Certified Data Center Facilities Operations Manager Questions and Answers
Customers complain about support response times being too slow. After a check with the vendor about the agreed SLAs, it is concluded that no violation occurred.
What is the likely cause of the customers complaining?
Options:
There is not enough operations staff to respond to customer complaints
The Underpinning Contract with the vendor is not aligned with the customer Service Level Agreement
Customers involved receive standard support only and should upgrade to a premium support level
Service Level Agreement reporting is unclear
Answer:
BExplanation:
This scenario reflects a classic misalignment between theService Level Agreement (SLA)that the data center guarantees to customers and theUnderpinning Contract (UC)or vendor contract that supports those services. EPI’s Service Level Management model stresses that all contractual layers must be fully aligned: SLAs (customer-facing), OLAs (internal agreements), and UCs (vendor contracts). If the vendor meets its contractual requirements but customers still experience slow response times, it means the vendor contract is not strict enough to support the SLA commitments.
For example, the SLA may require a 15-minute response time, but the vendor contract may only require a 2-hour response. In such cases, the data center cannot meet customer expectations, even when all parties technically meet their agreements. This mismatch is common in outsourced environments when capability assessment and contract alignment are overlooked.
Option A describes insufficient staffing, which would directly affect operations but is not indicated in the scenario. Option C assumes customers chose the wrong support tier, which is not stated. Option D deals with reporting clarity, not response speed.
Thus,misaligned UCsare the most likely root cause.
In document management, what is the objective of the publication process?
Options:
To comply with the document management system requirements
To create a document following the rules of the document management system
To ensure the correct version is available in all required locations
To archive documents for easy retrieval
Answer:
CExplanation:
Thepublication processin document management ensures that:
Thecorrect, approved versionof a document is released.
It isdistributed to all required locations(physical or digital).
Outdated versions are removed from circulation.
Staff always use the correct operating procedures and guidelines.
Why other options are incorrect:
A: Compliance is a by-product, not the objective.
B: Creation happensbeforepublication.
D: Archiving is part of the document retirement process, not publication.
Thus,Cis the correct answer.
EPI DCFOM-Aligned Reference Concepts (Paraphrased)
Publication ensures the latest controlled documents are available where needed.
Document control prevents use of outdated or incorrect procedures.
What describes the term predictive maintenance?
Options:
Routine, time or count-based maintenance
Just-in-time maintenance based on monitoring equipment performance
Scheduled maintenance based on history of failure within the site
Maintenance performed upon detection of potential issues
Answer:
BExplanation:
Predictive maintenance is defined as:
“Maintenance executed based on real-time or trend-based performance monitoring to intervene just before failure occurs.”
Predictive maintenance uses:
Condition monitoring
Vibration analysis
Sensor data
Temperature, load, and performance metrics
Trend analysis
Analytics predicting impending failure
This allows maintenance to be performedjust-in-time, preventing unplanned downtime.
Why other options are incorrect:
Adescribes preventive maintenance (routine/time-based).
Cdescribes reliability-centered or historical pattern scheduling.
Dis close but refers more to condition-based maintenance, which is a subset; predictive maintenance specifically uses monitoring to forecast failure, not just detect issues.
Thus,Bis the most correct definition.
EPI DCFOM-Aligned Reference Concepts (Paraphrased)
Predictive maintenance relies on monitoring equipment conditions and performance trends.
It reduces downtime and optimizes maintenance schedules.
Which types of maintenance service offerings are commonly offered by vendors?
Options:
Silver, Gold, Platinum
Basic, Premium, Premium +
Basic, Normal, Comprehensive
Time & Material, Basic, Comprehensive
Answer:
DExplanation:
EPI describes threecommonly offered maintenance service levelsin the data center industry:
Time & Material (T&M)
Pay per visit, per hour, and per part
No guaranteed response time
Lowest cost, lowest priority
Basic Contract
Includes scheduled preventive maintenance
Limited support for corrective issues
Faster response than T&M but still limited
Comprehensive Contract
Includes preventive + corrective maintenance
Parts + labor included
Priority response times
Best uptime protection
These are the standard, industry-recognized tiers reflected in EPI’s training.
