In the massive data center investments to support AI's demanding workloads, scale and speed often take the front seats. For the technicians who will keep those facilities running, the stakes for safety could scale right along with them.
Big data centers can host thousands of server racks: tall cabinets with rows of computers that power everything from iCloud backups to ChatGPT history. Today, typical server racks provide around 48 volts (V) of direct current (DC), according to Flex president Chris Butler. But as the GPUs scale, so does the voltage in new and improved rack designs.
Flex, a data center equipment provider, is working on a rack that would be nearly 10 to 20 times the voltage.
Butler cautioned many people don’t understand how dangerous power can be. 48V can still be lethal, but an 800V arc flash of direct current (which can exceed 35,000 degrees Fahrenheit) inside a data center is extremely dangerous — a different beast altogether from a safety training perspective.
“The thing that people forget about DC voltage is there’s no zero crossing,” Butler told Broadband Nation. Zero crossing in this context refers to the brief moment when alternating current (AC) power drops to zero, which helps stop electric arcs naturally.
“If there’s an arc and there’s a level of incident energy that’s expelled, that arc persists for a much longer period of time in the DC world than it does in the AC world, because there’s no zero crossing to help extinguish the arc. So it’s a real hazard that people are putting in the data center," Butler continued.
Those risks aren’t waiting for higher-voltage racks — they’re already visible. Three workers were burned in a Google data center arc flash in 2022. And earlier this year, a construction worker was electrocuted in a data center in Georgia.
Cultural catch-up to safety standards
Electrocution is deemed one of the “fatal four” top causes of death in the construction industry by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Last year, OSHA updated guidance for safety protocols and arc flash prevention for the first time in nearly 20 years — requiring stronger protections, clearer rules for working around live wires and expanded use of proper gear, even at lower voltages.
“I started in the industry about 30 years ago, and when I started, people didn't really respect the hazards that were out there,” Butler reflected. Within the NFPA 70 — the de facto standard for worker safety in the electrical industry — arc flash wasn’t even mentioned until 1995.
“And, you know, it took until about 2015 before there were specific work practices, [or] there was very clear understanding of what the hazard was and how to assess the hazard,” he continued. “It took 20 years for that even to become a practice in the electrical industry.”
Butler believes another dangerous lag in safety protocol adoption could come with these newer racks. Today, NFPA 70 only speaks in terms of AC and “doesn't even talk about voltages in excess of 600 volts.”
But with the AI race on, demand for data centers will continue to boom. That means future data center workers, already in short supply, could face intensified workloads as technology simultaneously outpaces the safety standards in place. That reality relies heavily on individual employers to get safety right.
These conditions for speed and scale have painted lethal pictures in the past, even in adjacent trades of the broadband industry. During the LTE buildout, fatal falls were at an all-time high for tower technicians — with a chaotic subcontracting ecosystem enforcing little safety oversight.
Luckily, from John Wood’s perspective — an experienced data center tech and Flex’s Director of Field Applications — safety is often taken very seriously in data center environments.
“I think guidance for safety has improved and the safety plans individual companies implement and require have helped to ensure that all elements of safety are addressed,” he told Broadband Nation.
In high demand, in direct current
Data center technicians will remain in high demand — not only to keep up with rapid expansion but also to backfill a workforce that is steadily aging out.
“That’s what the whole industry is facing today. I mean, I can’t tell you the number of conversations that I’ve had with customers that are like, ‘We’re asking people to stay five years beyond their intended retirement date, because we just don’t have anybody to replace them,’” said Butler. “There’s definitely a shortage of labor.”
With U.S. unemployment at its highest since 2021, the role could be an appealing one. Entry-level wages vary based on state, employer size and location. But data center tech work can be a particularly lucrative technical trade that doesn’t require a college degree — with plenty paying over six figures.
But pay alone doesn’t offset the risks Butler warns about — or the responsibility employers carry as the job grows more complex and more dangerous.
Luckily, Wood believes the industry’s safety culture is more ready to handle this change than in the past.
“When I started in the business 34 years ago, I had one week of system training before moving directly to the field, by myself, to perform inspections of equipment installed at a customer facility,” he detailed. “My company at the time had gone over the dos and don’ts of the field, but safety was not as much of a priority as it is today.”
The uniform in the ‘90s was “basically a shirt and a tie,” Wood recalled, with more of a focus on company optics and customer care. “Now the culture has changed to be more safety driven," he said.
Wood has observed that shift in how standardized safety has become across modern data centers — with site-specific training now expected and personal protective equipment (PPE) treated as a baseline. Even experienced technicians, he noted, are required to complete onboarding before stepping onto a new site.
As those sites adopt new technology — like higher-voltage racks — Wood stressed that safety fundamentals are critical for newcomers.
“Take your electrical and safety training seriously,” he advised. "Focus on what you are being trained on and understand the serious nature in working around electrical equipment.” That means knowing the limits of current education or training levels — and asking people for help when needed, Wood added.
“This could save your life or someone else's life by just slowing down and understanding the scope of work,” he concluded. “Enjoy what you do. This leads to focusing on the task at hand and caring about the results of the work. We can’t train common sense, so focusing on the task at hand and using your instincts is critical to safety.”
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