Explore the Agenda
7:20 am Check-In & Light Breakfast
8:20 am Chair’s Opening Remarks
Building a Highly Skilled, Technical Construction Workforce Across the Mid-Atlantic
8:30 am Strengthening Your Workforce to Build Highly Skilled Teams & Sustain Productivity
- Developing regionalized workforce strategies to keep skilled teams within commuting distance of your project
- Optimizing labor scheduling and resource allocation to balance workload and prevent burnout: how can we maintain aggressive timelines without compromising efficiency or employee well-being?
- Aligning project specific hiring and team deployment strategies to ensure the right mix of craft labor and technical staff are available for each site without overreliance on temporary labor pools
9:00 am Panel: Building the Next Generation of Skilled Trades to Ensure Long-Term Workforce Stability Across the Mid-Atlantic
- Investing in regional apprenticeship programs and establishing pre-apprenticeship pipelines so we can ensure a steady flow of labor to meet long term project demand
- Promoting industry backed initiatives to attract youth and new entrants: how can we work collectively as a region to increase our workforce?
- Leveraging safety programs, incentives, and awareness campaigns to make data center construction careers more appealing
9:30 am Morning Networking Break
Accelerating Speed-to-Market Through Proactive Preconstruction
10:40 am Case Study: Advancing Scheduling Through Predictive Tools to Mitigate Delays & Maintain Momentum on Complex Data Center Campuses
- Applying AI-driven schedule generation and predictive forecasting to adjust plans proactively
- Establishing clear data inputs, validation checkpoints, and oversight protocols to ensure outputs are accurate, auditable, and fully trusted
- Implementing real-time progress tracking and automated workflow updates to maintain momentum and prevent minor slips from growing into major delays
11:10 am Case Study: Redefining Our Procurement Strategy to Meet Demand for Long-Lead Mechanical & Electrical Equipment
- Establishing early, project-specific forecasting models to identify long-lead equipment risks upfront and synchronize procurement schedules with construction pacing to prevent downstream delays
- Building strategic partnerships with key manufacturers and implementing dual sourcing strategies to stabilize equipment availability, increase allocation reliability, and reduce exposure to single-supplier disruptions
- Implementing a flexible, scenario-based procurement framework that allows teams to pivot quickly in response to shifting lead times, financing constraints, or supplier market volatility, ensuring continuity across multiple campuses
11:40 am Networking Lunch Break
Accelerating Construction Productivity
1:10 pm Case Study: Coordinating Design Logistics & On-Site Integration Across Projects to Execute Prefabrication Effectively
- Aligning design, modelling and production coordination from day 1 to reduce downstream clashes
- Developing logistics, sequencing, and staging plans for transporting, storing and installing prefabricated assemblies to ensure modules arrive when needed, fit site constraints, and move smoothly into place without disrupting field activities
- Creating standardized installation protocols and multi-trade integration playbooks to connect plug-and-play modules consistently
1:40 pm Audience Discussion: Adapting On-Site Construction Methods Across Regions to Overcome Mid- Atlantic Climate & Field Risks
- Adapting designs for Mid-Atlantic environmental extremes, from Virginia’s heat and humidity to Pennsylvania’s freeze–thaw cycles, to ensure long-term structural resilience and operational integrity in all conditions.
- Leveraging local contractor and engineering expertise to navigate regional climate challenges and proactively mitigate weather-driven schedule risks such as flooding, storms, and seasonal temperature swings
- Aligning national data center developers with local contractors and designers to combine global technical expertise with regional knowledge, reducing project risk and ensuring facilities are optimized for Mid-Atlantic conditions.
Positioning the Mid-Atlantic for Long-Term Data Center Competitiveness
2:10 pm Panel: Futureproofing the Mid-Atlantic to Strengthen Competitiveness, Compliance, & Regional Resilience
- Forecasting the regulatory and policy landscape shaping data center expansion
- Assessing competitive pressures from fast-growing alternative U.S. regions; what are the Mid-Atlantic strategic advantages we must retain and where must we adapt to stay competitive?
- Evaluating the push for retrofits to modernize equipment and capacity
- Planning for long-term regional resilience: how can we withstand weather, component scarcity, or geopolitical volatility without compromising deployment timelines?