Why the other options are incorrect:
AandBare marketing labels used in some industries but not standard for data center facility maintenance.
Cis not an EPI-recognized offering.
Thus,Dis correct.
EPI DCFOM-Aligned Reference Concepts (Paraphrased)
Standard vendor offerings include T&M, Basic, and Comprehensive contracts.
Used widely for UPS, generators, cooling systems, and electrical infrastructure.
What is the purpose of a weight factor in a Request for Proposal (RFP) evaluation matrix?
Options:
To control the prices of the various offerings received
To reflect the importance of the selection criteria
To allow for full negotiation once vendors are shortlisted
To provide an overview of the number of employees working for the vendor
Answer:
BExplanation:
In an RFP evaluation matrix,weight factorsare applied to highlight therelative importanceof each evaluation criterion.
Examples of weighted criteria include:
Technical compliance
Response time
Cost
Vendor capability
Warranty terms
SLA performance
The weight factor ensures that more critical criteria influence the final score more heavily, enabling an objective and structured vendor selection.
Why the other options are incorrect:
A: Weighting does not control prices.
C: Negotiation comes after scoring.
D: Workforce size is not the purpose of weighting.
Thus,Bis correct.
EPI DCFOM-Aligned Reference Concepts (Paraphrased)
Weighted scoring ensures high-priority criteria significantly influence vendor selection.
Supports objective and transparent procurement.
When creating a compliance document register, which categories should at least be included?
Options:
Legal and service
Marketing and budget
Staffing and training
Training and business culture
Answer:
AExplanation:
A compliance document register ensures that the organization maintains oversight and traceability of all documents required to meet regulatory, legal, and service-related obligations. The register is essential for audits, governance, risk management, and operational continuity. According to EPI’s GRC framework, the minimum categories that must be included arelegalandservicecompliance documents.
Legal documents include regulatory requirements, statutory obligations, contracts, permits, safety regulations, environmental compliance mandates, and jurisdictional requirements. Service documents include SLAs, OLAs, underpinning contracts, service catalogs, and operational procedures required to fulfill service commitments. These categories represent the core compliance landscape affecting the organization’s ability to operate legally and deliver services contractually.
Options B, C, and D list other organizational elements that may appear in broader documentation sets but arenot fundamental compliance categories. Marketing, budgeting, staffing policies, and business culture documents do not constitute mandatory compliance obligations and are not required for inclusion in a compliance register.
Thus, the correct answer isA – Legal and service.
Of the below, which is a power efficiency indicator?
Options:
nil, w
PUE
CPU
uw
Answer:
BExplanation:
Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) is the most widely recognized and adopted energy efficiency indicator for data centers globally and is emphasized heavily within the EPI sustainability framework. PUE measures how effectively a data center uses power and is calculated by dividing theTotal Facility Powerby theIT Equipment Power. The purpose of this indicator is to show how much of the energy consumed by the facility actually reaches IT equipment (servers, storage, network gear) versus how much is consumed by support infrastructure such as cooling, UPS losses, lighting, and building systems.
A lower PUE indicates a more efficient data center, with values approaching 1.0 representing ideal efficiency—where nearly all consumed power is being used for IT load. PUE is essential for benchmarking, energy-saving initiatives, identifying efficiency improvement opportunities, and measuring the success of infrastructure optimization projects. The other options listed—nil, w; CPU; and uw—are irrelevant to facility energy efficiency metrics. CPU relates to computing processors, not facility efficiency; the others are incorrect units or meaningless terms in this context.
Thus,PUEis the correct and industry-standard power efficiency indicator.
Key Performance Objectives (KPOs) need to be defined.
What is a suitable time period for KPOs?
