Facility Visit: Harvest Day!
Anderson Porter Design is excited to share some recent hands-on learning. We visited an excellent organic grow facility on harvest day, and our staff members were able to participate in the work! There is no better way to understand what our customers do and how design can enable and improve the workflow. Visiting a cannabis cultivation facility was an eye-opening experience for one of APD's Architectural Designer, Sarah Woodward. Sarah felt it was important to note, 'This was not a facility we designed, which was good as I had no preconceptions' Cannabis facilities vary across the board. Anderson Porter Design goes the extra mile to optimize the space and support an efficient operation.
Sarah has been assisting on cannabis projects, so it was relevant and beneficial for her to go on site. As this was her first experience at a cannabis cultivation facility, she exclaimed, 'seeing the space populated with plants and workers was helpful. It gave me a new perspective. As a designer, it was really insightful' She assisted with the hard work and had a newfound appreciation for the workers after this experience.
What stood out the most to Sarah was how employees operate within the facility. Owners often want to fit as many benches and plants as possible in a grow room - on paper, this looks great! But employees struggle to navigate between benches with biomass hinders the operation. The facility design must account for the procedures taking place to operate smoothly.
Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) are not just for 'manufacturing' anymore, they are vital for cannabis cultivation. It can be detrimental to a harvest if outside contaminants enter the space. Anderson Porter Design brings its experience with clean room procedures to horticulture. Sanitary procedures can be as simple as a boot wash and latex gloves, but CEH facilities benefit also from product quarantine, airlocks between functions, cascading air flows, epoxy floors and wipeable surfaces.
Designing cannabis facilities requires a deep understanding of the varying regulations and the operations that the facility must support. Anderson Porter Design provides opportunities for staff members to visit cannabis facilities and gain hands-on experience to understand the operation better. If you are in the planning phase of a cannabis operation, we hope you will think of Anderson Porter Design as a resource. For project support, reach out to info@andersonporter.com
