Lessons learnt from British Airways
Bank Holiday Meltdown by Tom Hall , Managing Director , Continu
B
ritish Airways has said that the recent IT shutdown , which caused significant disruption to over 75,000 passengers , was caused by a power surge . But could it have been prevented ?
From what we know , in short , the answer is yes . If power protection systems , including UPS equipment have been installed and maintained correctly , a power surge shouldn ’ t disrupt business operations .
However , in a scenario that ’ s all too familiar , following loss of power in a data centre , power was returned in an uncontrolled way , causing damage to IT servers .
The result was the cancellation of hundreds of flights , tens of thousands of stranded holiday makers and an airline ’ s reputation on the line .
The high profile case is a prime example of why it is vitally important to not only have backup power facilities ( UPS ) in place , but to ensure they are correctly maintained by trained UPS engineers .
It ’ s also vital that organisations of all sizes have a comprehensive disaster recovery plan , so if a power failure from the grid does happen , IT systems and business operations can continue as usual .
Despite having backup power facilities at the ready , a power failure still reportedly occurred and for BA , the outcome was disastrous .
One of the most likely causes of this type of failure is poor maintenance of either the UPS or the batteries supporting it .
What do we mean by maintenance ?
Once a UPS is installed , maintaining it is a bit like owning a car as it requires routine checks .
Similar to any equipment which has moving parts , a UPS also needs periodic ‘ servicing ’. This simply means having a trained UPS engineer visit periodically to conduct a visual examination and replace fans , capacitors or filters as needed .
Batteries are vital to the functioning of the UPS . Whilst the batteries sit idle on ‘ standby ’ most of the time , when there is an emergency mains power problem it is critical that the batteries actually work .
If the UPS protects critical IT systems , you will need a proactive maintenance plan to ensure there are routine checks .
Warm Weather
Fluctuations in temperature can also affect UPS performance , which is particularly important as the warmer summer months approach .
Assess the temperature and air circulation of the room where your UPS is housed . Is it constant or are their times when the temperature fluctuates ?
Changes can play havoc with your IT equipment and affect the lifespan of your UPS batteries .
Without knowing all the facts , it ’ s difficult to pinpoint exactly what went wrong at British Airways .
However , our advice for organisations trying to avoid a similar disaster is to make
proactive maintenance of UPS equipment part of a regular routine .
Investing in a maintenance plan carried out by UPS qualified engineers makes economic sense to any IT manager and may avert a similar ‘ terminal fate ’!
If you are concerned that your business operations might be vulnerable to disruption , our expert team of engineers will be happy to carry out a free site survey to assess any vulnerability in your system .
Give us a call on 028 9045 4900 .
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