The 6th annual Critical Facilities Summit will be held Oct. 14 to 16 at the Music City Center in Nashville, Tennessee. It is an exclusive gathering of senior-level professionals involved in the design, construction, management and operations of data centers, healthcare facilities, financial institutions, universities, government and other mission critical facilities. It is the only event of its kind examining data center and mission critical issues from the FM and design/build perspectives.
The Critical Facilities Summit features education sessions, a benchmarking workshop, tours, learning labs and the expo. Registration fees range from $299 for federal end users to $599 for other FM professionals. The expo is free and never overlaps with education hours.
Blocks of rooms are available at a special rate. Book by Sept. 21 to secure the rate.
CFS offers a deep session line-up, organized by track so you can make your own tailored educational experience. Tracks include: Cloud/Colo, Education/University, Enterprise Data Center, Labs and Critical environments and Hospitals and Healthcare. Participants can earn up to 13 CEUS.
New seminars are being added daily, such as how to diversify your critical facilities team. See the complete list.
Some of the courses for commercial FMs include:
BENCH CRITICAL FACILITIES BENCHMARKING WORKSHOP
Start Time: 10/14/2018 11:00:00 AM
End Time: 10/14/2018 2:30:00 PM
The Best Practices Workshop at Critical Facilities Summit is an opportunity to view the survey results from the inaugural Critical Facilities Benchmarking Group, conducted by Facilities Issues. This community of critical facility managers provide in-depth data regarding facility operation and performance, and the results are compiled to create a quantitative comparison among all critical facilities in the benchmarking group. The workshop at CFS is where the benchmarking group will meet, network and share best practices and state of the art processes and products.
The benchmarking workshop at CFS is $350 in addition to CFS standard registration of $599. For additional information and pricing on the Facilities Issues Critical Facilities Benchmarking Group, please visit the website here.
SOS THE NEW THREAT ENVIRONMENT FOR CRITICAL FACILITIES
Start Time: 10/14/2018 3:00:00 PM
End Time: 10/14/2018 4:00:00 PM
The 6th annual Summit opens with a frank discussion of the dangers facing all critical facilities, from cybersecurity to terrorism to workplace violence to natural disasters. Our panel will share their experiences in preparing for and responding to disruptions in critical environments, and detail the preparedness levels necessary to ensure the safe operation of always-on buildings. Attendees will come away with a clear understanding of the specific risks facing their own organizations as well as strategies to mitigate hazards and offer peace of mind in a less than peaceful world.
MGS EDGE COMPUTING: IT’S A LOT MORE THAN A BOX
Start Time: 10/15/2018 8:30:00 AM
End Time: 10/15/2018 9:30:00 AM
One of the biggest misconceptions about edge computing is that it’s simply a box that you drop in wherever you need it. Just plug it in, and bam! You are done. The reality is a little more complicated. Because you need a lot more than a data center in a box to make it work. That’s because everything surrounding the box, both literally and figuratively, is complex. Just like their bigger brothers and sisters, edge micro data centers have many of the same complexities as full-sized data centers in terms of site selection, business considerations, integration challenges, technical obstacles and more. The main difference is that all of that is multiplied by 10 or 100 or 1000 because of the volume of deployments. In this presentation, one of the foremost experts on edge computing, Compass Edge Solutions’ Sharif Fotouh, will provide attendees with practical advice about how to anticipate and solve the challenges that are inherent to edge computing deployments. Fotouh led Google’s Fiber Huts initiative years before edge computing even had a name, and now leads Compass Datacenters’ edge computing business.
M1A HOW EFFECTIVE SITE ASSESSMENTS JUSTIFY NEEDED CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS
Start Time: 10/15/2018 10:00:00 AM
End Time: 10/15/2018 11:00:00 AM
This session offers both an owner’s perspective and an assessment provider’s perspective on the why (and how) of performing assessments, including the decision to work with either a third party or with internal personnel. Additional perspectives on how to best determine schedules and obtain significant capital funding will also be shared. Co-presented by Matt Forshey of American Electric Power and David Boston of TiePoint-bkm Engineering, the presentation details the reasons to perform critical facility assessments, provides recommendations on methodology, and describes significant benefits for data center owners.
