• North American data-centre capacity under construction reached a record 7,481.1MW in the first half of 2026, up 24.8% from a year earlier
  • Cerv says basic problems such as water leaks, blocked air intakes and pest access can become costly once a facility is carrying live equipment

The fact

North American data-centre capacity under construction reached a record 7,481.1MW in the first half of 2026, up 24.8% from a year earlier, according to CBRE. Against that rapid buildout, Kade Thomas, chief executive of Cerv Property Solutions, told Facilities Dive that some new facilities are entering operation with preventable maintenance problems.

Thomas cited broken irrigation pipes, dust-clogged intake filters, overgrown landscaping and gaps that allow rodents into buildings. Texas-based Cerv provides cleaning, landscaping, pest control and exterior maintenance for commercial and industrial properties, including data centres. His comments describe the company's experience and do not establish that such problems are increasing across the industry.

Separate claims data from Allianz Commercial shows why relatively ordinary building failures can become expensive. Its analysis of 221 data-centre claims found water damage was the most frequent cause, while fire accounted for more than half of losses by value.

The assessment

Finishing the building is only part of opening a data centre. Before servers go live, the facilities team needs to understand the site: where problems are most likely to occur, what needs regular checking and which contractor is responsible for each system.

A leaking pipe or poorly sealed opening might be a minor maintenance job in another building. In a live data centre, it can reach cabling, electrical equipment or cooling systems and turn a cheap repair into an operational incident. Drawings, maintenance schedules, warranties and contractor contacts therefore need to be usable by the people running the facility, not simply handed over when construction ends.

For BTW readers, faster construction does not automatically mean more failures, and the available evidence does not show that it does. The concern is whether site operations are ready when the building is. Finding a leak, blocked intake or damaged seal before customers depend on the facility is far cheaper than dealing with the same problem after it goes live.

What to watch

Watch whether new data-centre campuses put facilities staff, maintenance contractors, and inspection routines in place before operations begin. Insurance data on water damage, cooling failures and business interruption will provide a clearer indication of whether these problems are becoming more common as record levels of new capacity move from construction into service.