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Jane Neil Of Subzero Engineering On How We Can Increase Girls’ Participation in Engineering and Robotics

Normalize Female Engineers: Using social media to showcase women in engineering can normalize the presence of women in these roles and make them more relatable to young girls.

An Interview with Jane Neil by Vanessa Ogle
Originally featured on Medium, this article delves into the gender disparity in STEM and outlines effective ways to boost girls’ engagement in engineering and robotics. Read the full article here: https://www.subzeroeng.com/how-we-can-increase-girls-participation-in-engineering-and-robotics/

Despite the growing importance of engineering and robotics in shaping our future, women remain significantly underrepresented in these fields. This series aims to explore and address the barriers that discourage girls from pursuing careers in engineering and robotics. We are talking to educators, industry leaders, pioneering women engineers, and robotics experts who have made significant contributions to their fields to discuss the strategies they believe can inspire and increase the participation of young girls in engineering and robotics. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Jane Neil, Subzero Engineering.

She is a positive self motivated individual with an outgoing personality who offers an analytical view to life and activities. With thirty years experience working in complex and constantly changing environments I have gained well developed organisational, networking, communication and negotiation skills and ability to prioritise and manage extensive workloads.

Through the unique experience of life and rigour within the Royal Navy, high pressure, time bound commitments on self and team was commonplace, this provided extensive travel and extended experience of numerous cultures.

Strong technical background with practice in Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing and Supply Chain gained in heavy engineering within construction, pump equipment and automotive industry. Working knowledge of numerous quality systems and standards both from a compliance and an implementation perspective.

Her recent Supply Chain experiences have developed the ability to understand explicit and implicit customer needs while building internal and external working relationships across global regions. This has also developed Project Management competence, involving multiple stakeholders with varying needs, using influencing skills in a variety of customer and supplier situations, delivering results through people. All aspects of people management from recruitment to performance, an ability to identify support and development needs within teams.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

I’ve always been drawn to engineering, It’s very much an internal feeling. But it was out of necessity as my parents separated when I was very young, so if anything broke in the house, I was the one who wanted to fix it so my mum wouldn’t worry. I would carry out many simple manual tasks, such as plastering walls or laying bathroom tiles. I remember once the washing machine broke, and I gave my mum an electric shock in my attempts to fix it!

Back then, around 35 years ago, it was rare to find females in engineering roles. Luckily for me, the British Royal Navy changed that, and for the first time in history women could go to sea. That also meant that females could be engineers. Before then, the stereotypical WREN was handbag and court shoes, all very British.

I’ve been around the world, and I’ve done a lot. Since the Royal Navy I’ve been in many different manufacturing and engineering environments, from marine engineering, automotive, and pump manufacturing. The oil, gas and nuclear industries were prominent in my earlier career path and that’s before I went into more high-tech electronics.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

When I first started, the uniform issued to me was a mix of both male and female designs, because I was only the seventh woman to go to sea as an engineer. We were pioneers, not entirely sure what to expect. My first military assignment was during the Bosnia War, where I was awarded a NATO medal for peacekeeping. That was in my first three months at sea!

What inspired you to pursue a career in engineering or robotics, and how can we replicate that inspiration for young girls?

The UK Government presented the opportunity to me, but for future generations, targeted marketing and social media can be powerful tools. How can you get a female’s attention when you are competing with fashion and diet pills on Instagram, etc? Highlighting the potential for high salaries in electronics and engineering could be appealing.

We need to educate young people in digestible chunks while they’re still in that sweet spot of discovery and understanding, to show them what the future could look like! There are so many different elements to engineering and, for many, it can be quite overwhelming. Social media can play a big role in making these concepts accessible and normalizing the idea of women in engineering.

It’s also interviews such as these, where you can see that I have a normal life, kids and family, my work-life balance in check, I have a management role, and this is the salary bracket. Being here, proving to people that I’m doing the job, demonstrates to younger females that women are in management and engineering roles now, that we are supportive of those young girls coming in.

The path forward is now carved out, though it’s still narrow. When I was younger, the route wasn’t smooth — you had to climb rocks, overcome obstacles, and break through barriers. But today, that path exists.

I encourage women to walk that path, knowing there are others ready to support them along the way. As managers in engineering environments, it’s our responsibility to recognize and nurture the talent in the young.

There is a duty of care, a real sense of responsibility to guide the talent in the young females and give them stretch assignments. I’m always challenging the females in the work environment to be uncomfortable. Because being uncomfortable is good. It may not feel that way, but you must move your thinking because you only ever grow when you’re out of your comfort zone. Uncomfortableness equals growth and you will have no idea what you can achieve if you don’t learn to see it positively!

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

My sense of responsibility stems from the fact that I didn’t really have any work mentors or significant figures guiding me through my career. While I never felt recognized for my struggles, it taught me the importance of recognizing and nurturing talent in others. People nowadays are so concerned with themselves that they don’t have the time, space, or energy to recognize other’s talents, but that doesn’t mean that you’re less talented.

The adversity that I went through helped make me the person and the leader that I am today. It possibly makes me fiercer and more courageous. My career path may not have been a smooth ride, but that’s not real life, is it?

Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

A coach called David Allen, and his program called Getting Things Done (GTD) made a significant impact on me. I got hold of an audio file of a seminar that he did probably 15 years ago, and I just loved it. It’s about time management & high performance. I still listen to the audio file today if I get bogged down or too busy. I’ll just play one of them and it lifts me up to where my thinking needs to be. It taught me how to mind map and how not to worry about the things I wasn’t doing so I had the energy to focus on the highest value projects. And it taught me how to extract those blockages from my brain, whether via high tech or low tech so that it wasn’t jamming my creativity.

As females we often worry about what we’re not doing, and don’t celebrate what we are doing well. Changing that mindset has made me a better mother, wife, employee, manager, everything. One of the most valuable pieces of advice I ever received came from the GTDs. I use it with my team: when we are naturally good at something, we often take that magic and put it in a zero-value bucket because we think it’s natural and therefore not special. We need to take our natural talents back out of the zero-value bucket as it’s our super power!

Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life or your work?

My favorite life lesson quote is from a Jack Canfield book. It’s ‘no blaming, no complaining, no excuses’. It leaves you nowhere to go, so you’re forced to own it. I was always taught by my mother to look in before you look out. We live in a world today where we’re so easily distracted with information bombarding us from all angles, that we’re constantly looking to the next answer and not concentrating on what we have in front of us. I believe the answers are always inside us. We just need to find the peace and quiet inside and take a minute to listen.

I use this life lesson quote in my day-to-day work and ask my team to do the same. Once you take the blame or complain out of the equation it becomes easier to look at the challenge and deal with it head on.

According to this report, only about 16% of engineering positions in the US are held by women. This reflects great historical progress, but it also shows that more work still has to be done to empower women. In your opinion and experience what is currently holding back women from Engineering and Robotics?

As females, we can sometimes gravitate to areas and environments where there are more women around, sub-consciously avoiding those that are more male-centric. Women might have an idea of what a normal day looks like if they work in, for example, marketing, which is perhaps a more balanced role, but I don’t think we’re quite there yet on the engineering front. Again, social media can help in demystifying roles, and showing what a normal day in an engineering role is like. In addition, the availability of more equal salaries in this industry helps women to know that they are valued more equally.

This might be intuitive to you but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should enter the Engineering and Robotics fields?

Women are natural problem solvers. We look at things in a different perspective from men. Our brains are wired differently, so we can look at a challenge from all the different angles, which in turn offers more innovation. It’s a beautiful thing for a female to bring to engineering environments and there is huge satisfaction that comes from problem-solving, improving things, and innovating. Your self-esteem, your happiness, your take on life, the confidence that grows; you don’t have to think or feel like a man to bring that talent into the workplace. Diversity leads to greater innovation, and having more women in engineering will only accelerate progress.

Can you please share “5 Things We Need To Increase Girls’ Participation in Engineering and Robotics?”

1. Role Models in Schools: While STEM stuff is prominent in schools right now, it’s doesn’t quite translate into jobs available for females in engineering. Middle school is a critical time for kids to discover potential career paths. Having female engineers speak at schools and share their experiences can help demystify the field and inspire young girls.

2. Clear Educational Pathways: Highlighting courses available in college and how they translate into a career for women, would be a big improvement. If I’d had that knowledge at that age, my path would have been a much easier one to take.

3. Educate in Bite-sized Chunks: Educating young people to show them what their potential can look like. If we introduce young girls to the many different elements of engineering and the many different industries that engineering is a part of, rather than just a high overview, would really help the next generation to understand the innovation and change aspect. All too many times, people just don’t understand what we do, so to break down the many various elements of it in bite-size chunks of learning would help.

4. Normalize Female Engineers: Using social media to showcase women in engineering can normalize the presence of women in these roles and make them more relatable to young girls.

5. Promote Salary Parity: Demonstrating to young people that they can earn the same salaries as their equal male counterparts is powerful. Women deserve equal parity and pay, and that was part of the attraction for me when I was younger. I don’t think we’re fully there yet, but we are moving in the right direction.

In your opinion, what are the most effective ways to introduce girls to engineering and robotics at an early age?

It would be helpful if school visits with groups of females who had shown an interest in engineering could come into the company, how often do you see the inside of an organization at that age? Introducing young people to what the manufacturing environment looks like, how it feels to be in the building and meeting the people that work there would be very effective. If local businesses could be attached to school programs, and have classes come and physically walk around the business — it could be enough to spark a light.

Educational programs at the school level, hands-on learning experiences and opportunities, and fostering inclusive and supportive environments would encourage young women into the industry. A lot of impressionable young women worry that the industry is too male dominated and that can feel quite intimidating. Seeing real women who actually work in the industry and talking with them about day-to-day life would put a lot of young women at ease.

30% of office and 25% of production are female, we are a super supportive bunch! We want the absolute best for each other, it’s a magical environment. We would love to show our next female generation just how supportive we can be.

How do you think the portrayal of women in STEM fields by media and educational materials impacts girls’ interest in engineering and robotics?

Social media can impact girls’ interests, but I don’t think there is enough positive content to be found on the platforms, or that it’s real enough. It’s still very much at a high overview perspective, and it needs to be broken down into much more real-life examples for young people to be able to digest and absorb. Our marketing video has many women in production, and it does a great job in showing the reality of the industry. We need more displays of females in their normal place of work.

What advice would you give to girls who are interested in engineering and robotics but are hesitant to take the first step?

The path has been carved now, and, as females, we should be stepping onto it. The more that we do, the wider the path will become and the smoother the journey. We are always building our way for the future of females, so we’re not only responsible for ourselves, but we’re also responsible for whoever is coming next. We don’t have to be masculine anymore. We can make a real difference in engineering, and that is very, very satisfying. It’s a role where you can look back and say, I made a change. That could be a change in technology or an office environment for other females. Feminism has evolved; it is about heart, soul and humility. Bringing your diversity to an engineering environment where you are involved in the change for the future is a nourishing and rewarding place to be.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

“Women in Clean Tech” is the movement I’d inspire!

Women Engineering a Sustainable Future. It combines two crucial elements: increasing diversity in engineering and addressing environmental challenges. This movement would promote mentorship programs, collaborative eco-tech projects, and sustainability-focused innovations.

By encouraging more women to enter engineering fields, we can tap into a wealth of undiscovered potential. This diversity brings fresh ideas and approaches to problem-solving, which is crucial when tackling complex issues like climate change and resource scarcity. Utilizing individual talents to strengthen a group, recognizing and leveraging the unique skills and perspectives that each member brings to the table.

