The infrastructure demands of the AI boom are completely reshaping the technology landscape. With massive orders pouring in for next-generation GPUs that require direct-to-chip (DTC) liquid cooling, hyperscale providers face immense pressure to deploy future-ready facilities faster than ever before.
To keep pace with this momentum, we had to look closely at our construction workflows and eliminate the hidden friction points that slow us down. That’s Fastest to Ready in action, a core piece of Compass culture. The most glaring bottleneck we uncovered was traditional piping.
Extending a Manufacturing Mindset to Our Internal Circulatory System
At Compass, our core philosophy is to treat data center construction as a factory floor rather than a standard building project. By leveraging a repeatable prototypical design, we prefabricate roughly 85% of each data center off-site before assembling the standardized components on the ground. We have successfully proven this approach with our modular power infrastructure, pre-cast roofing and white space modules.
In an AI-ready facility, the facility water system (FWS) and technology cooling system (TCS) serve as vital circulatory architecture, moving HVAC and liquid cooling throughout the building. Historically, setting up these networks has been a slow, labor intensive, manual endeavor plagued by trial, error and tedious on-site assembly. Applying our manufacturing mindset to piping infrastructure was the logical next step to bring predictability to liquid cooling deployments.
Harnessing the Power of Kaizen
Kaizen, the philosophy of continuous, incremental refinement, might seem counterintuitive in a sector operating at breakneck speed. Yet, focusing on steady, incremental improvements is precisely what makes Compass different. and what unlocked our breakthrough.
To turn this strategy into reality, we partnered with RK Industries, a like-minded organization that shared our commitment to challenging traditional approaches and continuously improving how we build. In RK Industries, we found a partner with strong cultural alignment with Compass and deep expertise in modular design, prefabrication, and Kaizen-driven continuous improvement. Together, we reimagined the way piping systems are designed, fabricated and delivered. Harnessing the power of collaboration and continuous improvement to drive greater efficiency, consistency and scalability.
Engineering a Smarter Framework
Starting in 2024, Compass and RK Industries began rethinking how critical piping systems are engineered, manufactured, and deployed. By combining Compass’ manufacturing mindset with RK’s expertise in modular design, the teams developed a more efficient and scalable approach to supporting AI-ready infrastructure.
Through this collaboration, the Compass and RK teams were able to apply the same principles that have transformed other areas of our construction process, standardization, repeatability and continuous improvement to critical cooling infrastructure. The result was a framework designed to improve efficiency, enhance quality and accelerate deployment timelines.
The Result: Lightning-Fast Deployment
Shifting our perspective from traditional construction to an integrated delivery model has yielded incredible dividends. Today, Compass can fully install a liquid cooling loop in just a single week.
This accelerated framework has allowed us to scale up production capacity rapidly to satisfy the massive footprint needs of hyperscale operators. It has drastically sped up our deployment of the Vertiv CoolPhase Flex hybrid cooling solution we co-developed to manage various different workloads without having to undergo costly retrofits.
By merging off-site fabrication with a culture of continuous improvement, we aren’t just building faster; we are defining the fastest, most reliable path to the AI-ready data center.
Want a deeper look at the data and engineering behind this partnership? Check out the full case study.
