t cht lk typically are conductors brought from a panel board to a server cabinet , is that it can be pre-packaged , predesigned and it has the flexibility to allow you to attach load to it at any point . Then it has the consistency in the design to basically allow anybody to install it . You don ' t have to have a lot of electrical knowledge to install it , it ' s more like a mechanical installation . Then it ' s designed to be maintenance free . So operation is very simple as well – you put it in place and you don ' t really have to attend to it very often .
David Skeans , VP of International Sales , Starline been coming around rapid deployment . Essentially our customer base now is interested in really pre-designing facilities and pre-packaging as much as they can of those facilities – pre-engineering them so that when the equipment arrives on site it ' s ready for immediate installation . And they ' d like to standardize their designs , globally , so that they can standardize their operation procedures and their methods of running the data centers . So that ' s what we ' re engaged in – primarily working with global customers to develop global standards and global products , so that they can use them for all of their applications all around the world .
It ' s very similar in concept to track lighting . Track lighting is popular and convenient because you can move fixtures around where you need them . Track busbar has that same flexibility and ease of use , you can just simply attach load wherever you need it and you don ' t have to pre-plan where your cables are going to be landing .
What are some of the main benefits of using busbar systems in data centers and how does this approach offer operational advantages ?
There ' s a commercial benefit because we can work directly with the facility owner . We eliminate a lot of the people that may come in between the user and the manufacturer by working directly with the end-users so commercially our offers are normally very attractive .
Why are track busbar systems quickly becoming the solution of choice in data centers ?
I like the fact that you say ‘ quickly ’ because in my perspective it ' s been a very slow adoption . It probably started in around 1995 and then the . com boom in 2000 helped it quite a bit . But primarily it ’ s because it ' s the method that makes the most sense when you want to control your design , you want to control quality and you want to have consistent reliability , with very little operating cost .
So what ' s unique about busbar solutions relative to what we call more traditional wiring methods , which
BIOGRAPHY
David Skeans is the Vice President of International Sales for StarLine brand power distribution products . The StarLine brand is owned by Legrand , a leading manufacturer of critical power distribution products for the data center industry . Skeans has more than 30 years of experience in critical power distribution .
Then there ’ s the flexibility that allows you to basically buy a kit , and where the engineering can be as simple as how many rows of cabinets do you have and how many cabinets per row , that reduces the amount of effort that ' s required for pre-planning and pre-engineering . And then when our product arrives because of the flexibility where you attach the power , you can simply just attach plug in units to power cabinets wherever you need them .
Then there ’ s scalability . What most of our customers do is build a facility , and then attempt to find customers to take up the lease space , or to take up the colocation space , that they have . As they find those customers , they can then add a portion of the electrical system that ' s needed to complete the power path , so they don ' t have to make the investment all on day one . They can scale their investment based on how sales are going .
How do these systems enable reliability , flexibility and safety and how do these factors contribute to effective power distribution in the data center ?
Reliability is primarily dictated by manufacturing quality and design quality and then installation quality . The manufacturing quality is sustained to the highest
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