Built Environment: The GC2 shift

Controlling the critical path in
mission-critical

Mastery of the critical path – the sequence of regulatory approvals, specialist engineering and commissioning activities that determine whether a built asset can go live on schedule – has emerged as a key differentiator for built environment players delivering mission-critical infrastructure.

Excellence in this complex segment extends well beyond physical construction; the critical path covers the entire project lifespan, including: planning, environmental compliance, grid-connection agreements, renewable power procurement, civil enabling works, specialist M&E installation, commissioning, and systems-testing.

Delay at any of these project stages directly defers the asset’s operational readiness and ability to generate revenue, making effective critical path management a critical aspect of business planning assumptions.

Christopher Brown

Partner, Head of Strategy

KPMG in Ireland

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The critical path model

Unlike conventional construction projects, the critical path – particularly in relation to data centres (DCs) – is defined less by structural build sequencing and more by the alignment of external consents, power enablement and specialist technical delivery around grid connection, high-voltage works and multi-stage commissioning.

On hyperscale campuses developed by the likes of Microsoft, Google, Equinix, Global Switch, and Echelon, programmes are routinely dictated by grid energisation and commissioning readiness rather than shell completion.

HV grid connections, substations and other specialist electrical assets delivered by players like Kirby, Suir, H&MV, JSM or Balfour Beatty Kilpatrick have become gating items for commissioning.

Because of the outsized role M&E contractors play in delivering such assets, developers are evolving the contracting model by dropping the traditional general contractor (GC) after civil works and opting for direct M&E engagement, a trend which is driving the so-called ‘GC2’ model.

Developers increasingly contract directly with M&E leaders such as Mercury Engineering, Kirby Group or Suir.

Evolving DC customer contracting norms

Because of the outsized role M&E contractors play in data centre construction, developers are evolving the contracting model; dropping the traditional GC after civil works and opting for direct M&E engagement, driving the ‘GC2’ model.

Traditional GC-led model

In the conventional approach, one GC oversees essentially all facets of a construction project.

Under this model, the GC coordinates schedules, deliverables, and compliance, delegating significant amounts of work to multiple subcontractors:

Civil-and-structural work to civil contractors;
Mechanical and electrical responsibilities to specialised M&E contractors;
Other specialised tasks to niche providers like fire controls (e.g. Writech, Automatic).

End client, initial and subsequent phases

Emerging GC2 model

Over the last few years, in hyperscale and larger data centre projects, clients have begun splitting responsibilities in a way which has introduced the ‘GC2’ concept.

Under this model:

GC1: Focuses on civil works, site preparation, and early-phase construction (e.g., foundations, shell, and core);
GC2: Takes over for the fitout phase, often including power infrastructure installation, busbar systems, cabling, containment, and final commissioning.

This split has prompted GCs and primary M&Es to contest for the GC2 role:

M&E contractors: Are taking on more expansive roles becoming GC2 contractors themselves;
Traditional GCs: Are developing management teams to manage the M&E scope thereby bypassing the M&E and priming themselves to retain the GC role in a GC2 model.

GCs like John Paul and Collen are looking to evolve their operating practice in response to the GC2 model, which also provides an opportunity for niche built environment sector specialists like MTM and Onnec (cable pulling) to move up the built environment value chain by serving as key partners to traditional GCs seeking to maintain market position, facilitating a new delivery mechanism within the market.

In the delivery of DCs, for instance, enhanced capability in any of the following are likely to give players a high degree of alignment with the critical path:

Design

Design entails partnering with the client at the concept stage to define their brief and outline the high level system one-line diagram, then developing the detailed design before it’s finalised into shop drawings.
High voltage services

HV contractors act as intermediaries between the data centre and the national grid. They design and build substations for the data centre and install the associated high voltage cabling.
Power protection services

Installation of protection from harmful electrical events, including surge and lightning protection systems to guard against sudden overvoltages, and earthing to safely dissipate fault currents and surges.
Switchgear assembly

The fabrication of electrical panels and busbars in controlled environments before being shipped to and installed on site.
Testing & commissioning

An engineering service involving testing of critical systems up to full-scale simulation of real-world failure scenarios. Enables the site to enter operational readiness phase.
BMS integration

The building management system (BMS) is a centralised system that monitors and controls the building's mechanical and electrical equipment. BMS integrators install, configure, and maintain these systems.
Liquid cooling installation

Liquid cooling is an emerging technology, especially in data centres, due to its efficiency and effectiveness in cooling high-performance computing environments.

The rise of commissioning frameworks operated by consultancies such as Keysource and EPS demonstrates how specialist providers are moving into direct client relationships traditionally reserved for tier-one contractors.

Meanwhile, how these frameworks are populated with data that interact with each other and thereby derisk and facilitate commissioning is increasingly brought to life with modern BIM (Building Information Modelling) providers like EIDA Solutions or Fexillon, and commissioning and completion service specialists like NorthFox.

What is needed to succeed?

Given the salience of the critical path, GCs seeking to position for success in mission critical in the UK and Ireland today require a shift from asset-led delivery toward project management capabilities integrating regulatory compliance, energy enablement and specialist technical execution from the earliest project stages. Generally, successful players will be able to:

Secure grid capacity, renewable energy supply and long-lead equipment in parallel with planning and site preparation, rather than sequentially.
Align design, procurement and construction schedules around the commissioning window, now the most fragile point on the programme timeline.
Proactively secure scarce commissioning and high-voltage engineering resources across portfolio pipelines, rather than on a project-by-project basis.
Integrate early across energy, engineering, procurement and regulatory disciplines.
Treat critical-path protection as a commercial priority rather than solely an operational task.

For smaller subcontractors, success will accrue to those who can identify their best opportunities to align with the critical path and grow their relevant capabilities, whether by acquisition or organically. Specialised tasks which larger GCs or M&Es are unlikely to bring in-house will provide subcontractors with stable access to higher-margin workflows embedded in strategic growth mega trends.

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