Options:
Only weekly
Only monthly
Only yearly
Weekly, monthly and yearly
Answer:
DExplanation:
KPOs are strategic and operational performance objectives that must support:
Daily operations
Weekly operational control
Monthly service reporting
Quarterly reviews
Annual strategic planning
EPI emphasizes that performance objectives must be measurableacross multiple timeframes, depending on the operational layer:
Weekly→ short-term operational checks
Monthly→ service-level analysis and trend review
Yearly→ strategic improvement and long-term performance planning
Therefore,weekly, monthly, and yearly intervalsare all suitable for KPOs.
Thus,Dis correct.
EPI DCFOM-Aligned Reference Concepts (Paraphrased)
Performance measurement occurs across multiple time horizons.
KPOs must be aligned to operational, tactical, and strategic levels.
The organization plans for implementing an information security management system (ISMS).
By doing so, what is the main objective?
Options:
Preservation of an organizations’ financial and organizational records
Preservation of confidentiality and format of organizational assets
Preservation of confidentiality, integrity and availability of organizational assets
Preservation of customer agreements and records
Answer:
CExplanation:
AnInformation Security Management System (ISMS)is designed to protect information assets through structured controls, policies, and risk management practices.
EPI aligns with globally accepted security frameworks (e.g., ISO/IEC 27001), where the foundation of an ISMS is theCIA triad:
C — Confidentiality
Ensures information is accessible only to authorized persons.
I — Integrity
Ensures information is accurate, complete, protected from unauthorized modification.
A — Availability
Ensures information and systems are accessible when required.
Implementing an ISMS aims to safeguard these three fundamental information security objectives.
Why the other options are incorrect:
A— This focuses only on records retention, not information security as a whole.
B— Omits integrity and availability, which are essential ISMS elements.
D— Too narrow; ISMS covers all information assets, not just customer records.
Thus, the correct answer isC, which fully represents the CIA triad.
EPI DCFOM-Aligned Reference Concepts (Paraphrased)
ISMS is responsible for protecting confidentiality, integrity, and availability of all information assets.
The CIA triad forms the basis of information security objectives.
A new Service Level Agreement is being proposed for which the data center operations manager must give her approval.
Which document – or information – will she consider consulting first?
Options:
Training program overview
Job descriptions
Skills matrix
Resumes of staff
Answer:
CExplanation:
When approving a new SLA (Service Level Agreement), the operations manager must verify that the organization has thecapabilityand resources to meet the service commitments defined in the SLA. Part of this verification is ensuring that the current staff mix and competency levels match the required service levels. Theskills matrixprovides a structured overview of staff roles, skill levels, competencies, and gap analysis.
Theskills matrixallows the manager to assess whether the team is capable of fulfilling the new service commitments before the SLA goes live.
Job descriptions(option B) define roles and responsibilities but do not show competency levels or gaps.
Training program overview(option A) shows what training exists but doesn’t directly show who can deliver the service now.
Resumes of staff(option D) are ad hoc and individual, not efficient for overall capability assessment.
Thus, optionC – Skills matrixis the best first reference.
EPI DCFOM-Aligned Reference Concepts (Paraphrased)
Capability assessment in SLM includes reviewing skills matrices to verify workforce capability.
Before approving SLAs, organizations must ensure operational readiness and resource competence.
What is the main reason for (senior) management to be scheduled into the ‘on-duty’ roster?
Options:
It provides management hands-on experience solving incidents.
It provides management better insights with the number of incidents occurring
It involves management when incidents are escalating
It assists management in optimally reviewing monitoring thresholds
Answer:
CExplanation:
Senior management is included in the duty roster tosupport escalation procedures.
In EPI’s operational model:
Managers are not part of routine monitoring or incident handling.
Their role is tointervene only when an incident escalates beyond operational authority, such as major outages, SLA-impacting events, or high-risk situations.
Management provides decision-making, authorization, and resource allocation during escalations.
Why other options are incorrect:
A: Managers should not gain “hands-on” experience during incidents.
B: Incident reporting already provides insights; no roster needed.
D: Monitoring thresholds are reviewed separately, not via duty rosters.
Thus,Cis correct.
