, vibration, vehicle impact and uncontrolled access. The facility owner shall agree with neighbouring occupiers or the landlord the separation, notification and emergency-coordination arrangements for each adjacent risk, and shall record any adjacent risk that cannot be controlled as an accepted risk with an accountable owner.

Evidence required: E1 Documentary and declarative. Optional: E6, E3. Operating states: NORMAL, EMERGENCY.

The facility owner shall hold a structural capacity statement from the structural engineer of record that states the uniformly distributed and concentrated load capacity of each data hall, plant room, battery room and roof area. The facility owner shall ensure the statement accounts for operating (wet) mass of liquid-cooled racks, CDUs, manifolds, coolant distribution pipework and immersion tanks, and shall require a structural re-check before any deployment that raises planned load above the declared utilisation threshold.

Evidence required: E1 Documentary and declarative; E7 Derived and analytical. Optional: E5. Operating states: NORMAL, MAINTENANCE.

The facility operator shall maintain a rack-position load register recording the operating mass of every rack and the rated capacity of its position. The facility operator shall verify rack mass at installation for each new rack type, shall prevent installation where the position rating would be exceeded, and shall reconcile the register to installed equipment at the declared interval.

Evidence required: E1 Documentary and declarative; E2 Configuration and technical state; E3 Operational and observational. Optional: E7. Operating states: NORMAL.

The facility owner shall specify and install anchorage and bracing for racks, CDUs, battery cabinets, fuel and water tanks, switchgear, busway and overhead cable and pipe supports to the seismic design level determined in MCF-PHY-001. The facility operator shall isolate generators, chillers and pumps so that vibration transmitted to IT spaces remains within the most restrictive OEM limit for installed equipment, and shall verify installed anchorage by inspection at commissioning and after changes.

Evidence required: E1 Documentary and declarative; E3 Operational and observational. Optional: E4, E5. Operating states: NORMAL, EMERGENCY.

The facility operator shall inspect roofs, roof penetrations, gutters, façades, louvres and doors at the declared interval and after severe weather, shall correct defects within a risk-based period, and shall prohibit water-bearing services and roof drainage from passing over IT and electrical rooms unless they are contained and monitored.

Evidence required: E1 Documentary and declarative; E3 Operational and observational. Optional: E6. Operating states: NORMAL, EMERGENCY.

The security manager shall define a zoning model with at least perimeter, building, secure-corridor, critical-space and rack/cage levels, and shall assign every critical asset (MV intake, switchgear, UPS and battery rooms, generator yard, fuel, heat rejection, CDU and pump rooms, meet-me rooms, data halls, control rooms) to a zone. The security manager shall ensure each zone boundary has physical barriers, access control and detection appropriate to the zone and that critical plant zones are protected no less than the IT halls they serve.

Evidence required: E1 Documentary and declarative; E2 Configuration and technical state; E3 Operational and observational. Optional: E5. Operating states: NORMAL, MAINTENANCE.

The facility owner shall define fire compartments in the fire strategy so that A and B power paths, redundant UPS and battery rooms, redundant cooling plant and diverse network routes are in separate compartments or are protected by fire-rated enclosures of the declared rating. The facility operator shall maintain fire-stopping of every penetration through compartment boundaries and shall inspect a sample of penetrations at the declared interval and after works.

Evidence required: E1 Documentary and declarative; E2 Configuration and technical state; E3 Operational and observational. Optional: E5. Operating states: NORMAL, EMERGENCY.

The facility owner shall define water zones identifying all spaces where water, glycol, dielectric fluid or refrigerant-bearing pipework is present. The facility owner shall locate or protect electrical switchgear, UPS, busway and PDUs so that a leak from any pipe, joint, CDU, manifold or quick-disconnect cannot reach them uncontained, using routing above or below with drip trays, bunding, falls to drains and zoned leak detection that alarms and, where declared, initiates isolation.

Evidence required: E1 Documentary and declarative; E2 Configuration and technical state; E3 Operational and observational. Optional: E4. Operating states: NORMAL, MAINTENANCE.

The facility provider shall physically segregate tenant spaces using cages, suites or dedicated halls with access restricted to authorised tenant personnel, and shall disclose to each tenant the shared infrastructure (power paths, cooling loops, meet-me rooms, risers) serving its space. The tenant shall map its capability to those shared elements and record provider and tenant responsibilities for each.

Evidence required: E1 Documentary and declarative; E2 Configuration and technical state; E6 Human and experiential. Optional: E3. Operating states: NORMAL, MAINTENANCE.

The security manager shall operate a physical access control system that grants access to critical-space zones only to named individuals with approved business need, enforces multi-factor authentication at those zones, revokes access within the declared latency when a person leaves or changes role, and reviews critical-zone access rights at the declared interval. The security manager shall integrate leaver events from the authoritative HR or contractor source.

Evidence required: E2 Configuration and technical state; E3 Operational and observational. Optional: E1, E7. Operating states: NORMAL, MAINTENANCE, EMERGENCY.