I recently implemented a recyclables project, led by a female on my team is a small example of this potential. Imagine this amplified globally — women engineers spearheading a more sustainable world. By merging gender diversity with environmental action, we can create positive change that benefits everyone and creates a powerful synergy.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

About The Interviewer: Vanessa Ogle is a mom, entrepreneur, inventor, writer, and singer/songwriter. Vanessa’s talent in building world-class leadership teams focused on diversity, a culture of service, and innovation through inclusion allowed her to be one of the most acclaimed Latina CEO’s in the last 30 years. She collaborated with the world’s leading technology and content companies such as Netflix, Amazon, HBO, and Broadcom to bring innovative solutions to travelers and hotels around the world. Vanessa is the lead inventor on 120+ U.S. Patents. Accolades include: FAST 100, Entrepreneur 360 Best Companies, Inc. 500 and then another six times on the Inc. 5000. Vanessa was personally honored with Inc. 100 Female Founder’s Award, Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and Enterprising Women of the Year among others. Vanessa now spends her time sharing stories to inspire and give hope through articles, speaking engagements and music. In her spare time she writes and plays music in the Amazon best selling new band HigherHill, teaches surfing clinics, trains dogs, and cheers on her children.

Data Center

Educational Article

How AI is Revolutionizing the Data Center Industry

Article by Gordon Johnson, Subzero Senior CFD Manager

The data center industry is, and will continue to be, in high demand for storage and process capabilities while at the same time facing increasing pressure to be more efficient, more secure and more scalable. This is where we see AI, the technology rapidly reshaping how we use our data, assisting us in our quest to be smarter, yet greener than ever.

While some say (perhaps correctly) that right now in 2024, AI is not as widespread as many would have us believe – AI is estimated to be in only 5% of data centers – the reality is that 20% of data centers are expected to have some kind of AI as early as 2026. The AI market is projected to reach US $407bn by 2027.

There is also much speculation on how to scale AI applications, so we’re seeing some data centers increasing their infrastructure to support future AI applications. In addition, some completed, or near-completed, designs are being revisited to support projected AI demand.

Operational Efficiency

AI’s predictive capabilities extend beyond maintenance to capacity planning, helping data centers anticipate and prepare for future demands, enabling efficient planning and scaling of operations to meet growing demand.

By providing insights into usage trends and capacity needs, AI assists in infrastructure management, planning upgrades and expansions, and ensuring data centers remain ahead of the curve.

AI helps improve Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) by analyzing patterns and making real-time adjustments to power usage. This leads to more sustainable operations and reduces operational costs. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software capitalizes on this analysis, enabling the validation of a design or restructure to ensure you don’t have to deal with a worst-case scenario.

Energy Management

AI applications are escalating power consumption at the time we need to become greener and more sustainable. AI has the potential to be used to assist in operating data centers in a smarter and more energy-conscious way and, if designed and deployed correctly, could help us in our goal of a net zero data center.

AI-powered systems can dynamically adjust temperatures and airflow based on real-time data, optimizing cooling processes and significantly reducing energy consumption. Facilities that are specifically designed to run AI applications will be cooled predominantly with liquid cooling going forward. This trend will also impact COLOs since they’ll need to offer HPC and AI capabilities to stay competitive.

Data center designers and managers are doing their best to separate high and regular-density equipment within the whitespace to drive future efficiency. Rack densities, chips, servers, power consumption and heat levels are expected to increase with the demand that AI requirements place on them.

Cooling

It’s safe to say that because of AI, the future of IT cooling and thermal management is likely to be a hybrid solution comprising both air and liquid cooling technologies.

While we can expect rack densities to continue to increase, not everyone plans to deploy AI and ML (Machine Learning). Data center workloads show that air will still be useful for cooling ITE, it’s typically going to be HPC servers where it will continue to get more difficult if not impossible to cool with air alone. It’s also important to emphasize that not all ITE will be at the high end of the heat scale in the foreseeable future, meaning we’ll still be cooling the majority of ITE with air. Moving forward, we’ll need to find the balance in terms of efficiency, cost, and TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) when it comes to cooling options. Hybrid Cooling Infrastructure (air and liquid) is what we’ll be seeing more and more of moving forward.

The form of liquid cooling that is widely used is Direct-to-Chip (DTC)/Cold Plate liquid cooling. This technology uses a cooling fluid circulated through server CPUs and GPUs to absorb and dissipate heat. It is an effective way to cool AI ITE. DTC liquid cooling improves energy efficiency compared to traditional air cooling when deployed with high-density racks and can also reduce power utilization and overall water usage.

One important thing to consider is that DTC cooling only removes up to 70-75% of the heat generated by the ITE rack, leaving 25-30% that still needs to be removed by traditional air-cooling systems. Right now, the industry appears to be adopting DTC quicker than other forms of liquid cooling. This may or may not change, but once again this shows that air-cooling in our data centers is still needed and is not going away. We can expect to see its infrastructure continue to grow and be around for years to come.

Conclusion

AI is profoundly impacting the data center industry in several ways, modifying how data centers are designed, managed and operated. AI brings unprecedented levels of efficiency, security and scalability and, by using this technology, data centers can meet today’s growing demands while reducing costs and environmental impact. As AI technology continues to advance, its transformative effects on data centers will herald a new era of smart, sustainable, and resilient digital infrastructure.

AI is not just a tool for incremental improvements; it addresses the challenges faced by the data industry to reduce its carbon footprint, improve sustainability and bring us closer to net zero. As data volumes continue to climb, the integration of AI will become even more critical for the data center industry.

Company

Educational Article

Harnessing the Power of Operational Scalability

Article by Shane Kilfoil, Subzero Engineering President

In today’s fast-paced business environment, scalability is not just a buzzword; it’s a necessity. Entrepreneurs often get trapped in the daily grind of running their businesses, neglecting to put in place the systems, procedures, and people needed for sustainable growth. Without this foundation, companies hit bottlenecks, suffer inefficiencies, and face the risk of stalling or failing.

To be able to adapt and expand operations as your business grows is not just about adding employees or customers. Sure, that’s the main target, but what about the processes, systems or infrastructure to successfully and sustainably manage your customer needs?

Operational scalability cuts across all aspects of the business. It’s too easy to just focus on the production line if you’re a manufacturer. Sales and financial operations, through to supply chain operations also need to be considered and scaled up to meet the customer’s needs in a timely fashion. It’s vital to ensure that as the business evolves and grows, it doesn’t compromise on quality or efficiency across any aspect of the operation.

The investment of time and energy resources

The term operational scalability is personal to your business, the growth and evolution of it and where you see yourself being in X number of years.

For profitable growth, investing time and effort into your processes, your systems and the people that drive those processes are vitally important. If you haven’t set the groundwork, then when growth opportunities come along you might end up finding that the company is scrambling. This is not sustainable. I often use the analogy of comparing ourselves to a restaurant. You know how many meals you can make and on occasion you have a rush. You may be able to hire one or two extra people temporarily because you know that during this occasional rush period, you can meet the excess demand. That’s great for the short term, but as a company in a high-growth environment, you would need to be able to support that rush every day, every week, every month. And that becomes very hard to do. Most people can do a heavy lift for perhaps a week but then employees start getting tired. People start getting sick.

The organization needs to be set up to cater for those demand spikes, and then scale up and move to where the demand is coming from. A good foundation allows you to either quickly scale or absorb spikes without too much issue and sustainably maintain that through the course of your business.

Scaling up

We recently moved Simplex from a California-based manufacturing operation to our new Salt Lake City facility. It wasn’t that the California operation was operating poorly, in fact, they were a pretty efficient operation. But as we looked at its ability to scale, we realized we had some physical constraints in that the building was not large enough or set up as we needed. We also recognized that many of the commodities used are very similar between Simplex and Subzero, so we decided to move both businesses under a single 155,000 square foot facility giving the Simplex operation, which beforehand was restricted to a 40,000 square feet facility, room to grow.

Relocating allowed us to bring both businesses under a single roof. It gave us the option to scale the business significantly and allowed our engineering teams to manage a single supply chain. As an organization, we had to bring one business culture into another and help people adjust not just to the commercial side in terms of how they go to market with their customers, but also to what the culture was in Salt Lake City. Ultimately it was the right decision because it gave us the ability to scale our business and workforce during times of high demand. As an added advantage, there’s also been a cross-pollination of knowledge sharing and we now have a more cross-trained workforce. Should we ever get hit by another pandemic, this will allow us to continue our manufacturing capability without being heavily impacted.

Scalability or sustainability

Interpreting scalability can be difficult for many organizations. Maybe some businesses have got the term ‘operational scalability’ wrong because they haven’t been quite as sustainable in their business growth. For some, operational stability is about having a robust network so if there’s a supply shortage they can pull from another solution. For others, it’s more about how I grow. For me, operational sustainability is sustained, consistent growth. If I can scale it, can I maintain the same level of service and quality that my customer expects during that growth cycle? If I can’t, I’m probably not operationally robust enough. It’s a constant learning curve to consistently improve, and as you improve, you need to keep yourself nimble enough to meet demand or even a change in direction if there is demand for a new product. The organization needs to be set up both on the front end and the back end to support changes in demand capacity or changes in the customer’s direction.

Change management

It’s not just about the customer. It’s also about your employees. How do we keep the team motivated during these periods of scalability?

Trying to rally everyone around a common goal seems simple, but not everyone listens and learns the same way. Communication is key because once people understand, they’re often able to take it on board and help drive towards it. Effective communication and clear goal setting in driving operational scalability is essential for company-wide change. Understanding the purpose of tasks is essential for motivation and performance, and the successful implementation of new systems and processes relies heavily on the acceptance and adaptation of team members. Not everyone is comfortable with growth and change, however, self-managed, self-motivated and adaptable leaders who can handle change can be empowered with the responsibility to contribute to the organization’s growth.

Industry shifts

Covid accelerated the industry’s growth, emphasizing the importance of supply chain management and the ability to respond to changing demands quickly. At Subzero, we shifted towards greater flexibility in serving customers and the potential for addressing more esoteric requests due to increased capacity.

Operational sustainability and scalability are vital for growth and profits, and investing time, effort, and resources into processes, systems, and people is essential. But all the time you’re investing in these, a close eye needs to be kept on technology changes and clients’ demands. We’re currently looking at the role of AI in the data center industry and the challenges of integrating AI into systems while maintaining our sustainability goals. We need to plan for future infrastructure to support AI and other emerging technologies.

Our industry’s shift towards liquid cooling highlights challenges in terms of cost and scalability. I predict a hybrid solution will emerge, with traditional cooling methods used alongside liquid cooling, and we need to be sure that Subzero’s products will be scalable and adaptable to future requirements. Our ongoing journey towards becoming a total solutions provider focuses on sustainability and meeting customer needs, as well as the impact of rising interest rates on customers’ spending capabilities.

Company

Team

International Women’s Day 2024

In celebration of International Women’s Day 2024, we applaud some of the women within Senneca and Subzero Engineering who buck the trend of bias, stereotypes and discrimination.

Across the tech or manufacturing industry, many women hold the same roles as men but are never valued equally. The campaign theme for International Women’s Day 2024 is Inspire Inclusion. Today, we take action to drive gender parity by extolling our female engineers and operational personnel who create so much value across Senneca Holdings.

With that being said, let us meet some of the inspirational women on our team, and learn a little more about them and their role – in their own words.

