Data Center Infrastructure Podcast - Ep 11 - How We Break Data Centers Before They Go Live w/ Mitch Dec of Data Airflow

Before a data center runs a single AI workload, somebody has to try to break it. Mitch Dec is that somebody.
Eric and Lance sit down with Mitch Dec, VP of Commercial Services at Data Airflow, who leads commissioning on some of the largest AI data centers in America. Mitch walks through commissioning from Level 0 to Level 5, from factory testing to cutting power on purpose to prove the backup paths work. He also explains how to test a direct-to-chip AI hall before any servers arrive.
The water discussion covers the energy and water tradeoff, how new refrigerants let closed loop systems match open loop efficiency, why the glycol in these systems is food grade and not a forever chemical, and the payback that convinces investors. Plus how Mitch and Eric went from a phone call to a signed proposal in under 36 hours, a 500 person town hall in Appalachia, and why your power bill may have gone up years before the data center arrived.
Mitch’s advice closes the show. Every degree has a place in this industry, and so do the trades.
If you use your phone, you use a data center. Get to know what’s good and what’s bad.
Watch on YouTube. https://youtu.be/N7zhj4MhEOg
More at https://dcipodcast.com