Diegem, 8 April 2019 - LCL is the first data center in Belgium to have the ISO 45001 certificate. Their data centers therefore conform to the new international standard for professional health and safety. To achieve this certificate, LCL invested around 260,000 euros. LCL takes safety in the workplace more than seriously. The data center company wants to create more awareness about the security risks in data centers.

The importance of a good safety policy

There are different types of risk in data centers. In a data center such as LCL, the 4 most important types are related to electricity, working at heights and falling in depth, working alone and working with fiber. The electrical risk is the most important.
 
Avoiding accidents in the workplace: that is the goal of good safety management. “A rigorous safety policy is to the advantage of customers, employees and suppliers. After all, their security and that of the data are also increasing. During visits of data centers at customers, we regularly notice how little attention is paid to safety. We are often amazed by the safety risks caused by, for example, a lack of evacuation plans, blocked doors or the lack of the required training for the risks present, ”says Laurens van Reijen, managing director of LCL.
 
“As we specialize in data centers and work on a larger scale, LCL is in a better position to invest in security. Not all companies are able to implement a security policy of that extent, "says van Reijen.
 
ISO 45001
 
LCL has invested about a year and a half to obtain the ISO 45001: 2018 certificate. An investment in, among other things, training and adjustments totaling around 260,000 euros. The certification was done by BSI (The British Standards Institution), which previously also awarded the ISO 14001 and ISO 27001 certificates to LCL.
 
The ISO 45001 standard is the new international standard for professional health and safety. “We thought this was an important theme in the past, but now safety has really penetrated the DNA of people and that is what you want to achieve,” says van Reijen. "That result is among other things due to a thorough implementation of the safety systems in the company, good communication and extensive and continuous awareness."
 
Safety precautions
 
The operation of a data center involves a huge amount of processes, procedures and task, and therefore also in terms of security. Important elements for increasing safety include risk analyzes, clear work procedures, an extensive range of training courses and internal competence certificates. For example, a person may have the necessary capacities for a task, but in specific situations or periods may nevertheless be unsuitable for performing the task. LCL also works with toolboxes. These are practical training courses that are regularly repeated on various safety topics such as personal protection or what to do in the event of an evacuation. A correct procurement policy for safe material and procedures for the correct handling of that material are also important.
 
LCL always makes clear agreements with external parties regarding safety, both with customers and with suppliers and any subcontractors. They are well informed about the current safety policy at LCL. For example, the equipment used by LCL is always legally approved and this is also expected from suppliers' and subcontractors' equipment. Someone from LCL will always guide them.
 
In addition, LCL carries out an internal safety audit every year by external specialists. "In doing so, they point out what we can do better in terms of safety and this increases the safety of people and working conditions every year," says van Reijen.
 
To further limit the risks, LCL works with specialized technicians and engineers. These people are familiar with data center environments and associated security issues.
 
Other certificates
 
In the past, LCL also focused on certification. For example, the data center is also compliant with the ISO 14001, ISO 27001, ISAE 3000 and ISAE 3402 type 2 standards. These certificates and reports refer to efforts in the field of environmental legislation, information security, operational risk management and financial risk management respectively. The ISAE reports were delivered by Deloitte.
 
LCL is also a Tier 3 data center. This classification stands for the highest level of redundancy that a data center in Belgium can offer. The continuity of the IT systems present is thus guaranteed for 99.98%.
 
“LCL is a stable and experienced data center partner that is among the Belgian top 3. The certificates and reports we have received confirm the high level of quality of our services, "says van Reijen.