M1C EMERGENCY RESPONSE MANAGEMENT IN CRITICAL FACILITIES
Start Time: 10/15/2018 10:00:00 AM
End Time: 10/15/2018 11:00:00 AM
Which of your organization’s functions need to be restored first in the event of an emergency? Which facility systems support those critical areas? Any system deficiencies? What contingency plans are in place in the event of a catastrophe—and how does the facility program support them? An Emergency Response Management (ERM) Program is frequently lacking in a critical facility organization, and while there may be a company-wide business continuity plan, the typical data center, hospital and/or lab does not maintain an ERM program that protects the organization. This session outlines how to assess and set up a ERM program, including emergency operating procedures, staff training, and appropriate response levels to protect a critical facility’s triple bottom line.
M2C CYBERSECURITY: IN THE HACKER’S CROSSHAIRS
Start Time: 10/15/2018 2:15:00 PM
End Time: 10/15/2018 3:15:00 PM
SmartBuilding technology is a specific target of attackers. There are now myriad documented cases of cyber attacks. In the past 18 months, Fred Gory has audited sites throughout North America, witnessing firsthand attack vectors, the processes used in the attacks and the sobering outcomes. This presentation gives real-world examples of attacks, and the results that clearly demonstrate a comprehensive and immediate need for developing roadmaps to secure facilities.
M2D KEEPING THE UPS UNINTERRUPTIBLE
Start Time: 10/15/2018 2:15:00 PM
End Time: 10/15/2018 3:15:00 PM
Uninterruptible Power Supply systems offer critical facility managers plenty of bang for the buck. But in addition to the “bang” of power supply, ensuring the system’s uninterruptible aspect is vital to protecting data center components and equipment. This session begins with an examination of OEM vs. 3rd party independent service and the features and limitations of each options. From there, the presentation goes on to evaluate battery replacement options (runtime, lifetime, reliability, size, weight risk and cost) and UPS replacement versus maintaining to expected end of life.
M3C DO’S AND DON’TS OF DATA CENTER ELECTRICAL PLANNING FOR IT EQUIPMENT
Start Time: 10/15/2018 3:30:00 PM
End Time: 10/15/2018 4:30:00 PM
A data center electrical installation is often accompanied by many questions regarding the IT equipment. If answers to those questions aren’t easily found in the manufacturer’s documentation, there’s a strong chance that any assumptions made can lead to potential downtime or worse, to IT equipment certification violations. This presentation addresses those risky assumptions, and shows how you can avoid exposing your electrical installation to unnecessary risk. Real-world examples will illustrate the answers to the questions commonly asked by data center planners.
T2B FM & IT: GETTING PAST THE PAIN POINTS
Start Time: 10/16/2018 2:15:00 PM
End Time: 10/16/2018 3:15:00 PM
As critical facility management benefits from increasingly robust IoT and AI applications, optimized performance and efficiency is more achievable than ever. Before that can happen, though, the FM and IT teams must take a unified approach to analytics, stakeholder communications, sustainability and energy conservation. This presentation details how one mission critical owner established an integrated FM-IT team that resulted in a smarter data center that delivered a cost savings of $50 million in 2 years. Attendees will learn how to go from data mining to integrated implementation to attain improved reliability, energy and labor reductions, and operational cost savings. The session also provides examples and checklists to help data center user groups communicate with their facility managers and owners.
T3A PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE STRATEGIES FOR CRITICAL FACILITIES
Start Time: 10/16/2018 3:30:00 PM
End Time: 10/16/2018 4:30:00 PM
The reasons for not committing to preventive maintenance are many: There’s no good way to accommodate down time, or the emphasis should be on responding to failure versus scheduling inspections, or there’s not enough time to dedicate to PM. The result: Many mission critical facilities become bogged down in reactive maintenance mode, which can be costly to say the least – and disastrous at worst. This session will help assess where your organization’s maintenance approach currently stands and will provide a guide for transitioning to a preventive maintenance approach that can — and will — work in a critical environment. Learn how to gain buy-in from both staff and upper management on a PM approach by demonstrating its value and highlighting bottom-line results.