Multi-Building Facebook Data Center Undertaken by Flynn with OPEX Support

Submitted by Luke DeFazio

The Phoenix branch was awarded the roofing scope for a Facebook data center codenamed MAZ 1-2.

This three building 700,000 SF data center would be a huge undertaking for any one Flynn branch. But Phoenix was able to call on the support of Kansas City, Minneapolis and the OPEX team to help get the job done. At peak labour there were 63 crew members on site, which demands tight organization to ensure labour efficiency. To help with the process OPEX sent training specialists

Jose Neiva and Jed Johnston to help teach best practices and efficiencies so our crews worked like a well-oiled machine.

The project has many challenges, one of them being its rolling schedule with three buildings constructed at once. One building can be difficult on its own, but three buildings mean you need to learn to juggle. There are two built-up crews, a cap sheet crew, and multiple mini crews just to meet scheduled deadlines. Luke DeFazio from the OPEX team was brought in to help the Phoenix team with scheduling, difficult time constraints and the management of a demanding client.

Greg Pexa, Charlie Holloway, Mike Shannon, and Mike Pierce were also a significant help to the Phoenix branch due to their past experiences on Facebook projects.

“The Facebook data centre would be a difficult project for any one branch at Flynn,” said Mike Pierce, OPEX Senior Advisor. “But being Flynn, we can draw on both manpower and knowledge resources from throughout the entire company. Its why OPEX is so prevalent on this project, we are here to oversee that knowledge and manpower transfer and make sure things are running smooth.”

Progress is looking good for our teams in the south and we look forward to seeing photos when the data centers are complete.