The security manager shall require pre-registration, identity verification and host approval for every visitor, shall issue time-limited credentials, and shall require escort in critical-space zones at no more than the declared visitor-to-escort ratio. The facility operator shall link contractor attendance in plant spaces to an approved work order or permit.

Evidence required: E3 Operational and observational. Optional: E1, E6. Operating states: NORMAL, MAINTENANCE.

The security manager shall define an operational requirement for each camera view stating its purpose (detect, observe, recognise or identify), shall install and maintain cameras to meet it, shall retain recordings for the declared period with integrity protection, and shall verify coverage after layout changes.

Evidence required: E1 Documentary and declarative; E2 Configuration and technical state; E3 Operational and observational. Operating states: NORMAL, MAINTENANCE.

The security manager shall define acknowledgement and attendance times for each alarm class in critical zones, shall staff and equip the response to meet them, and shall test response by unannounced exercises at the declared interval, including an exercise during concurrent facility alarms.

Evidence required: E2 Configuration and technical state; E3 Operational and observational; E4 Validation and test. Optional: E6. Operating states: NORMAL, EMERGENCY.

The facility operator shall receive critical deliveries only against an advance notice and purchase reference, shall inspect seals and packaging for tampering, shall record serial numbers at receipt and shall hold received items in a controlled store until they are accepted into the asset register.

Evidence required: E3 Operational and observational. Optional: E1, E2. Operating states: NORMAL.

The facility operator shall require a move plan, approved by the facilities engineer, for every movement of a rack or plant item above the declared mass threshold, stating route, route ratings, equipment (skates, tuggers, lifting), crew competence and proximity to live services. The facility operator shall drain or isolate liquid-cooled racks where the OEM requires it before movement.

Evidence required: E1 Documentary and declarative; E3 Operational and observational. Optional: E6. Operating states: NORMAL, MAINTENANCE.

The facility operator shall maintain a serialised inventory of data-bearing media outside production service, shall record each custody transfer with time, person and location, shall store media in a controlled container or room, and shall reconcile the inventory at the declared interval. The data owner shall define which media classes require encryption verification before leaving the controlled store.

Evidence required: E2 Configuration and technical state; E3 Operational and observational. Optional: E1. Operating states: NORMAL, MAINTENANCE.

The facility operator shall decommission equipment only under an approved decommissioning work order that identifies the asset, its data-bearing components, dependent power and cooling connections and the sanitisation or destruction method. The facility operator shall obtain a certificate per serial from any third-party disposal provider and shall reconcile certificates to the decommissioning list.

Evidence required: E1 Documentary and declarative; E3 Operational and observational. Optional: E5. Operating states: NORMAL, MAINTENANCE.

The fire safety manager shall provide detection designed for the airflow conditions of each space: very early warning aspirating smoke detection in high-airflow IT halls and electrical rooms, and off-gas or appropriate gas detection plus heat and smoke detection in lithium-ion battery rooms and enclosures. The fire safety manager shall test detection functionally at the declared interval, including smoke transport time for aspirating systems, and shall ensure alarms are received at a continuously staffed location.

Evidence required: E1 Documentary and declarative; E4 Validation and test; E5 Independent and third-party. Optional: E3. Operating states: NORMAL, MAINTENANCE.

The fire safety manager shall maintain a cause-and-effect matrix covering every interface between detection, suppression (sprinkler, pre-action, water mist, gaseous agent) and other systems, including HVAC shutdown, damper closure, CDU and pump behaviour, power isolation and door release. The fire safety manager shall test the matrix end to end at the declared interval, shall verify room integrity for gaseous systems by enclosure test, and shall confirm that fire-mode actions do not stop liquid cooling to unaffected areas unless the fire strategy requires it.

Evidence required: E1 Documentary and declarative; E2 Configuration and technical state; E4 Validation and test; E5 Independent and third-party. Optional: E3. Operating states: NORMAL, EMERGENCY.

The fire safety manager shall maintain egress routes from every occupied space within the travel distances of the fire strategy, shall ensure secured doors on escape routes release on fire alarm or by local override, shall provide pre-discharge warning and abort controls for gaseous systems, and shall provide emergency responders with plans, hazard information (batteries, refrigerants, coolants, arc-flash hazards) and access means.

Evidence required: E1 Documentary and declarative; E3 Operational and observational; E4 Validation and test; E5 Independent and third-party. Optional: E6. Operating states: NORMAL, EMERGENCY, MAINTENANCE.

The facility owner shall define the scope of each emergency shutdown function (EPO, battery disconnect, fuel shut-off, CDU emergency stop) and the authority to activate it. The facility operator shall protect activation devices against inadvertent operation (covers, two-action operation, location), shall verify by test at the declared interval that each function isolates exactly its declared scope, and shall review any activation as a significant incident.

Evidence required: E1 Documentary and declarative; E2 Configuration and technical state; E4 Validation and test; E5 Independent and third-party. Optional: E3. Operating states: NORMAL, EMERGENCY, MAINTENANCE.