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Meta (Facebook at the time) needed to access the cable raceways above their server racks. Spika designed and manufactured a platform that provided safe access to the back of the racks. The platform could provide cantilevered access to the trays at the back of the racks, fit through the narrow aisles, collapse down to prevent interference with overhead pipes, and pass through standard man doors for storage.
Hunt Electric, the contractor for a new Facebook data center, needed a way to access the cable raceways above the server racks at their newly developed server farm. The cables were tucked toward the back of the racks, requiring the technicians to lean out to reach them. This challenging access situation was not fully identified until the facility was under construction.
The identified solution was a narrow personnel lift that could easily move through the facility via manual effort by one to two people, and navigate the obstacles of beams, fire protection systems, and other infrastructure challenges better than a scissor lift or low-level manlift or picker. It also had to lower to pass through a standard man door and clear overhead obstacles like pipes all while providing ergonomic and stable access to the raceways. The traditional manlifts on the market were too large and cumbersome fit into the narrow aisles, and they could not accommodate the lean-out requirement for ergonomic access.
After a site visit to observe the challenges faced by Hunt Electric and Facebook, Spika designed and built a custom platform to meet all the restricting requirements.
