“Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.” — Oscar Wilde

When you’ve worked in the deep trenches of critical infrastructure long enough, like quite a few of our longest tenured employee owners, you know that the most valuable lessons don’t come from a textbook or a policy manual. Rather, we learn the most, right in the field, from those real world mistakes and mishaps—or “experiences” as Oscar Wilde would say.

So, we asked our Associates about their most valuable gems of wisdom that they could pass on to colleagues in the industry. Here are some of the top answers we received. We're sharing them here, in hopes that we'll be able to save others from learning some unfortunate lessons the hard way.

• Spare parts are an on-site technician’s best friend.
• A single-point-of-failure is NOT an end user’s best friend.
• A hungry mouse can be disastrous to critical wires.
• The smallest of unchecked details can be the source of a project’s biggest (and most expensive) problem.
• Arc-flash is dangerous and not anything you ever want to see.
• Weekly exercises are the surest way to know your GenSet will work when needed.
• The UPS battery system is like a loaf of bread…you only get so many slices (or discharges)…and the bigger, and more often, the discharge, the quicker you’ll need a new loaf.

Let us know what you think of these nuggets. Have you had the unfortunate opportunity to learn any of these lessons on your own? Or do you have an important one to add to the list? Email us at Marketing@DVLnet.com. If we get enough responses, we’ll post a Part 2.

What is the optimum way to control the temperature in your Data Center? Mike Beck explains key features with the iCom controls to achieve maximum energy savings. For more information visit www.dvlnet.com/icom

 Mike Beck, CEO

Emerging Technologies in Controls and Automation

Data-center cooling systems must be finely tuned for high efficiency and availability to be achieved. Most systems, however, lack the advanced controls needed to optimize thermal performance. Join us as Jason Gloeckner, Marketing Manager for Thermal Software Solutions for Emerson Network Power, explains how thermal controls are changing in response to data center trends and user preferences. Jason will discuss how new thermal-control strategies can help data center managers:

• Select the right controls technologies
• Cut installation costs
• Avoid and defend against adverse events and reduce system wear and tear
• Reduce cooling system energy consumption
• Gain insight into thermal-system performance and trends to optimize data center performance

About the Presenter

Ralph Conklin, Product Manager, Aftermarket Solutions for Thermal Management Support, Emerson Network Power:
Ralph Conklin is Product Manager, Aftermarket Solutions for Thermal Management Support, at Emerson Network Power. In his current role, Ralph manages the aftermarket parts, retrofit kits, and energy efficiency upgrade products for Emerson's industry-leading thermal management equipment. In this webinar, he will describe new ways to deploy thermal management technologies for fast ROI while improving data center efficiency, protection and insight.

Ralph has more than a decade of experience in the data center market, including positions with Emerson in Thermal Management Engineering, New Product Development and Technical Support. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from The Ohio State University and a Masters of Business Administration from Franklin University.