Alexa McFarlane
Buyer in the Supply Chain for Subzero Engineering

This is the first organization I’ve been with where I don’t feel that being a woman is a conscious issue.

This is the first organization I’ve been with where I don’t feel that being a woman is a conscious issue. It has its moments, but I think the tech industry, in general, feels more data and performance-driven. There’s trust in the data and the systems that we use. And when our numbers are good, it doesn’t matter who you are.

I’m consistently impressed by how many women we have on the manufacturing floor in our offices. I feel like we add an element of humanity where we don’t judge each other if we’ve had a bad day and support each other in those rough moments. And when you have a great day, it’s fantastic to have people to celebrate with. We recognize that everybody makes mistakes. It’s nice not constantly feeling on the spot or that you can’t afford to have one of those days. Just having that breathing space allows all of us here to grow and be ourselves, personally and professionally. We’ve all achieved things most of us wouldn’t have expected by being allowed that breathing room.

What advice would I give to someone wanting to come into manufacturing? First off, don’t be scared. Don’t be afraid to get dirty. But the biggest thing is learn to toot your own horn. It’s not something that comes particularly naturally. You discover very quickly that there often isn’t anybody to do it for you. Bragging about yourself is okay.

Cathy Knutson
Office Manager & Site Services Install Team Coordinator

Women’s backgrounds, their life experiences and the multifaceted jobs they have often mean they need to be very detail-oriented. I didn’t think I was a good project manager until I told my manager that in the space of two weeks, I had moved my kids into a new apartment, got everybody enrolled in school, and got myself a new job, he asked me how I got all of that done in two weeks and why I wasn’t a project manager? I had never thought of that. It’s just something that we do, and we don’t apply it to the business sector, which we should do.

I feel my role needs to be very positive. It’s about encouraging people to know they already have the solution and know what to do. You have to go out of your comfort zone and you’re going to have to problem-solve in areas that you didn’t think was your job. I’m able to see where teams can benefit from working together or see what’s going on and say, I’ve been able to do this in the past, how can I help you with that? Invariably there’s always something to do to help, a natural skill for women because of the different viewpoints we see things from.

Seeing men and women on the production floor, it’s good to see them standing next to each other, working and problem-solving together. To me, that’s really exciting.

Chelsea Traver
Vice President of Finance at Senneca Holdings

One of the key ways to empower is to give people the ability to make decisions.

I’ve been in manufacturing for a while, but it’s a very male-dominated profession. However, I like being able to hold my own, being viewed as a trusted advisor, influencing things or being sought out for how to improve processes.

The biggest strength I bring to my role is my ability to build partnerships with any area of the business, whether it be sales, marketing, operations or direct labor. I don’t speak financially even though I’m in finance. I look to find common ground in which to move forward.

As you grow as a leader, you become less task-based and more development-based. It doesn’t matter whether you are a male or female of any race if they have the drive to grow, as a leader, you have the responsibility to help them get there. As a leader, your job is to empower people and give them the opportunities to step out and take a leap, while being there to catch them if they fall or praise them if they do well.

One of the key ways to empower is to give people the ability to make decisions. Diversity leads to better innovation because you get different ideas. Not everybody has the same upbringing. It’s where they came from in life and what they bring to the conversation. Sometimes if you only surround yourself with like-minded people, you can become set in the ways that you do things.

Gloria Huegel
Vice President of Human Resources at Senneca and Subzero Engineering

Organizations need to reinforce women in the workplace and recognize those who have excelled in technology, overcoming that traditional glass ceiling or barriers to entry.

I see my role in human resources as identifying and supporting women and people from underrepresented groups. We miss out as an organization when we don’t identify and leverage that talent, it’s extremely important for our success and our differentiation in the market to have those multiple voices.

Mentorships helped me get through different levels and different industries, and I found it very important to build those relationships and trust early on in my career. Now that I have acceded to a leadership level, I see it as my role to look out for other females who may not have had the same opportunities that I did.

Organizations need to reinforce women in the workplace and recognize those who have excelled in technology, overcoming that traditional glass ceiling or barriers to entry. Women who may have had to work a little harder to get into that space is a commendable achievement. And we need to recognize that.

With women primarily being the caretakers not only of children, but of aging parents, neighbors, and patrons within the church, they need lots of different communication styles. I think women adapt to their audience very well and wear multiple hats. They change their style according to what the situation demands.

At both Senneca and Subzero, we prioritize an environment of respect for all perspectives. We miss out if we censor or shut down different voices and different opinions. Diversity keeps us all growing and progressing, and that will differentiate us for success.

Jane Neil
Supply Chain Manager at Subzero Engineering

Women in management positions and leadership positions speak volumes to the younger females.

I have an extensive background in tech, starting as an electrical engineer in the British Royal Navy. I’ve also worked in oil and gas, electronics and construction. In my younger days, I would feel that you had to give 150% to stand still, but back then, the opportunities weren’t as available as they are now.

I have seen a lot of changes over the years and have encountered some challenges. But I think that if you turn back time, I wouldn’t want to take away any of those challenges. I think they’ve made me the character that I’m to be.

A lot of women don’t believe they’ll have the same opportunities as men. But I think having women’s voices on social media helps. I’ve also worked in places where we have a women in technology mentorship program where the senior leaders that are females are paired up with the younger females that want to advance and coach them. Women in those management positions and leadership positions speak volumes to the younger females.

I feel very determined to support the women here. I make extra effort to make sure they know that I’m around and that I’m here to support them, spending time with them one-on-one and letting them trust that there’s a path there for them. Sometimes we just need to have someone believe in us.

Women bring diversity and different approaches. Sometimes females can bring a softness to harder environments. Whenever there’s diversity, there’s innovation and growth. Everyone has their unique journeys in life and their unique backgrounds and cultures, which makes them look at things from a bunch of different angles. It’s proven that the more diversity in companies, the better their innovation. Everyone brings something different.

Liz Carranza
Production Planner at Subzero Engineering

The more people you have with different backgrounds and the different approaches that you have, the more well-rounded you become.

Communication as a production planner is imperative. You can’t get anything done if you’re not constantly talking to the production manager or the engineers. I have to keep tabs on what’s coming or going.

For companies looking to attract or empower more women, they would need to look at what Senneca is doing with regard to its Diversity and Inclusion Committee. It’s progressive with people from all backgrounds, ethnicities and genders highlighting our differences and how it makes the business great.

Diversity is really important in a company because it allows companies to be more empathetic. The more people you have with different backgrounds and the different approaches that you have, the more well-rounded you become.

Makenna Deamer
Sales Application Engineer at Subzero Engineering

When you are surrounded by people who know and trust you as a good engineer, being a female engineer is no different than being a male one.

I’ve always been into engineering. My dad’s an engineer and he’s always encouraged me to kind of look into things and how and why they work. I’ve worked in various industries with different jobs, however, this is the first job that I’ve had where I actually have an engineering title.

As a female engineer, you tend to run into a lot of biases. It’s unfortunate and something that we can work to change. But the only way that we’re ever going to be able to change is by creating better environments in which those biases don’t exist.

There’s a lot of distrust but once you’ve earned that trust, it’s no longer a roadblock to breaking into a position. If you can get past the initial double-checking of your work or questioning your decisions, and get to a point where you are surrounded by people who know and trust you as a good engineer, being a female engineer is no different than being a male one.

One of the challenges as a woman in engineering is coming across as assertive, but not so much that it’s seen as emotional. One of the best ways that you can do this is by developing a good rapport with your team and encouraging a positive environment for women with the technology. This starts from the top down.

Collaborative environments that allow women to speak their piece within informal settings where it’s less likely to come across incorrectly, or teambuilding activities that help encourage women to find their voice and to encourage positive communication all help to contribute to a positive environment.

Getting women, especially young girls, interested in science, technology, engineering and math is critical. One of the best things about tech is that you can start children early getting into STEM and getting them comfortable with computers and science and asking those questions. This can make a huge difference in how comfortable they are within the environment. It can help counteract other biases that can happen as the more comfortable you are, the more you’re likely to stay within the field, even as challenges arise.

Yvette “Shorty” Garcia
Lead on Manufacturing Line at Subzero Engineering

We get more women into the industry by asking their opinions. Women are going to see that. They’re going to read this.

I’m the only lead woman out of six men. I can be more humble than the guys. I pay attention to my workers, I care about their opinions and what we’re doing. I take their advice and they always give me feedback. I like having women on my line because they can be more detail-oriented. I love working with women because they’re easy to train. Women want to be challenged and to learn and build.

We get more women into the industry by asking their opinions. Women are going to see that. They’re going to read this. They’re going to see somebody working in manufacturing or tech and that gives other young women the incentive to do the same.

Forging equality

When we inspire others to understand and value women’s inclusion, we forge a better world.

And when women themselves are inspired to be included, there’s a sense of belonging, relevance, and empowerment.

International Women’s Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating women’s social, economic, cultural, and political achievements. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality.

#InspireInclusion

Company

Press Release

Subzero Engineering Relocates Headquarters to New State-of-the-Art Facility in Salt Lake City, Utah

Subzero Engineering, the global leader in turnkey engineering solutions for data centers, industrial cleanrooms and mission-critical environments, is delighted to announce a new 155,000-square-foot facility in Salt Lake City, Utah. The extensive premises enables the company to expand its capabilities while enabling the company to relocate its Simplex manufacturing facility into the same premises.

The new headquarters is set to transform the industry with its cutting-edge amenities. The new facility comprises 95,000 square feet of dedicated manufacturing space, 25,000 square feet for shipping, receiving and storage, and an additional 35,000 square feet of office space.

This strategic move, coupled with recent expansions in the sales, engineering, manufacturing, and installation teams, positions Subzero Engineering for remarkable growth in the coming years.

The new facility, located at 805 South 3600 West, Salt Lake City, Utah, represents a significant milestone for the company and the industry as a whole. This new facility will provide the space needed to support the combined teams of Subzero Engineering and Simplex Modular Cleanrooms, one of the most prominent names in modular cleanrooms, softwall curtains, strip doors, separation and process isolation, and their growing customer base. It will also encourage and develop the collaboration and teamwork of both teams to assist customers with custom projects, product enhancements, and new products while delivering support for all cleanroom and separation needs.

With an entire area dedicated to research and development, the company will be in a pivotal position to progress innovation, design and productivity. This is expected to become a prominent resource, establishing the company as a key partner in the evolution of the industry.

Take a Video Tour OF THE FACILITY

Notable highlights of the relocation include:

Expansive Product Demo Room
The product demo room showcases the full range of the organization’s data center and cleanroom products, allowing customers to comprehensively explore their options. The new product demonstration room is a testament to the company’s commitment to showcasing its cutting-edge offerings.
Cross-Product Knowledge Sharing
The new facility fosters collaboration and knowledge sharing between the data center and cleanroom product lines.
Research and Development
The dedicated Research and Development area will be the company’s epicenter of innovation, driving the development of cutting-edge solutions.
Enhanced Inventory and Materials Storage
The larger space allows for expanded inventory stock and improved materials storage capabilities, ensuring timely deliveries and better service.
Improved Customer Support
With the additional personnel and facilities, Subzero Engineering is committed to providing even better customer support and assistance.
Central Shipping Hub
Salt Lake City’s strategic location as a central shipping hub will expedite shipping and receiving processes, benefiting customers nationwide.

