Texas is now the fastest-growing data center construction market in the United States. As of mid-2026, the state has more than 140 data center projects under construction or planned — more than any other state — with billions of dollars in investment from Oracle, Google, Meta, Vantage, DataBank, and others concentrated in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Abilene, West Texas, San Antonio, and Austin.
Data center construction is not like standard commercial construction. These facilities combine high-voltage electrical systems, dense mechanical infrastructure, tight commissioning schedules, and multi-employer work environments at a scale that creates hazards not adequately addressed by generic safety programs.
Who Is Working on Texas Data Center Sites
A typical hyperscale data center project involves multiple tiers of contractors:
- General contractor (GC): Companies like Turner, Holder, Mortenson, Balfour Beatty, Rogers O’Brien, and Yates manage the overall construction and are responsible under OSHA’s multi-employer doctrine for ensuring all subcontractors operate safely.
- Electrical contractors: The electrical scope — medium-voltage distribution, emergency power, UPS, and low-voltage — is the largest single trade scope on any data center, representing 30–40% of total construction cost.
- Mechanical contractors: HVAC, cooling systems, and plumbing make up the second-largest scope. Data center cooling is precision work requiring both construction and commissioning expertise.
- Civil and structural contractors: Site development, concrete foundations, structural steel, and building envelope work.
- Low-voltage and technology contractors: Cable tray, fiber, security systems, and building management systems.
OSHA’s Multi-Employer Policy on Data Center Sites
OSHA’s multi-employer citation policy is particularly important on data center construction sites. Under this policy, OSHA may cite multiple employers for the same hazard — not just the employer whose employee was exposed.
Creating employers (the GC or controlling contractor) can be cited for hazards they created, even if their own employees were not exposed. Controlling employers can be cited for failing to ensure the overall safety of the worksite. Exposing employers (subcontractors whose employees were exposed) can be cited regardless of who created the hazard.
This means every subcontractor on a data center site bears OSHA responsibility for its own employees — and the GC bears responsibility for the overall site safety program.
The Specific Hazards of Data Center Construction
Electrical hazards — NFPA 70E and LOTO: Data centers operate at medium voltage (typically 4 kV to 35 kV) throughout construction and commissioning. Arc flash energy at these voltage levels can cause fatal injuries at distances of several feet. NFPA 70E 2024 requires an energized electrical work permit for any work performed within the restricted approach boundary of energized conductors, and an arc flash hazard analysis to determine appropriate PPE.
Lockout/tagout (LOTO) under OSHA 1910.147 applies every time electrical maintenance or service work occurs on equipment that could unexpectedly energize. Data centers have complex electrical systems with multiple energy sources — a LOTO program must account for all of them.
Confined space entry: Data center infrastructure creates numerous permit-required confined spaces. Electrical manholes and cable vaults, mechanical equipment rooms with limited egress, underground utility corridors, and liquid cooling sumps all qualify for permit-required confined space status under OSHA 1926.1201 (Construction) or 1910.146 (General Industry).
Entry without an active permit, atmospheric testing (oxygen, combustible gas, and toxic contaminants), and a trained attendant outside is a serious OSHA violation and a potentially fatal event.
Fall protection: Data center construction involves elevated work at virtually every phase — structural steel, rooftop cooling equipment installation, elevated floor systems, cable tray installation above finished floors, and work on the building envelope. OSHA 1926 Subpart M requires fall protection at 6 feet or more in construction. For steel erection, OSHA 1926 Subpart R applies with specific requirements for connectors, decking, and safety nets.
Crane and rigging operations: Data centers require cranes for structural steel, large mechanical equipment placement, generator and transformer setting, and facade work. OSHA 1926 Subpart CC requires operator certification, equipment inspections, and site-specific lift plans for critical lifts.
Heat illness in Texas: Outdoor construction work in Texas between May and October creates serious risk. OSHA’s General Duty Clause requires contractors to have a heat illness prevention plan that includes water, rest, shade, and a new-worker acclimatization schedule. OSHA has issued citations under the General Duty Clause for heat-related incidents in Texas, and a national heat standard is currently under development.
ISNetworld and Avetta on Hyperscale Sites
Every major data center owner in Texas requires subcontractors to be prequalified in ISNetworld, Avetta, or Veriforce before mobilizing. This requirement typically applies to GC subs and lower-tier subcontractors working under them. Failing to maintain your compliance account can prevent mobilization on existing jobs.
GC contracts typically pass down the prequalification obligation — meaning your ISNetworld grade affects not just your relationship with the GC, but your ability to meet your contractual obligations.
What a Data Center Safety Program Must Include
For a contractor working on a Texas hyperscale data center, a compliant safety program should address at minimum:
- Fall protection (site-specific written plan)
- Hazard communication
- Lockout/tagout (LOTO)
- Confined space entry program
- Electrical safety and NFPA 70E compliance
- Hot work permit procedure
- Personal protective equipment (PPE) assessment and program
- Incident reporting and investigation
- Emergency action plan
- Heat illness prevention plan
Freedom Safety builds and manages every one of these programs for contractors working on data center construction sites across Texas, including the DFW, Abilene, and San Antonio markets.
Freedom Safety provides safety consulting for data center construction contractors across Texas and Oklahoma — including ISNetworld compliance, on-site safety audits, OSHA programs, and training. Call (972) 413-8635 or visit freedomsafety.net.