EPI DCFOM-Aligned Reference Concepts (Paraphrased)
Management is involved in the escalation layer, not daily operations.
Duty rosters ensure proper escalation handling and governance.
A resource matrix is to be created.
What are the main considerations?
Options:
Cost efficiency and availability
Capacity and capability
Age and gender
Preferences of the staff member
Answer:
BExplanation:
Aresource matrixin EPI’s organizational framework identifies the resources required to deliver services and match them with the competencies of available staff. The primary considerations when creating a resource matrix are:
Capacity
How many personnel are needed?
Are there enough staff per shift?
Do staffing levels match service requirements, SLAs, and workload?
Capability
Do staff have the required skills and competencies?
Do they meet certification, technical, and operational requirements?
Are backup roles available?
Are personnel trained and fit for assigned tasks?
EPI emphasizes that resource planning must alignskills + quantityto ensure operational continuity.
Why other options are incorrect:
A: Cost efficiency is secondary, and availability alone does not ensure capability.
C: Age and gender are irrelevant and inappropriate staffing considerations.
D: Personal preferences do not determine resource allocation.
Thus,capacity and capabilityare the correct considerations.
EPI DCFOM-Aligned Reference Concepts (Paraphrased)
Resource matrices map staff capacity and capability to service requirements.
Ensures adequate coverage and competency for operations.
Several data center services in the service catalog charge the customer on the actual usage of those services.
What chargeback model is applied?
Options:
Service Based Pricing (SBP)
Negotiated Flat Rate (NFR)
Tiered Flat Rate (TFR)
Measured Resource Usage (MRU)
Answer:
DExplanation:
When customers are billed based on the actual consumption of services, this model is known asMeasured Resource Usage (MRU).
MRU charges customers according to:
Actual power consumption
Actual cooling usage
Actual rack utilization
Actual bandwidth or cross-connect usage
Actual resource usage metrics
This model aligns with transparency, fairness, and resource accountability.
Why other options are incorrect:
A – SBP: Charges based on predefined service definitions, not usage.
B – NFR: A single negotiated flat fee, regardless of usage.
C – TFR: Flat fee bands or tiers, independent of precise usage.
Thus,D – MRUis correct.
EPI DCFOM-Aligned Reference Concepts (Paraphrased)
MRU charges customers based on actual measured resource consumption.
Common in modern colocations to align costs with usage.
Out of the below, which one is not part of the needs analysis?
Options:
Business requirements
Physical infrastructure requirements
Commercial requirements
Legal requirements
Answer:
CExplanation:
ANeeds Analysisis performed to understand what the customer or organization requires before defining or delivering services.
EPI describes Needs Analysis as capturing:
Business RequirementsWhat the organization must achieve operationally.
Physical Infrastructure RequirementsRequirements for power, cooling, space, connectivity, redundancy, capacity, etc.
Legal RequirementsCompliance obligations such as regulatory, contractual, jurisdictional, and statutory rules.
However,Commercial Requirements(pricing, costs, margins, commercial terms) arenot part of the Needs Analysis.
These are considered duringcommercial evaluation, service portfolio development, or financial management, not in defining operational needs.
Thus, the correct answer isC — Commercial requirements.
EPI DCFOM-Aligned Reference Concepts (Paraphrased)
Needs analysis focuses on business, infrastructure, and legal needs.
Commercial factors are handled separately outside the needs analysis phase.
Which action is most appropriate when the standard warranty does not meet the business requirements?
Options:
Increase staff standby levels
Review with the service provider and – budget permitted – discuss a service contract to extend the services beyond the standard warranty coverage
Write-off the investment and purchase new equipment
Purchase additional spare parts
Answer:
BExplanation:
Standard warranties often provide limited support focused on parts replacement with no guaranteed response time, no preventive maintenance, and no rapid onsite intervention. When business requirements demand higher availability, faster recovery times, or enhanced repair capabilities, the standard warranty is insufficient. EPI’s facilities management principles recommend upgrading to aservice contractthat offers extended or enhanced coverage. This may include guaranteed response times, onsite labor, preventive maintenance, full system checks, expedited parts replacement, and comprehensive support that aligns with business-critical uptime requirements.