Shane Kilfoil, President of Mission Critical Environments, covering both Subzero Engineering and Simplex product lines said: “We’ve gone from starting in a garage, to now having a 155,000 square foot facility and seven different production lines. We’ve also tripled our workforce to help keep up with demand over the past 18 months. We foresee that continuing — but we also recognize that not everything can be done just with people. So, we’re making active investments in machinery and automation that will help us to further keep up with demand and take the strain off our employees to allow them to focus on other more value-added offerings and solutions that we can give to the customers and end users.”

Schedule an in-Person tour of the facility

Data Center

Video

Data Center Sustainability and CFDs

Video Overview

In the first episode of “The Data Center Expert Series”, we’re joined by Gordon Johnson, Senior CFD Manager. Gordon talks us through his career and role at Subzero Engineering, before sharing insights into his latest white paper, titled The Future of Containment – Has Air Cooling Reached Its Limits? which looks into the cooling options available to cope with today’s rising demands on data centers.

Further highlights include:

Subzero Engineering’s company history and its key differentiators
Data center containment’s role in sustainability and cost savings
Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD), and why is it vital to help operators drive data center performance and efficiency
Insight from 15 years in the data center industry and the challenges facing the sector

Download the Whitepaper

Cleanrooms

Video

Simplex Cleanrooms Overview

Video Overview

In this latest installment of “The Cleanroom Expert Series”, we’re joined by Jerry Cross, Simplex Cleanroom Regional Sales Manager at Subzero Engineering. Jerry talks us through why Simplex cleanrooms by Subzero Engineering is the right choice for its customers and how, with a 40-year industry heritage, customers directly benefit from its industry knowledge and experience.

Other key discussion points and takeaways from this episode include:

Simplex product line history
Custom cleanroom solutions
The advantages of a modular cleanroom solution

Learn more about Simplex Cleanrooms by Subzero Engineering

Company

Video

Video Tour of Subzero Engineering’s Massive Industry-Leading Facility

Video Overview

Welcome to Subzero Engineering’s groundbreaking facility in the heart of Salt Lake City, Utah—an impressive 155,000 square-foot powerhouse of progress that’s set to redefine the industry. Join us on a journey through our state-of-the-art facility, where innovation meets immersion in our expansive product demo room showcasing cutting-edge data center and cleanroom solutions. Focused on collaboration, our cross-product knowledge-sharing approach brings together teams for comprehensive support on custom projects and new innovations. With a dedicated research and development area, we’re pushing the boundaries of engineering solutions. Our enhanced inventory and materials storage, coupled with a larger workforce, ensure efficient operations and improved customer support. Positioned strategically in Salt Lake City, a central shipping hub expedites deliveries nationwide. Hear from Shane Kilfoil, our President, as he reflects on our journey from a garage startup to this impressive facility, underscoring our commitment to value-added solutions. Join us in pioneering the future of turn-key engineering solutions for critical environments. Visit our website and schedule a tour to witness the Subzero Engineering difference firsthand.

Further highlights include:

Tour our expansive product demo room featuring our complete Data Center and Cleanroom product line
Learn how cross-product knowledge sharing contributes to the turn key solutions we provide for critical environments
Learn about the value of our dedicated Research and Development area
See our robust material and inventory storage capabilities
Gain confidence in our improved customer support department, ensuring your needs are met promptly and efficiently
Details about our centralized shipping hub which guarantees faster delivery times and smoother logistics

Read the Press Release

How does Simplex Cleanrooms Benefit from the New Facility?

Data Center

Product Spotlight

Subzero Engineering and USG Strategic Partnership: Why do alliances like this matter to the digital Infrastructure?

From Shane Kilfoil, President, Subzero Engineering

The data center industry is rapidly evolving, driven by AI adoption, power demands and innovative cooling strategies coming into the market. Operators are being asked to deploy capacity faster, support higher rack densities, and meet increasingly ambitious sustainability targets, all whilst managing cost and growing complexity. But collaboration is vital to success.

Subzero Engineering’s latest strategic alliance with USG Mission Critical Solutions represents a
transformative step forward that strengthens the ability to serve customers and support the
next generation of data center infrastructure.

This New Alliance

At Subzero Engineering, our focus has always been on the foundation of understanding what
the customers are trying to achieve and engineering containment solutions that help them
get there. For more than two decades, we have specialized in containment systems that
support mission-critical environments around the world.

USG brings a complementary set of strengths. As one of North America’s most established
building materials manufacturers, USG provides expertise in construction materials, project
execution, and large-scale market reach.

This collaboration ensures delivery in a more integrated approach that simplifies
procurement and deployment, strengthening the ability to deliver containment solutions at
scale and positions both organizations to support the evolving needs of AI-driven
infrastructure.

Meeting the Demands of the AI Era

AI is reshaping data center design, with higher rack densities, hybrid cooling architectures,
direct-to-chip liquid cooling, and accelerated deployment schedules all requiring
containment solutions engineered for flexibility and scale.

As the industry evolves towards more hybrid cooling environments, industry collaboration is
vital. Technological advancements happen best when organizations combine expertise and
experience to develop practical solutions that can be deployed at scale.

Subzero’s alliance with USG strengthens its capabilities. By combining structural building
expertise with containment engineering, customers can move quickly from design to
deployment, accelerate innovation, improve deployment methodologies, and respond faster
to evolving infrastructure requirements.

Driving Sustainable Growth Through Partnership

Strategic partnerships can expand reach while remaining focused on the engineering
expertise that differentiates us. Customers benefit from a broader solution ecosystem while
Subzero continues advancing containment technologies, airflow optimization, and critical
environment infrastructure.

The partnership also supports a shared commitment to sustainability. Containment remains
one of the most effective strategies for improving cooling efficiency and reducing energy
consumption, and with better airflow management, it lowers cooling demand and
environmental impact.

By bringing together USG’s expertise in building systems and Subzero Engineering’s
containment capabilities, we can help customers implement integrated solutions that
support both operational performance and environmental responsibility.
Looking to the Future

For Subzero Engineering, this alliance is a natural extension of our commitment to helping
customers build more efficient, scalable, and sustainable critical environments. The future of
data center infrastructure will be shaped by collaboration. This is one more step in that
direction.

Data Center

Product Spotlight

Full vs. Partial Containment: How DAB Panels Improve Efficiency and ROI in the Data Center

Data centers consume tremendous amounts of energy, yet a surprising proportion of cooling capacity is squandered on air that never reaches the equipment it’s designed to cool. As a result, managing airflow presents both a monetary and thermal problem.

Full aisle containment has long been the gold standard in data center thermal management: isolating hot and cold airstreams that reduces cooling demand and lowers PUE values. Unfortunately, the real world gets in the way of things.

Many operators have felt compelled to use partial containment systems due to fire regulations, sprinkler head placement, and the physical constraints of existing facilities. Although such configurations provide some of the positive effects of full containment, they leave an efficiency gap that is reflected in higher energy consumption and operating costs.

A solution to that trade-off is provided by Dissolvable Air Barrier (DAB) panels. In locations where full containment was previously impractical, DAB panels can completely seal the aisle without moving the overhead fire safety sprinkler systems. This has significant effects on ROI, energy consumption, CapEx and OpEx.

Why Containment Matters

Efficient data center cooling is essentially about separating hot and cold air. When hot and cold air mix, if the supply air arriving at the server inlets is warmer than the intended temperature, the cooling systems need to work harder to compensate, wasting energy.

That waste is significant. Studies conducted by ASHRAE and the Green Grid consistently show that
uncontained or partially contained data halls are known to operate at significantly higher PUE values than facilities with full aisle containment.

Containment creates a physical barrier between supply and return air paths. Hot/cold air mixing is
eliminated by physically enclosing the end-of-aisles with doors, and over-rack roof systems or over-rack containment up to the ceiling. The tighter the barrier, the less mixing occurs, and the greater the efficiency gain.

Partial containment will always result in some supply and return air mixing, higher than necessary cooling demand, and lower cooling efficiency than full containment could provide. In retrofits, the targeted sealing of the most problematic airflow gaps is often considered. This can include the use of curtains, end-of-row doors, and blanking panels.

However, even full containment often faces a major implementation obstacle: compliance. Most fire codes insist that sprinkler heads must be placed within a certain distance of the ceiling, and many containment structures, like overhead roof panels, obstruct this relationship. In addition, over-rack containment up to the ceiling may also not be possible if sprinkler heads are not correctly located in both the cold and hot aisle after containment. Relocating sprinklers to fit into a containment structure can be complex, expensive, disruptive, and, in some facilities, practically impossible without a full infrastructure overhaul.

The result has been a divided market: facilities that can achieve full containment do, and facilities that are unable to do so make do with partial containment solutions that reduce, but do not eliminate, airflow mixing.

DAB panels change that calculation.

The Role of DAB Panels

DAB panels are purpose-engineered vertical over-rack panels or horizontal roof panels designed to meet fire code requirements by completely sealing the top of a contained aisle without obstructing the sprinkler system. The key difference is the material from which they are constructed. DAB panels are composed of a unique cellulose-based composition that, when exposed to sprinkler water, dissolves completely in less than 30 seconds.

They function as a solid, continuous air barrier that seals the aisle as effectively as any rigid containment panel, but in the event of a fire suppression activation, DAB panels effectively disappear. They clear the way for the sprinklers to do their job, thus maintaining full compliance with fire code requirements.

Maintaining the thermal isolation between hot and cool aisles while adhering to fire regulations has grown more difficult as data center fire safety compliance codes change. DAB panels meet these requirements, by offering containment that functions within current fire suppression systems without posing the safety risks associated with falling panels.

Calculating the ROI of DAB Panels

The ROI calculation also considers the installation footprint. If sprinkler relocation is avoided, the capital cost of attaining complete containment can be significantly decreased. DAB panels are installed inside the aisle seals and the current containment structure. The financial argument for DAB panels operates on two levels.

First, CapEx reduction comes from avoiding sprinkler relocation. A full containment retrofit that requires sprinkler relocation can add significant cost and project complexity – in some facilities, it has been the reason full containment projects have been put on hold indefinitely. DAB panels remove that cost.

Secondly, OpEx reduction follows from the efficiency gains. Reduced cooling demand results in lower electricity use, which directly lowers monthly operational costs. These potential annual savings from switching from partial to full containment are considerable, particularly in those facilities with high rack density or substantial cooling infrastructure expenditure.

Design and Implementation

Instead of requiring modifications to current fire suppression systems or changing the physical structure of the facility, DAB panel installation follows the same process as other containment systems. For horizontal roof containment (typically CAC deployments), DAB panels are fitted across the top of the contained aisle to create a continuous seal. For vertical over-rack containment (typically HAC deployments), DAB panels are easily fitted up to the ceiling of the contained aisle to again create a continuous seal.

Ongoing maintenance considerations are minimal. The maintenance profile of the panels is like that of other passive containment components, since they are not moving elements and can be easily visually inspected to eliminate gaps and openings that result in unnecessary containment leakage.

Efficiency Without Compromise

The choice between full and partial containment has never really been a question about performance. Operators have always recognized that full containment is more effective. The question has always been whether full containment was possible under practical limitations.

DAB panels provide the affirmative. Facilities that have previously been restricted to the limitations of partial containment designs can now reach the efficiency ceiling of full containment by completely closing the aisle while still adhering to fire suppression regulations. Better thermal performance, effective energy use, lower capital and operating expenses, and a quicker return on investment are the outcomes, without forcing operators to choose between efficiency and safety.

For data center operators weighing their next infrastructure investment, the question is no longer whether full containment is possible. The question is how quickly it can be implemented.

