Data Centre Plant Platforms and Structural Steel Solutions

Every data centre depends on rooftop and at-grade point, and every piece of that plan needs structure beneath it and safe access around it. Getting this wrong costs programme time, causes safety incidents and leads to rework late in the build. 

Late-stage platform and access work are a common critical-path delay on data centre projects, because civil and M&E trades both need a clear structure in place first. Bringing a structural steel and access specialist in early keeps these packages off the critical path. 

Unistor's in-house design team, certified fabrication and experienced site crews take plant structure and access from concept through to certified however, with one point of accountability.

Our engineered grated-deck platforms carry chillers, generators and cooling plant, and are designed for real static, dynamic and wind loads on the roof structure. Every platform is rated to the project's load requirements. None are an afterthought bolted to roof steel. 

Platforms are detailed around plant footprints, vibration isolation and maintenance clearances, so equipment can be craned in, serviced and replaced without modifying the structure. Open grating allows drainage and airflow around heat-rejection plant. 

Hot-dip galvanised finishes provide long-term protection in exposed rooftop conditions, keeping maintenance low over the life of the facility.

Technicians need safe access to plant that runs around the clock. Unistor supplies AS 1657-compliant stair towers, crossover platforms, walkways, gantries, cage ladders and guardrails, giving operators and maintenance crews safe access to every level of plant.

Crossovers are designed to step over pipework, cable trays and roof penetrations without loading them, while fixed ladders, cages and anti-fall systems provide complaint vertical access to roof and elevated plant levels.

Multi-level structural steel platforms and plant decks are our core specialty. They are engineered for heavy plant loads, fast fabrication and rapid site assembly, and suit MEP, plant, UPS and support levels.

Prefabricated frames and bolted connections mean decks go up in days with minimal site welding. That is up to 40% faster than site-built structures, with flooring selected to suit load, fire and acoustic requirements.

Our in-house engineering and drafting teams design each deck around load, span and layout, integrating stairs, handrail and service penetrations from the start.

Unistor's hybrid build concept pours only every second level in concrete, the fire-rated, high-density data-hall floors. The intermediate MEP and supports levels are delivered as prefabricated steel mezzanines. 

Steel levels are fabricated off-site while the concrete floors are poured and cured, so the two run in parallel rather than in sequence. The result is fewer concrete pours, less formwork, crane and pump time, a faster floor-to-floor cycle and earlier access for M&E trades.

An open steel grid also adapts more readily to changes in service reticulation than a concrete slab, where every new penetration needs engineering sign-off.

Unistor has delivered some of the most complex structural steel and access packages in the country, including over 3km of walkways, 4,000m2 of platforms, 260 ladders and 130 staircases for MoRDC at Moorebank, manufactured and installed in six months alongside automation contractors.

Other projects include a 4,500m2 double-storey mezzanine for Invenco at Prestons, Australia's first 3,500m2 mezzanine over a live AutoStore system for Skutopia, and catwalks, platforms and stair towers for a NZ$450M fully automated warehouse in Drury, New Zealand.

Large structural packages, live-facility staging and multi-trade coordination are exactly what date centre delivery demands.