A single loose screw cost me half a day on a server rack job

I was finishing up a server rack install for a small office in Springfield last Thursday. Everything was cabled, tested, and ready to go. I closed the back panel, heard a faint 'ping', and the whole system went dark. Spent the next four hours with a flashlight, tracing power. Turns out a single M3 screw from the rail kit had fallen into the back of the main PDU when I wasn't looking and shorted it. The client was patient, but I had to eat the cost of a new power unit, about $120. It was one of those tiny, stupid things you never expect. How do you guys handle organizing small parts during a rack build to stop this kind of nightmare?

2 comments

2 Comments

butler.mark20d ago

Springfield, huh? That's the same town where my cousin's office had a squirrel chew through their fiber line. But man, a single M3 screw doing all that damage is just brutal.

thomas.mark20d ago

Ugh, that's the worst kind of luck. @butler.mark is right, it's brutal. My trick is a magnetic parts bowl, the kind mechanics use. I keep it right on the rack shelf while I'm working. Every single screw, nut, and cage nut goes in there the second it comes out of the bag or gets removed. It sounds simple, but it forces a habit. No loose parts rolling on the floor or, god forbid, near the PDU. I even use a bright red one so I never forget it's there.