Data Center

Product Spotlight

The Future of Data Center Cooling: Insights from Gordon Johnson, Senior CFD Manager at Subzero Engineering

An Interview with Gordon Johnson, Senior CFD Manager at Subzero Engineering

As artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, and increasingly dense IT environments continue to reshape the data center industry, operators are facing new challenges in cooling, airflow management, efficiency, and long-term sustainability. Technologies that were once considered emerging are now becoming essential components of modern infrastructure strategies.

To help make sense of these changes, we sat down with Gordon Johnson, Senior CFD Manager at Subzero Engineering. With more than three decades of experience across data centers and cleanroom environments, Gordon has helped organizations around the world optimize cooling performance, improve energy efficiency, and prepare their facilities for the next generation of computing demands.

In his role at Subzero Engineering, Gordon leads Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling projects across North America, EMEA, and APAC while providing training and guidance on containment, cooling strategies, airflow management, and data center best practices. He is also a frequent industry speaker, sharing insights on the technologies and trends shaping the future of mission-critical facilities.

In this interview, Gordon discusses the evolution of data center cooling, the growing importance of hybrid air and liquid cooling strategies, common misconceptions surrounding airflow management, and why cooling has become one of the most strategic infrastructure decisions operators face today.

Whether you’re designing a new facility, planning for AI workloads, or looking to improve the efficiency of an existing data center, Gordon’s insights offer valuable perspective on where the industry is headed—and how organizations can prepare for what comes next.

What is your role today at Subzero Engineering, and how did your journey into the data centre industry begin?

As Senior CFD Manager, I manage all of our CFD modeling projects across the US, EMEA, and APAC regions, as well as deliver our internal and external training on data center design, containment, cooling strategies, and CFD best practices. My role focuses on improving efficiency and operational performance in legacy and next-generation data centres. In addition, I work closely with our global sales and engineering teams to ensure customers receive accurate, highperformance containment solutions that are tailored to their facilities.

Also, I regularly speak at industry events on data center cooling, containment, and emerging trends shaping the future of our industry.

You’ve spent more than 30 years working across data centres and cleanroom environments. What changes have had the biggest impact on how facilities are designed and operated today?

When I initially entered the industry, efficiency and energy savings were largely seen as an afterthought in data center management and operation. As recently as 10–15 years ago, the prevailing mindset for data center cooling was simply ‘the colder, the better.’ Beyond driving massive energy bills, this approach wasted natural resources and expanded our carbon footprint.

Fortunately, the industry has since shifted its perspective, with many facilities now operating supply temperatures near the upper end of ASHRAE’s recommended serverinlet guidelines, ensuring efficiency and a closer connection to the industry’s ambition for a more sustainable future.

Looking back across your career, what have been some of the most important lessons you’ve learned about designing resilient infrastructure?

Looking back on my career in the data center industry, one of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that simplicity is often what drives reliability and performance.

Data centers constantly evolve, and the demand for high-performance computing densities are growing, so those in the industry must design their facilities to adapt to changes without requiring complete redesigns. Containment is a perfect example of simplicity at play, which is why I’m so passionate about the topic. Rather than consuming energy, effective containment reduces energy use and makes every other efficiency initiative more impactful and costeffective. It reinforces a principle I’ve come to fully embrace – the best energy saved is the energy you never consume in the first place.

As AI workloads push rack densities higher, how is the industry’s approach to cooling and airflow evolving?

As recently as 2020, a 20 kW rack qualified as HPC (High Performance Computing). Today, AI and machine learning workloads routinely drive rack densities to 100 kW and beyond, with demand continuing to climb. This rapid escalation is a key reason hybrid cooling, combining air and liquid systems to handle both low and highdensity racks, has become the industry’s evolving standard for efficient cooling regardless of the workloads deployed.

The industry is recognising that future-ready data centres must combine liquid cooling with highly disciplined airflow management systems to support the evolving needs of the competitive market.

There’s growing conversation around liquid cooling, immersion, and direct-to-chip technologies. How do you see these approaches fitting together within future data centre environments?

Future data centre environments must consider using a hybridised approach into their cooling technologies, so I expect to see this in next generation environments. It will be common to see directtochip, immersion, and air-cooling solutions operating side by side within the same facility depending on the density requirements, operational priorities, and sustainability goals. What is also important to note is seeing a more deliberate separation between highdensity and lowdensity ITE, which is ultimately how operators will maximize efficiency.

What do you think operators still misunderstand about airflow management and thermal efficiency in modern facilities?

Some people don’t realize that the most common form of liquid cooling—directtochip (DTC) — still relies heavily on air cooling strategies. DTC cold plates remove heat only from the highestload components such as CPUs and GPUs. The remaining server and rack heat must still be removed by traditional air systems. Since roughly 75% of the heat is captured by the liquid loop, a 100 kW rack still requires enough airflow to remove the remaining ~25 kW. To do this effectively, proper coldaisle or hotaisle containment is also essential.

At what point does cooling become a strategic infrastructure issue rather than simply an operational one?

Cooling has now become a strategic infrastructure consideration, directly impacting scalability, operational cost, sustainability ambitions, and the competitive market advantage. With AI and HPC, cooling is now shaping the entire data center infrastructure, including power, layout, sustainability, and total cost of ownership, moving away from being seen as an operational issue the moment it limits what can be deployed. We’ve hit the point where cooling is no longer something we operation, but rather it’s something we must strategically design for the future industry.

How can operators balance rising compute demand with growing pressure around sustainability, energy efficiency, and resource use?

The key to balancing rising computing demand with growing pressures is to first, pause and take a breath – not every rack moving forward will be running AI or ML workloads. At the same time, we must design and engineer nextgeneration data centers to be sustainable, energyefficient, and relevant for the next 10 to 15 years. Constant threeyear ripandreplace cycles of both hardware and cooling aren’t viable. We need a balanced approach that prioritizes smart, longterm TCO decisions.

What role do modelling and simulation technologies like CFD now play in improving operational efficiency and long-term planning?

CFD has evolved from being a design validation tool into a strategic operational tool. It is still very much needed, even in data centers that deploy direct to chip liquid cooling. In many cases, this has become more important, not less.

For example, CFD is needed to validate the airflow is still delivered correctly and that no hotspots form around non liquidcooled components since CFD is the only tool that can accurately model how that remaining heat behaves in the white space. CFD is also the only way to simulate transient and failure scenarios safely.

As infrastructure becomes more complex, CFD modelling becomes more important as operators can no longer rely on previously used design approaches alone.

Looking ahead five years, what’s one bold prediction you would make about the future of cooling and thermal management in the data centre industry?

Data center cooling and thermal management will continue to evolve over the next five years and well beyond. We expect ongoing adoption of hybrid cooling, through integrating air and liquid systems, to increase capacity, efficiency, and sustainability. Moving forward, data center design and cooling infrastructure will no longer follow a one-size-fits-all model, so all of us in the industry need to evolve and adapt to this way of thinking.

Data Center

Product Spotlight

The Role of Air Flow Flaps (AFF) in Fire-Ready Containment Systems in the Data Center

Air Flow Flaps (AFFs) are a critical component of DAB-based (Dissolvable Air Barrier) containment systems, designed to enhance fire response without sacrificing efficiency. AFFs act like a fail-safe pressure release system, sealed for efficiency but instantly open when it matters.

Integrated into overhead panels, AFFs use a fusible plug that melts at 165°F, opening the flap instantly and allowing hot air and smoke to escape upward, automatically triggering fire safety sprinkler systems. This passive mechanism ensures effective fire detection and suppression even in fully enclosed aisles. The AFFs stay closed during normal operating conditions, do not impact airflow containment, and maintain full cooling efficiency benefits.

By strategically placing AFFs within containment layouts, either both in a horizontal cold aisle
containment (CAC) system or a vertical hot aisle containment (HAC) system if sprinkler head systems are not located in both the cold and hot aisles, the need for costly sprinkler modifications is eliminated while maintaining optimal airflow control.

Introduction

Fire safety in modern data centers has advanced beyond basic detection and suppression. Increasing rack densities, precision airflow, and zero tolerance for downtime mean that a fast and reliable fire strategy needs to be fully integrated into the overall facility architecture.

When DAB panels are deployed, Air Flow Flaps (AFFs) serve as a way to quickly ventilate the flow of hot air if a fire was to start within the containment system, meaning if extreme heat due to fire is detected, they quickly open and ventilate to engage the overhead sprinkler systems for CAC or adjacent sprinkler systems for HAC, thus becoming a potentially life-saving fire-stopping action.

A vital component of DAB-based containment systems, AFFs are designed to improve fire response
without compromising effectiveness.

How Containment Changes Fire Behavior

Containment improves airflow efficiency, but it fundamentally changes the physics of fire.

Containment impacts the behavior of heat, smoke, and air pressure patterns during a fire event by
physically blocking airflow channels. When creating a containment plan that is fire-ready, it is essential to recognize these challenges.

Smoke is often more dangerous than fire itself. In a contained aisle, smoke is not dispersed as it would in an open data hall. Instead, it can build up quickly inside the enclosed space.

Containment systems that are designed to separate heat and pressure in specific zones become a
liability in fire emergencies. In cold aisle containment, smoke ingress can be delayed, potentially
preventing detection; in hot aisle containment, smoke and hot gases can become trapped at high levels within the aisle, forming dense, toxic layers.

This stratification can increase localized temperatures, reduce visibility in aisles, and delay the activation of smoke detectors installed on the ceiling. Localized heat can also trigger premature equipment failure beyond the fire origin, complicating the efficacy of fire suppression systems.

Furthermore, the buildup of extremely hot temperature can mean that containment structures, such as panels, doors, and seals, may become vulnerable to forces way beyond their design limits, resulting in their structural integrity impaired and panels that become deformed.

Dual Functionality

AFFs have a dual functionality. In normal operation, they work along with the existing DAB panels to provide airflow regulation and pressure balance. In the case of fire, they provide controlled pathways for smoke and heat, support pressure stabilization during suppression events, and ensure that detection systems perform as intended. In doing so, AFFs transition from a passive thermal solution into an active, integrated, and critical component of the data center’s fire safety strategy.

Normal Operating Conditions

Data center airflow management is about controlling the separation of cool supply air from hot exhaust air to increase efficiency and to prevent equipment from overheating. DAB panels ensure that the cool and hot air is separated, preventing recirculation that causes hot spots. DAB panels also allow for lower fan speeds and higher cooling set points, reducing cooling demand, improving CRAC/CRAH unit performance, and contributing to lower PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness).

The AFFs remain closed during normal operating conditions, do not impact contained airflow, and assist the DAB panels in retaining full cooling efficiency.

Emergency Operating Conditions

AFFs open instantly via a fusible plug that melts at a heat of 165°F. This allows hot air and smoke to
escape upward for CAC or vertically at the top of the HAC, automatically triggering the fire safety sprinkler systems.

This mechanism ensures effective fire detection and suppression even in fully enclosed aisles.

Instead of allowing containment to introduce fire risks, AFFs introduce controlled passive points that activate precisely when needed. Without such mechanisms, containment remains a thermal optimization tool; with DAB panels and AFFs, it becomes a fire-ready system.

Design Considerations for AFF Implementation

Despite their relatively simple concept, DAB panels are frequently misapplied in data center containment systems due to a lack of vendors that support or ignore AFFs in the overall containment design.

