In the race to build what’s next, more people step into complex and high-energy work. At Vertiv, safety is a habit that carries into daily life.
As data center infrastructure scales, so does the nature of risk. Artificial intelligence (AI) workloads are pushing rack densities beyond 140 kilowatts (kW) and requiring liquid cooling and higher-voltage systems. More people are stepping into complex, high-energy environments.
Every person at a worksite or factory is there for a reason beyond the job—their families and the lives they’re building outside of work. Protecting that is a core purpose behind everything we do in safety. The goal is simple and personal: everyone goes home safe, every day. As Bob Marshall, Vice President of Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) at Vertiv, explains:
"Safety is how we value the people who show up every day. When we get it right at work, they take those habits home and extend the care into the communities they’re part of."
The Vertiv Operating System: Safety as a way of working
The Vertiv Operating System (VOS) connects daily site safety performance directly to leadership. In every meeting, teams review EHS performance alongside operational metrics because safety is inseparable from execution. A critical part of keeping people safe is identifying and controlling the risks most likely to cause harm.
The highest risks, addressed directly
We focus on eliminating exposures that could result in serious injury or fatality: electrical energy, work at height, heavy equipment interaction, and complex commissioning environments. For each risk, we apply the same discipline:
- Hazard identification tied directly to the task
- Controls built for real-world conditions, including multi-contractor environments
- Continuous reassessment as system complexity increases
A culture of action
Safety performance depends on the people closest to the risk. Every person on site is expected — and empowered — to act when a hazard is identified. Key mechanisms include:
- "We Lead with Safety": Any employee can stop work the moment they spot a risk
- "Good Catch": Employees report hazards and near-miss events before they become incidents, and we work to turn those reports into systemic improvements
- Safety Month: Every October, we run training, hazard awareness sessions, and equipment inspections across global facilities
Through these systems and others, we work to build a culture of safety through action across all our operations.
Measured in outcomes
When leaders act visibly on the issues people raise, individual observations become organization-wide change. That culture shows in the results. In India, our team completed 5 million safe work hours on a hyperscale data center project, including work at height, electrical testing, and heavy equipment handling, with zero incidents or lost-time injuries. In Peru, a major national insurance and risk management provider ranked us among the country's top 30 companies for occupational health and safety.
Standards that extend across the supply chain
Risk does not stop at organizational boundaries. Our safety management system — aligned with ISO 45001:2018 and ISO 9001:2015 — extends the same expectations to every contractor, supplier, and partner. The standards include:
- Pre-qualification: we pre-qualify suppliers against safety requirements before signing contracts
- Cross-functional review: cross-functional teams assess every new material, process, or equipment change before it reaches the floor
- Continuous verification: audits and operational oversight ensure standards hold as conditions change
Inside our operations
We hold our own operations to the same standard. Every product goes through a rigorous process that analyzes manufacturing and serviceability. Front-line employees shape hazard analyses and production processes through continuous improvement — supported by Lean principles and Kaizen. We supply the tools, equipment, and personal protective equipment (PPE) matched to the specific risks of each task. That readiness starts with training.
Hazards eliminated by design
Beyond procedures and controls, we are focused on eliminating hazards through design.
This includes:
- Evaluating how products are built, installed, and serviced
- Reducing exposure by minimizing the need for energized work or access
- Engineering systems to limit available energy during maintenance
The goal is to remove risk where possible—not just manage it.
Where safety goes from here
AI is accelerating industry growth, putting more people into complex and high-energy environments than ever before. The stakes are rising—and so is the importance of safety. We seek to embed it in every operation, every role, and every partner relationship, without exception.
At its core, safety is about people—their families, their futures, and the lives they value outside of work. The habits they build at Vertiv are meant to protect those values, and to extend the same care into how they live beyond work. Getting safety right at work is how we help protect what matters most beyond it.
See how safety scales at Vertiv
Explore the One Vertiv, One World to discover how the company integrates safety across operations, training, and supply chain practices.