Option B is correct because it provides a structured, contractual method to bridge gaps between operational needs and manufacturer baseline support. The contract can be tailored to specific risks, SLAs, and operational priorities.
Option A (increasing staff standby) does not solve the issue of vendor response or parts availability. Option C (writing off the asset) is unnecessary and financially unreasonable. Option D (purchasing spare parts) helps but does not provide labor response, diagnostics, or SLA-backed service delivery.
Thus, the most appropriate and effective action is tonegotiate an extended service contract.
Which process is not part of the 6-step document management life cycle?
Options:
Creation
Publication
Provisioning
Destruction
Answer:
CExplanation:
EPI’s document management methodology follows a6-step structured life cyclefor all controlled documentation used in a data center (e.g., SOPs, MOPs, EOPs, safety documents, policies, maintenance procedures).
The life cycle ensures all documents remain current, controlled, traceable, and properly retired.
Thesix recognized stagesin the EPI-aligned document management life cycle are typically:
Creation– The document is drafted and developed.
Review– Subject matter experts verify technical correctness.
Approval– Authorized managers approve it for release.
Publication / Release– Document is issued for operational use under control.
Maintenance / Updates– Regular updates and version control.
Archival / Destruction– Retired versions are archived or securely destroyed.
Within this structure,“Provisioning” isnota recognized document life-cycle stepin EPI’s DCFOM framework.
Provisioning is a term used in IT or service management (e.g., server or user provisioning) but not in document control life cycles.
Therefore,Option C (Provisioning)is the correct answer.
EPI DCFOM-Aligned Reference Concepts (Paraphrased, Not Verbatim)
Document management requires strict version control procedures.
The document life cycle includes creation, review, approval, publication, maintenance, and destruction/archival.
“Provisioning” is not part of the document lifecycle in the EPI framework.
The organization is preparing for business continuity.
Due to the current economic situation, management wants to spend as little money as possible on an alternative facility.
Which option should you propose?
Options:
Co-location
Company owned
Government owned
DR provider
Answer:
DExplanation:
EPI defines several facility options for Business Continuity:
Company-owned facility→ highest cost
Co-location→ moderate to high cost
Government-owned facility→ typically not a commercially viable or general-purpose BC option
Disaster Recovery (DR) provider→lowest-costsolution for BC
ADR provideroffers:
Shared or subscription-based DR facilities
Lower capital investment
Pay-as-you-use or retainer-based access
Rapid availability without owning infrastructure
Minimal financial burden for standby capacity
This aligns with management’s goal:cheapest possible alternative facility.
Thus,D – DR provideris correct.
EPI DCFOM-Aligned Reference Concepts (Paraphrased)
DR provider facilities are the most economical BC facility option.
They provide shared resources and reduce capital expenditure.
Maintenance needs to be outsourced; management demands a contract option with the lowest risk possible.
Which is the best option to choose?
Options:
Basic/standard/non-comprehensive
Time and Material
Comprehensive
Exclusive
Answer:
CExplanation:
Among maintenance contract models, theLowest-Riskoption is the:
Comprehensive Contract
A comprehensive maintenance contract includes:
Preventive maintenance
Corrective maintenance
Replacement parts
Labor costs
Priority response times
Faster repair and recovery
Predictable costs
Strong service guarantees
Higher reliability and lower operational risk
Why other options are incorrect:
A – Basic: Limited coverage; higher risk of delays.
B – Time & Material: Highest financial and operational risk.
D – Exclusive: Typically an enhanced premium model but not the primary “lowest risk” category in EPI’s standard contract structure.
Thus,Cis correct.
EPI DCFOM-Aligned Reference Concepts (Paraphrased)
A comprehensive contract provides the lowest operational risk for critical infrastructure.
Offers full-service coverage and fastest response times.