One of the costliest mistakes is introducing AFFs too late in the containment design process when using DAB panels or trying to avoid using them at all once containment and fire systems are already defined. The AHJ (Authority Having Jurisdiction) will always flag and prevent any containment system using DAB panels for CAC and sometimes for HAC that do not include AFFs.

Additionally, it’s important to recognize that designers sometimes give airflow performance precedence over safety behavior, prioritizing efficiency over emergencies.

DAB panel containment design must include AFFs to comply with both fire safety and data center regulations. Compliance is non-negotiable.

Future Trends and Innovations

As data centers evolve toward higher densities, hybrid cooling, and intelligent infrastructure, containment systems are also evolving and transitioning. AFFs help containment systems transition from passivemechanical components into smart and adaptive control elements.

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tools can be used to simulate containment performance and airflow behavior. Integration with advanced suppression strategies delivers on compliance with evolving fire safety research and guidelines. A joint study by the Fire Industry Association (FIA) and the Fire Suppression Systems Association (FSSA) reports on findings that pave the way for improved standards and practices in the industry.

While AI models are already analyzing heat maps and predicting hotspots, containment systems such as DAB panels with AFFs are likely to pre-emptively adjust and predict breached thermal thresholds, supporting predictive safety, not just reactive fire response.

Even hybrid environments require precise control of residual cooling airflow. Containment systems such as those that deploy DAB panels with AFFs have evolved into increasingly necessary components of the data center ecosystem. They’re no longer just pressure venting devices – they are becoming control interfaces between airflow management and fire safety systems.

Conclusion

Standard fire detection systems are often designed for open spaces, not compartmentalized airflow zones. By using standard systems, smoke may not reach detectors positioned outside containment quickly enough, airflow patterns can dilute or redirect smoke away from sensors, and very early smoke detection systems (VESDA) may require recalibration or repositioning.

The result? A delayed fire hazard detection – one of the most critical risks in a data center fire scenario.

A combination of DAB panels and AFFs as needed directly counter this.

By releasing smoke from contained aisles, AFFs ensure that smoke reaches ceiling-mounted detectors quickly, enabling improved performance of both standard smoke detectors and VESDA systems. Effective DAB panels and AFF implementation is not just about installing flaps. It’s about engineering a controlled response to both airflow and fire dynamics. When these considerations are addressed as a whole, DAB panels and AFFs become critical enablers of both performance and safety, not a compromise between the two.

Data Center

Product Spotlight

Why Data Centers Need DAB Panels in Modern Containment Design

Modern data centers are being asked to do the impossible: push harder, run leaner, and stay cooler. They’re pushing higher rack densities and tighter margins at the same time as keeping energy costs and thermal risks under control.

Within the modern data center, containment design is pretty much standard practice, whether hot aisle or cold aisle. It solves cooling inefficiencies by physically separating airflow paths. However, without proper sealing, hot and cold air mix, pressures drop, and cooling – one of the data centers’ biggest operational costs – doesn’t perform the way it’s supposed to. By the time you realize there’s a problem, the inefficiencies have been compounding for months, resulting in an almost imperceptible degradation of a data center’s efficiency, rising costs, and reduced capacity.

The Invisible Inefficiency

Even small gaps and openings such as missing roof panels over the cold aisle when deploying cold aisle containment or missing above rack panels up to the ceiling for hot aisle containment can undermine the entire system. If left unsealed, cold air tends to find the path of least resistance, bypassing IT equipment entirely. Hot exhaust air recirculates back into intake paths, and cooling systems try to compensate by increasing output.

Even in new-build environments, airflow leakage can be an issue. CFD models might indicate you have containment, but even tiny, often overlooked, installation gaps can create air leakage zones that don’t appear in simulations. It’s the contradiction between expected and actual performance outcomes that can lead to time-consuming troubleshooting.

In mature data centers, the problem can unfold even more gradually. Incremental changes, such as new layouts, additional racks, updated cabling, and partial retrofits, can introduce small gaps over time.

In addition, at times the AHJ (Authority Having Jurisdiction) may not allow a roof system over a cold aisle that shrinks and falls to the ground at high temperatures (during a fire event), and improper overhead sprinkler head locations may also prevent hot aisle containment from being installed up to the ceiling, often resulting in a large 24” openings between the top of the containment and the ceiling.

Across both scenarios, the pattern is consistent: there’s no single failure point, just a steady decline in efficiency, invisible until it shows up in energy bills or as an unexplainable thermal anomaly. Even worse, the symptoms are routinely misread as not having enough cooling. The problem isn’t a lack of cooling — it’s airflow leakage. More output doesn’t fix gaps and containment openings. It just costs more to mask it.

Closing the Gaps

This is where DAB (Dissolvable Air Barrier) panels come in.

DAB panels are modular barrier components. Installed horizontally above cabinets for cold aisles or vertically up to the ceiling for hot aisles, they close openings in aisle containment systems, ensuring a tight, controlled airflow environment.

Despite their dissolvable design, DAB panels remain durable during normal operation, withstanding high static air pressure and maintaining airflow separation where it matters most. These modular panels can easily fit existing or changing infrastructure, reducing installation time and cost.

When properly deployed, they:

•          Maintain static pressure within contained aisles,
•          Ensure consistent delivery of supply air to server inlets, and
•          Prevent thermal short-circuiting

Think of them as the “finishing layer” that turns a partial containment installation into a complete containment implementation performing at optimum energy efficiency.

Fix the Leaks and Performance Shifts

When cooled air precisely reaches server intakes, cooling efficiency improves and temperatures stabilize. The workload on the cooling units is reduced, lowering energy consumption, and temperatures become consistent, allowing the safe deployment of higher-density equipment.

Most significantly, airflow becomes predictable. It becomes easier to model performance and optimize cooling strategies, and, rather than being reactive, operators can proactively avoid the hotspots.

Fire Safety

Containment improvements cannot come at the expense of safety.

The DAB panel, with its EPA-certified plant-based cellulose material dissolves within seconds when exposed to water during sprinkler activation, eliminating falling panel hazards while producing minimal smoke to maintain visibility for emergency personnel.

In instances where sprinkler head relocation is too expensive to justify installing hot aisle containment up to the ceiling with traditional containment panels, DAB panels easily fill those openings without expensive sprinkler relocation costs. For instances where traditional roof panels are not allowed for cold aisle containment, DAB panels are the easiest and most cost-effective solution.

This is particularly critical in retrofit environments, where compliance risks can be introduced unintentionally. For both cold and hot aisle containment, DAB panels remove the obstacles to complete containment implementation, enabling operators to enhance cooling efficiency without altering sprinkler systems.

Punching Above Their Weight

When required in place of traditional containment for full cold and hot aisle containment deployments, DAB panels aren’t the most visible part of a data center, but they play a critical role in making modern containment strategies deliver on their promise.

In high-density environments, small details can make a big difference. DAB panels are one of those details that punch well above their weight. Containment systems are only as strong as their weakest point, and in most data centers, those are unsealed openings. If you’re investing in containment but ignoring airflow sealing, you’re leaving performance and money on the table.

High-density data centers don’t collapse overnight. They don’t fail because of poor design or a bad component. They fail because of the weakest seal.

Educational Article

Micro Data Center, Edge Data Center, Hyperscale Data Center: What’s the Difference?

Article Reviewed by Gordon Johnson, Subzero Senior CFD Manager

Data centers are not a single category. Understanding the distinctions between micro, edge, and hyperscale deployments is essential for matching infrastructure to workload. Getting that match wrong is expensive.

The term “data center” covers an increasingly wide range of facilities, from a compact self-contained enclosure on a factory floor to a campus drawing hundreds of megawatts from the grid. Micro data centers, edge data centers, and hyperscale data centers each serve a different operational purpose. The differences come down to three things: scale, proximity to the workload, and what the facility is designed to do.

small set of servers in small room - a micro data center

What Is a Micro Data Center?

A micro data center is a compact, self-contained computing deployment placed as close as possible to where the data is being generated or processed. The form factor is small, often a few racks or a single enclosed unit, and the location is typically a remote site, factory floor, retail location, cell tower, or branch office.

The core use case is local processing where sending data back to a centralized facility introduces too much latency or requires more bandwidth than the site can support. A manufacturing line running real-time AI inference, a remote oil and gas facility, a retail environment running edge analytics are all candidates for a micro data center. The compute stays on-site because it has to.

Thermal management inside micro deployments presents specific challenges. Compact enclosures concentrate heat in small spaces without the airflow advantages of a larger facility. Containment and cooling solutions for micro deployments require precise engineering relative to the footprint.

medium to large size room with computer servers - an edge data center

What Is an Edge Data Center?

Edge data centers are smaller, distributed facilities positioned geographically closer to end users, devices, and data sources than a centralized cloud or enterprise campus. The purpose is to reduce latency and ease bandwidth pressure on core infrastructure.

Where a micro data center serves a single site or workload, an edge data center can support metro-scale or enterprise-scale demand. Content delivery, 5G network infrastructure, real-time analytics, smart manufacturing, and IoT aggregation are common use cases. It’s important to note that edge doesn’t mean small by default. Some edge facilities carry meaningful power loads. The defining characteristic is proximity and distribution, not necessarily size.

The distinction from hyperscale is intent. Edge facilities handle the latency-sensitive portion of a workload, not the full compute picture. A platform might run its core processing in a hyperscale facility but distribute caching or inference to edge sites across multiple metros. The two architectures work together more often than they compete.

Cooling and containment design for edge environments reflects the constraints of distributed deployment. Sites are spread out, maintenance access varies, and space is typically limited. Hot and cold aisle containment strategies have to account for those site-specific realities.

large scale data center pictured from outside - a hyperscale data center

What Is a Hyperscale Data Center?

Hyperscale data centers are large-scale campus facilities built for massive compute and storage growth. The scale is significant. The U.S. Department of Energy has documented hyperscale connection requests of 300 to 1,000 megawatts or more. NREL describes the range as roughly 100 megawatts to a few gigawatts. These are utility-level infrastructure commitments, not incremental capacity additions.

The major cloud providers operate hyperscale facilities to support their global platforms. AI training workloads have accelerated this further. Rack densities, chips, servers, power consumption, and heat levels continue to increase with AI demand, pushing hyperscale design toward denser, more thermally intensive configurations.

Efficiency at this scale is a financial priority. Data center cooling represents up to 50% of overall energy consumption. A meaningful improvement in PUE across a 500 MW campus translates to tens of millions of dollars annually. Hot and cold aisle containment, airflow management, and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling are direct drivers of operational cost at hyperscale.

How the Three Compare

	Micro Data Center	Edge Data Center	Hyperscale Data Center
Footprint	Single enclosure to a few racks	Small to mid-size distributed facility	Campus-scale, 100 MW to several GW
Typical Power	Sub-100 kW	Generally sub-20 MW	100 MW to 1,000 MW+
Proximity	On-site, at the point of use	Metro or regional	Centralized, purpose-sited
Primary Advantage	Lowest latency, smallest footprint	Distributed low-latency compute at scale	Massive capacity, economies of scale
Common Workloads	Industrial IoT, local inference, remote ops	Streaming, 5G, real-time analytics	AI training, cloud platforms, large-scale storage
Cooling Complexity	High density in a small space	Distributed site constraints	Utility-level optimization

Why These Differences Matter

Latency. Regardless of architecture, the physics don’t change. A micro data center delivers single-digit millisecond response times because the compute is on-site. Edge brings that response to the regional level. Hyperscale facilities, however optimized, cannot replicate what proximity delivers for real-time applications.

