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$600k Fine Over Data Center Death (datacenterdynamics.com)

Posted by samzenpus on from the safety-first dept.

judgecorp writes: UK contractors Balfour Beatty and Norland have been fined £380,000 ($580k) after an electrician was electrocuted while working on a data center owned by finance firm Morgan Stanley. The fine follows mounting concern that safety is being compromised because of the need for data centers to remain online non-stop. This leads to pressure for contractors to work on live power supplies.

4 of 169 comments (clear)

  1. The fine won't hurt the DC owners. by dwywit · · Score: 3, Insightful

    How about a mandatory downtime for the data centre of say, 24 hours?

    Hit 'em in the hip pocket - which is what a fine is supposed to do, but rarely, in the case of corporations, achieves its desired affect.

    --
    They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom
    1. Re:The fine won't hurt the DC owners. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Someone made the call to have live circuits worked on, despite this being illegal. That person should be tried for manslaughter. It's about time people stopped hiding behind the corporate veil and are made accountable for their decisions, just as you or I would be.

  2. Re:Nothing Wrong with Non-Stop Service! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Isn't it sad that data center downtime is far more expensive than permanent downtime for a human being? This is just absolutely ridiculous and unjust. Someone needs to go to jail for this type of negligence.

  3. Re:Nothing Wrong with Non-Stop Service! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Didn't RTFA but if companies want 24/7 99.9999% up-time. Then they better have paid for the all the stuff to do it safely including line techs trained and certificated for live work. If they cheaped-out they deserve the an even bigger fine. Yes, live work happens and sometimes for no good reason then trying to save a few bucks. But even power companies do live work on their critical infrastructure and even with best tools and training a life is lost here and there.

    In my experience, the most likely person to pull a dangerous stunt like working on a live high-voltage feed is someone who's got all the certs and experience in the world and is working on top-flight gear - thus meeting your "paid for the all the stuff to do it safely" requirement - but they get careless "just this once" for whatever reason.

    Why?

    Because they're certain they know what they're doing, and they're certain the equipment is safe.

    But they don't, and it isn't.