Inside the trade performance gap in data center construction

01. See what’s done. And what’s not. MEP trades are operating well below required pace.

Across 2025 data center projects, major MEP systems are progressing far below the pace required to hit target completion dates. HVAC systems are achieving 76.9% of required pace, electrical containment 59.4%, and domestic water 44.9%.

Even small weekly shortfalls compound over time, eroding commissioning buffers and increasing
late-stage schedule risk.

02. The gap between trades' planned weekly output and what they actually deliver is 20-50%.

There’s a consistent gap between planned weekly output and actual delivery. For example, electrical distribution is typically planned at 1,322 ft per week but averages 1,070 ft. Domestic pipework insulation planned at 308 ft per week, but delivers 121 ft.

This suggests systemic overestimation of trade capacity. In other words, schedule risk is built in at the planning stage rather than in execution.

03. Trades do 3-5x more in their peak weeks than they do in average weeks.

Our data shows that MEP trades can work 3 to 5 times faster than their typical weekly average.
When a team can hit 3,000 ft in a peak week but usually averages closer to 600 ft, it’s clear that
capability isn’t the issue.

That gap points to site-level friction limiting repeatable performance, and a lot of untapped
capacity on most projects.