Power and cooling. Hyperscale campuses require direct engagement with utilities and sophisticated grid management. Edge and micro deployments often lack dedicated utility infrastructure, which means the enclosure design and thermal management carry more weight. There’s less room for error.

Scalability. Hyperscale is the right choice for organizations that need to scale compute in large increments quickly. Edge and micro are the right choice for organizations deploying across many distributed sites.

Workload fit. As Gordon Johnson, Subzero’s Senior CFD Manager, has noted: “It’s more important to focus on the actual workload for the data center that we’re designing or managing.” One design does not fit all.

woman holding computer by data servers in a data center

Choosing the Right Architecture

The decision comes down to a straightforward set of questions. Where does the workload need to run? How sensitive is it to latency? What does growth look like over the next five years?

Micro data centers are the right fit when local compute is required at a site where centralized infrastructure isn’t viable, and latency requirements are strict. Edge data centers fit when the need is distributed compute closer to users or devices, supporting real-time applications at regional scale. Hyperscale is the answer when massive centralized capacity is the requirement, whether for cloud infrastructure, AI training, or large-scale data storage.

The simplest rule: identify the smallest footprint that still meets the latency, power, and growth requirements for the actual workload.

illustration of cold aisle and hot aisle containment

Containment and Thermal Management Across All Three

Regardless of scale, thermal management is where infrastructure performance is won or lost. Data center cooling accounts for up to 50% of overall energy consumption in many facilities. Hot and cold aisle containment reduces that burden by fully separating cold supply air from hot equipment exhaust before it reaches IT intake, creating uniform, predictable supply temperatures and a warmer return to the cooling units.

At hyperscale, containment is a core efficiency driver that affects operational cost directly. At edge, it manages heat in constrained spaces with limited margin for thermal variance. At micro scale, it prevents hot spots in enclosures where even a few degrees of temperature variance can reduce equipment life and uptime.

The design approach changes with the scale and the site. The underlying principle does not.

Subzero Engineering works across all three deployment types, from micro enclosure thermal design to large-scale containment systems and CFD consulting for hyperscale campuses. To discuss your facility’s requirements, schedule a consultation with our engineering team.

Data Center

Educational Article

Dissolvable Air Barrier (DAB): A Step Forward for Data Center Airflow Strategy

As data center and mission-critical environments become more focused on optimal performance and efficiency-led, containmesnt methods are evolving into a strategic necessity. Operators are under increasing pressure to reduce energy consumption and meet increasingly strict fire safety requirements, but the focus for this is to not have additional costs or operational complexity.

Containment delivers superior airflow management and energy efficiency, but traditional overhead systems can hinder existing sprinkler systems or create hazards during fire events. In many cases, achieving full containment requires costly sprinkler head relocation and when that is not possible, operators are often forced to accept partial containment, sacrificing energy efficiency and extending return on investment timelines.

This is where Dissolvable Air Barrier (DAB) Panels come into play, engineered to eliminate this compromise.

DAB Panels – Optimal Performance During Processes

Dissolvable Air Barrier Panels serve as the complete airflow containment system during standard operations. Offering efficient separation for both cold aisle and hot aisle containment, maintaining the reliability of supply and return air pathways, and withstanding high static air pressure. The panels are durable and easy to install, adaptable if needed to be altered on-site to handle different cabinet heights and cable trays. DAB Panels support optimal thermal management and help facilities to maintain higher supply temperatures and lower fan speeds.

In containment solutions, one key element that operators must consider is the impact of a fire incident. When exposed to sprinkler water, the DAB Panels dissolve within seconds, reducing the chance of panel-related hazards. By enabling full containment in environments where it might otherwise be restricted, DAB Panels directly improve energy efficiency and project economics. With partial containment frequently forcing facilities to lower supply temperatures and increase airflow for optimal equipment cooling, DAB Panels complete containment solution removes obstacles to complete implementation, enabling operators to enhance cooling efficiency without altering sprinkler systems.

Solving the containment and fire safety challenge

Fire performance is vital to the design of DAB Panels. These panels have achieved a Class A fire rating, the highest rating available, signifying minimal flame spread, low smoke development, and reduced heat output. The panels were tested under ASTM E84, often referred to as the Tunnel Test, which measures flame spread and smoke generation to determine suitability for interior building materials. Class A materials are frequently utilized in high-occupancy structures, for example, hospitals and schools, reflecting the highest level of fire resistance.

For cold aisle containment deployments, DAB Panels include an Air Flow Flap (AFF) that improves fire response, integrated into the panel system to open passively during elevated temperatures. The AFF is installed every six to eight feet, allowing for only a small number to be required in a standard aisle, further reducing the need for repositioning the sprinklers.

Environmentally responsible materials

The DAB Panels are made from EPA-certified, plant-based cellulose materials and contain no petroleum-based components, key to Subzero’s mission in environmental responsibility. When these panels dissolve during a fire, the materials are safe for the environment and compatible with water treatment systems, which aligns with the broader ESG initiatives across the data center industry. Despite being designed from plant-based resources, DAB Panels don’t pose shedding hazards often linked to paper materials within data center environments.

A new standard for modern containment solutions

This new acquisition of the Dissolvable Air Barrier (DAB) Panels is set to transform the potential for containment in todays and future data centers. Amongst the benefits of the solution, DAB Panels deliver full airflow separation during normal operation, dissolve rapidly when exposed to sprinkler water, achieve the highest fire rating classification, eliminate the need for costly sprinkler relocation, support faster ROI through improved energy efficiency, and align with sustainability goals. DAB Panels provide a more holistic approach to data center design by combining safety, performance, and environmental accountability into one containment solution.

Data Center

Educational Article

Speed Without Shortcuts: Modular Infrastructure at Industry Scale

The Asia-Pacific data center market is rapidly expanding. By 2030, it is projected to double capacity to reach $151.14 billion and account for 40% of global capacity.

The need for high-density, low-latency data centers is being driven by artificial intelligence and cloud services, and as businesses in the area compete to build infrastructure that can handle the growing demand for compute power, data, and connectivity, deployment speed is viewed as a crucial differentiator.

However, APAC customers are demanding rapid deployment without compromising on quality, safety, or regulatory compliance, particularly as infrastructure needs to scale from edge sites to hyperscale campuses.

The Urgency

The pressure this has put on the markets across the region means organizations need to deploy capacity quickly, but standards for operational resilience, fire safety, and energy efficiency are being raised and becoming increasingly stringent. Anything that passed inspection a few years ago may fall short of current standards. For operators, every deployment must not only be swiftly implemented but also be fully compliant with both international best practices and local standards.

And when infrastructure expands from a single edge deployment to a multi-megawatt campus, it gets significantly more complex. Poorly implemented containment, inconsistent installation practices, or gaps in compliance don’t just create minor inefficiencies; they can lead to downtime, safety incidents, or regulation contraventions.

The APAC region needs uniformity across the whole infrastructure span. Hyperscale systems must have the same level of efficiency, predictability, safety, and compliance as smaller edge installations, but to do this, they need a cohesive strategy.

Traditional Scaling Falling Short

While hyperscale campuses can scale in phases, edge locations must come online quickly to support latency-sensitive applications. Unfortunately, traditional construction techniques and integration models often struggle to keep up with the pace required, leading to deployment delays and performance issues.

In addition, APAC’s infrastructure requirements are anything but standard. From diverse locations such as densely populated, space-constrained cities like Singapore and Tokyo to rapidly growing markets that are building massive campuses from the ground up, a one-size-fits-all model soon collapses. This is especially the case when combined with a smorgasbord of different operational expectations, extreme climate conditions, and regional regulatory frameworks.

To rethink how speed of deployment is achieved, inefficiencies need to be eliminated, variability reduced, and every component should perform as predicted from the day of implementation. We need to move away from reactive, site-heavy builds and toward engineered systems that embed quality and compliance from the start.

Modular Containment

Development can be hampered by on-site unforeseen construction problems, unfavorable environmental conditions, and disagreements over trade cooperation. However, modular containment can significantly reduce these uncertainties. Produced off-site and arriving preassembled, they accelerate schedules and minimize the need for specialized personnel. Modular installation then becomes less about construction and more about integration.

From the outset, every component, including walls, ceilings, doors, airflow barriers, and cable pathways, can be planned cohesively. Modules can be designed as pre-engineered containment systems, with temperature regulation, equipment density, and airflow dynamics that are not only anticipated but also verified through testing in controlled situations.

Importantly, modular designs can be deployed in weeks, not months, making the oft-cited “up to 40% faster deployment” possible – not by hurrying the process, but by reducing complexity.

Factory-Built Quality and Consistency

Modular systems gain from greater integrity by moving fabrication to controlled production environments. Repeatable procedures, thorough inspections, and assembly with precision tools to build components aren’t always practical on a live site.

Whether deploying a single edge unit or replicating designs across multiple locations, the result remains uniform, minimizing variability between sites while simplifying operations and maintenance.

The scalability of purpose-built modular systems is a key advantage. Expanding capacity as demand increases does not disrupt ongoing operations and is especially crucial for organizations that need a more gradual expansion strategy.

Smart Customization: Global Meets Local

Modular containment also offers practical benefits for operators, such as easier maintenance, predictable performance, and simplified procurement. Smart customization to meet the demands of the region and the overall market evolution, using global components adapted to local regulations, ensures consistency across regions. The same frameworks support both small, space-constrained deployments and large-scale expansions.

The architecture may be standardized, but modular systems can be configured to fit site-specific requirements. They can be designed to suit environmental conditions, space limitations, energy grids, seismic concerns, and local regulatory standards, while power and cooling configurations can be aligned with local infrastructure constraints. Flexible layouts, formats, and materials can all be modified without sacrificing the integrity of the module by adapting and constructing it to allow for humidity, heat, or corrosion risks.

The assumption that small and large deployments require different construction strategies is challenged using modular frameworks.

Modules can be implemented in restricted spaces for smaller deployments, integrating cooling, power, and containment into ultra-compact layouts. These same designs can be predictably replicated and extended for larger builds, allowing for the option of gradual expansion without operational disruption.

APAC markets are moving rapidly, and inflexible infrastructure can quickly become an issue, but smart customization enables systems to be responsive to future requirements.

Speed Without Compromise

APAC customers want speed of deployment, but not at the expense of integrity. The providers who can deliver both will be those that stand out from the crowd. They will be able to offer rapid deployment backed by disciplined engineering, where quality, safety, and compliance are built in, not added in later.

Modular infrastructure enables the balance between local adaptability and global standardization. It can satisfy regional requirements, environmental challenges, or space limitations. Core components can be globally sourced and meet consistent international performance standards, with systems designed, engineered, and tested in controlled environments before arriving on-site.

To future-proof data centers across the globe, the APAC region is demonstrating that the fastest path forward is not one that builds faster – it’s the one that builds smarter.

Data Center

Educational Article

APAC as the New Blueprint for Data Center Innovation

The Asia Pacific region isn’t just scaling digital infrastructure – it is redefining it.

For years, the global data center industry has followed a predictable path: design, refine, and replicate at scale elsewhere. While that formula may work in a world where workloads are stable, regulations are standardized, and environmental conditions are relatively predictable, that model doesn’t really work in APAC.

This region isn’t simply growing faster. It is operating under conditions that expose the weaknesses of legacy infrastructure thinking and, in doing so, is forcing the industry to rethink how data centers are engineered, deployed, and evolved.

