Every year, ServerLIFT® Corporation uncovers unique issues in the data center that are not commonly discussed in the industry. Early April of 2014 we conducted an anonymous survey at Interop Las Vegas, an industry leading technology trade show. The main objective of the survey was to determine what issues IT professionals encounter using generic warehouse lifts to handle servers and other IT equipment.
Participants were asked to complete a brief questionnaire consisting of 11 topics relating to the functionality and general purpose of a lift in the data center environment. Each of the questions were chosen based on the feedback ServerLIFT® has received from clients over the past 7 years. As with previous surveys conducted by ServerLIFT® Corporation, this survey was anonymous to offer open responses.
The surveys that were incomplete or not legible were removed, leaving a total sample size of 82. The following information provides some of the most common issues IT professionals encounter using lifts that are not certified for use in a data center.
- 23% have an issue with the platform on the lift sagging
- 25% have an issue aligning equipment at the appropriate rack level
- 30% are concerned that the lift does not include safety straps
- 26% of it professionals answered that their lifting solution dose not reach high enough
- 40% of people using a generic warehouse lift said it was unstable
- 23% of people believe that there lifting solution does not have adequate braking
- 20% feel that the crank is difficult to turn while lifting equipment
- 23% are scared that the battery in there lift is unsafe for their data center
- 14% of lifts wont properly handle the weight of the it equipment being installed
- 19% of lifting solutions use unsafe hydraulic lifting systems
- 31% of people a warehouse lift have difficulty navigating narrow data center aisles.