Why APAC Is Forcing a Rethink

APAC is not a single market. It is diverse in climates, non-standardized in regulatory regimes, and a variety of infrastructure maturity levels. The region necessitates a fresh engineering blueprint that accommodates these challenges and enhances resilience in its design.

Dealing with tropical humidities and temperature volatilities made worse with AI racks demanding up to 100 kW per cabinet creating a surge in heat densities, mean traditional cooling assumptions quickly collapse.

It can be difficult to design for AI operating in a temperate climate, but designing AI to function in tropical environments is even more challenging. These environmental factors push infrastructure to its limits, requiring a totally different mindset. APAC operators must engineer for both extremes simultaneously, without compromising uptime.

That pressure is driving more forward-looking thermal strategies, earlier planning for high-density deployments, and infrastructure that is adaptable rather than reactive.

Regulatory complexity in APAC adds yet another layer of infrastructure pressure with frameworks differing across all 15+ major APAC economies. Regulations that relate to energy efficiency, sustainability requirements, and data sovereignty laws also vary across the region.

There is no one-size-fits-all deployment model that works. Infrastructure needs to be sufficiently standardized to sustain performance, modular enough to accommodate changes, and, crucially, locally aware to prevent costly errors.

APAC includes some of the world’s most advanced digital economies alongside rapidly developing markets. However, power reliability, grid stability, and specialized workforce experience and availability can vary greatly across the region.

That variability forces a new discipline in design, insisting that supply chains must be shortened, local engineering capability must be integrated early and redundancy must be intentional.

Leapfrogging Legacy Infrastructure

But these pressures and challenges are not slowing the region down. In fact, they are accelerating innovation. Because operators cannot rely on legacy assumptions, they are bypassing them entirely. Instead of retrofitting outdated models, APAC is demanding:

Higher-density-ready infrastructure from day one
Modular scalability that can evolve with workload demand
Supply chain agility
Embedded engineering partnerships instead of distant vendor relationships

By anticipating AI acceleration, regulatory complexity, and unstable environments as ordinary operating circumstances, this leapfrogging impact is producing an alternative, proactive blueprint. Global markets are beginning to study this approach closely, because the constraints APAC faces today will be emerging elsewhere tomorrow.

Success in APAC does not come from exporting pre-packaged global templates. It comes from embedding expertise, starting with the physical and operational truth of the location — not with a design that worked elsewhere. Maintaining consistent global standards while investing in regional manufacturing, local engineering talent, and partner integration makes it possible to deliver scalable solutions without sacrificing reliability.

The operational reality of each site locality means assessing and understanding humidity loads before finalizing airflow containment strategy. Designing for Singapore’s humidity differs vastly from Sydney’s temperate climate. In tropical environments, moisture control isn’t a secondary consideration; it directly influences material selection, corrosion resistance, cable management durability, and long-term maintenance cycles.

It means anticipating AI-driven heat density before racks are installed, not after. AI clusters introduce sustained, concentrated thermal output that challenges traditional aisle containment assumptions. In many APAC markets, facilities are being built in dense environments where expansion space is limited, so infrastructure must be designed for higher density from day one.

Licensing processes, sustainability requirements, and data sovereignty rules vary not only by nation but also frequently by locality as well. Instead of navigating the approval landscape reactively, teams on the ground with local insight and knowledge can do it proactively. Developing local engineering talent is essential. Potential risks that remote design teams are unable to detect can be assessed by on-site engineers who are familiar with local building requirements, environmental cycles, and regional grid behaviors.

Then there is the supply chain fragility. The longer the global supply chain, the more vulnerable and risk-sensitive it becomes. Reducing supply chains’ length through local assembly and regional manufacturing reduces the likelihood of exposure to import restrictions, delays, and price volatility.

The Global Implication

What is happening in APAC is not a regional anomaly. It’s flagging where global infrastructure is heading.

It takes more than just implementing global solutions to succeed in APAC. As AI accelerates worldwide, regulatory complexity increases, and climate pressures intensify, other regions will face similar constraints. APAC is simply confronting them first and at scale. Bringing together global operational standards, shortened supply chains, identification of local engineering talent, and regional manufacturing can unlock scalable solutions without sacrificing reliability.

To fully understand operational reality at the site level, close integration with partners and customers is necessary. Alliances with clients and contractors that have access to workload evolution, expansion goals, and operational pain points, enable infrastructure to adjust to demand.

The signals coming from the APAC region shouldn’t just be observed from a distance. The organizations around the world that recognize and move early to rethink how they design, source, and operate infrastructure going forward won’t just navigate the pressures of AI growth, regulation and sustainability. They’ll be setting the blueprint for resilient, scalable infrastructure worldwide.

Company

Team

Day Shift vs. Night Shift: Subzero’s 2026 Manufacturing Ping Pong Tournament

Competition. Camaraderie. A little friendly bragging rights.

Subzero Engineering’s 2026 Manufacturing Ping Pong Tournament once again brought Day Shift and Night Shift together for an event that’s become a favorite inside the facility. What started as a simple bracket competition has evolved into something bigger — a chance to build energy, unity, and healthy competition across teams.

The tournament opened with Levinson Silva taking the first serve against Nexis Morales — officially launching this year’s bracket and setting the tone for a spirited competition.

From there, the matches only intensified.

Highs, Lows, and Underdog Moments

The crowd quickly formed around the table as teams rallied behind their coworkers. There were no-look shots, dramatic whiffs, and underdog wins that kept everyone on their feet.

Luis Gonzales delivered one of the tournament’s standout moments, slamming a decisive shot against supervisor Ignacio Rojas — a favorite heading into the match — and ultimately taking the win. It was a reminder that in tournament play, anything can happen.

Throughout the bracket, teammates showed up in force, cheering on semifinal walkouts and championship matchups with real energy.

Championship Round

The day shift finale featured Levinson Silva and Pedro Morillo, drawing one of the largest crowds of the event. On the night shift side, Eduardo Gonzales Campos earned championship honors after a strong run through his bracket.

In the final match, Levinson Silva claimed the winning point of the tournament — followed by a celebration that quickly turned into a team-wide moment.

The photos say it all: smiles, support, and shared pride across both shifts.

More Than a Tournament

While the matches were competitive, the true impact of the event goes beyond the scoreboard.

Events like the Ping Pong Tournament create shared experiences between departments and shifts, strengthening relationships that carry back into daily operations. Friendly competition builds camaraderie. Camaraderie builds trust. And trust builds stronger teams.

At Subzero, culture matters — and sometimes it starts with a paddle and a table.

Jane Neil Of Subzero Engineering On How We Can Increase Girls’ Participation in Engineering and Robotics

Normalize Female Engineers: Using social media to showcase women in engineering can normalize the presence of women in these roles and make them more relatable to young girls.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

What inspired you to pursue a career in engineering or robotics, and how can we replicate that inspiration for young girls?

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life or your work?

This might be intuitive to you but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should enter the Engineering and Robotics fields?

Can you please share “5 Things We Need To Increase Girls’ Participation in Engineering and Robotics?”

In your opinion, what are the most effective ways to introduce girls to engineering and robotics at an early age?

How do you think the portrayal of women in STEM fields by media and educational materials impacts girls’ interest in engineering and robotics?

What advice would you give to girls who are interested in engineering and robotics but are hesitant to take the first step?

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

How AI is Revolutionizing the Data Center Industry

Operational Efficiency

Energy Management

Cooling

Conclusion

Harnessing the Power of Operational Scalability

The investment of time and energy resources

Scaling up

Scalability or sustainability

Change management

Industry shifts

International Women’s Day 2024

In celebration of International Women’s Day 2024, we applaud some of the women within Senneca and Subzero Engineering who buck the trend of bias, stereotypes and discrimination.

Alexa McFarlaneBuyer in the Supply Chain for Subzero Engineering

Cathy KnutsonOffice Manager & Site Services Install Team Coordinator

Chelsea TraverVice President of Finance at Senneca Holdings

Gloria HuegelVice President of Human Resources at Senneca and Subzero Engineering

Jane NeilSupply Chain Manager at Subzero Engineering

Liz CarranzaProduction Planner at Subzero Engineering

Makenna DeamerSales Application Engineer at Subzero Engineering

Yvette “Shorty” GarciaLead on Manufacturing Line at Subzero Engineering

Forging equality

#InspireInclusion

Subzero Engineering Relocates Headquarters to New State-of-the-Art Facility in Salt Lake City, Utah

Notable highlights of the relocation include:

Data Center Sustainability and CFDs

Video Overview

Further highlights include:

Simplex Cleanrooms Overview

Video Overview

Other key discussion points and takeaways from this episode include:

Video Tour of Subzero Engineering’s Massive Industry-Leading Facility

Video Overview

Subzero Engineering and USG Strategic Partnership: Why do alliances like this matter to the digital Infrastructure?

This New Alliance

Meeting the Demands of the AI Era

Driving Sustainable Growth Through Partnership

Full vs. Partial Containment: How DAB Panels Improve Efficiency and ROI in the Data Center

Data centers consume tremendous amounts of energy, yet a surprising proportion of cooling capacity is squandered on air that never reaches the equipment it’s designed to cool. As a result, managing airflow presents both a monetary and thermal problem.

Why Containment Matters

The Role of DAB Panels

Calculating the ROI of DAB Panels

Design and Implementation

Efficiency Without Compromise

The Future of Data Center Cooling: Insights from Gordon Johnson, Senior CFD Manager at Subzero Engineering

An Interview with Gordon Johnson, Senior CFD Manager at Subzero Engineering

What is your role today at Subzero Engineering, and how did your journey into the data centre industry begin?

You’ve spent more than 30 years working across data centres and cleanroom environments. What changes have had the biggest impact on how facilities are designed and operated today?

Looking back across your career, what have been some of the most important lessons you’ve learned about designing resilient infrastructure?

As AI workloads push rack densities higher, how is the industry’s approach to cooling and airflow evolving?

There’s growing conversation around liquid cooling, immersion, and direct-to-chip technologies. How do you see these approaches fitting together within future data centre environments?

What do you think operators still misunderstand about airflow management and thermal efficiency in modern facilities?

At what point does cooling become a strategic infrastructure issue rather than simply an operational one?

How can operators balance rising compute demand with growing pressure around sustainability, energy efficiency, and resource use?

What role do modelling and simulation technologies like CFD now play in improving operational efficiency and long-term planning?

Looking ahead five years, what’s one bold prediction you would make about the future of cooling and thermal management in the data centre industry?

The Role of Air Flow Flaps (AFF) in Fire-Ready Containment Systems in the Data Center

Air Flow Flaps (AFFs) are a critical component of DAB-based (Dissolvable Air Barrier) containment systems, designed to enhance fire response without sacrificing efficiency. AFFs act like a fail-safe pressure release system, sealed for efficiency but instantly open when it matters.

Introduction

How Containment Changes Fire Behavior

Dual Functionality

Normal Operating Conditions

Emergency Operating Conditions

Design Considerations for AFF Implementation

Future Trends and Innovations

Alexa McFarlane
Buyer in the Supply Chain for Subzero Engineering

Cathy Knutson
Office Manager & Site Services Install Team Coordinator

Chelsea Traver
Vice President of Finance at Senneca Holdings

Gloria Huegel
Vice President of Human Resources at Senneca and Subzero Engineering

Jane Neil
Supply Chain Manager at Subzero Engineering

Liz Carranza
Production Planner at Subzero Engineering

Makenna Deamer
Sales Application Engineer at Subzero Engineering

Yvette “Shorty” Garcia
Lead on Manufacturing Line at Subzero Engineering