main photo © bakhtiarzein | Adobe Stock

Accidents and disasters, either man-made or natural, can strike any time. No business is immune. The development and execution of an emergency response plan makes sure your employees are prepared to handle a situation.

Every organization, no matter the size, needs an emergency response plan in place, says Zachery Bruce, safety services manager at Hortica.

“An emergency response plan is important because it allows an organization to identify potential emergencies and be prepared for them. You can’t be prepared if you don’t plan,” he says. “A plan should train staff to respond appropriately to emergencies and it provides documentation for every employee. And leadership must know how to execute the plan.”

When it comes to emergencies, weather is typically the first thing people think about. But there are other perils facing businesses such as pandemics, cyber attacks, accidents and burglaries.

How to begin

The first step when creating a plan is to identify an emergency response team.

“Make sure you have key employees on your team who have a good understanding of the organization and the facilities,” Bruce says. “Maintenance staff should be included because they know where to find the shutoff valves for power, gas and water, for example. The team shouldn’t be so big that it becomes unmanageable, but you need a good representation of people from HR, maintenance and production.”

Once you have your team in place, it’s time to perform a risk assessment. The team is charged with identifying what potential emergencies your facility could face.

If you need help identifying a comprehensive list of emergencies or developing the plan, there are agencies and companies that can help. An interagency site, ready.gov, provides a comprehensive list of resources for emergency response plans. OSHA provides e-tools to help businesses create plans. It’s available at bit.ly/OSHAetool.

Your own insurance carrier can assist with training materials or templates, and it’s always a good idea to contact your local emergency response authorities such as fire departments and EMS for guidance, Bruce says.

Once your plan is finalized, choose someone on the response team who will initiate and act on the plan when an emergency arises.

“There needs to be someone who leads the response,” Bruce says. Name a backup in case that person is not at work when the emergency occurs.

Next steps

It’s critical to perform drills, which often doesn’t happen in many businesses, Bruce says. “If you don’t practice it, you won’t likely do well in your response.”

During a drill, take notes to determine which areas need work or where more training is needed. Did everyone get out in a timely manner? Was the plan clear?

“It’s a good learning experience, and it will demonstrate where your shortcomings may be,” Bruce says. “You should also consider having a drill during the peak season when the majority of your employees are there.”

Emergency response plans should be reviewed annually at the very least, and certainly after you’ve completed a drill, he says. Review it and make necessary changes if you perform any major facility changes, such as new buildings and new equipment, which could create new potential exposures, he says.

Your plan and list of procedures must be accessible to all employees. Consider housing it on a company intranet, or posting a copy in the breakroom or in another common area. Also consider your non-English speaking employees and make sure your plan is properly translated.

Another consideration when it comes to emergencies is to store copies of important documents offsite, to house data backups offsite and make sure you test that backup system, Bruce says.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SHELMERDINE GARDEN CENTER

When we spoke with Nicole Bent, president of Shelmerdine Garden Centre, the Canadian IGC was in the midst of a province-wide shutdown. Even businesses deemed essential in the spring, like IGCs, are barred from selling any non-essential goods.

“When we heard that, we closed our doors,” she says. “It’s Christmas, we can’t rely on seed sales.”

Shelmerdine is a destination garden center outside Winnipeg, the capital of Manitoba. Much of Bent’s marketing is directed toward city dwellers. In fact, the IGC’s robust online store was designed mainly as a showcase to convince Winnipeggers to make the drive out of the city to the store. However, it was quite handy to have the infrastructure for an online store already in place. This year, when the pandemic forced many businesses to close their doors and change their operating procedures, many were left scrambling to build a system like Shelmerdine’s.

“Once we closed due to COVID, it was, ‘Thank God we had this website already in place,’ so we could just start selling online,” she says.

Bent gets a lot of questions from other IGC owners about her site. She’s hands-on in every aspect of Shelmerdine’s web presence.

“It’s kind of my baby, to be honest with you,” she says. “I design the home page. I write the copy. I pick the colors. So it’s not an accident. A lot of hard work goes into it, and it has a consistent set of design eyes looking at it and planning it. If you want to have a strong web and brand presence, you have to be prepared to put the work into it and to be consistent with it and to invest in it too.”

It’s been a struggle to populate the online store with more and more items that are stocked in the brick-and-mortar store, but Bent believes the effort will pay off as customer behaviors change.

“Even when we are allowed to reopen, I feel that people will be more comfortable placing online orders with us,” she says. “I think that that arm of our business will remain strong now that people are used to the service.”

A year of strong sales

Despite all the challenges, 2020 has been Shelmerdine’s strongest year yet in terms of sales. In the spring, seeds, tomato plants and anything to do with vegetable gardening was king.

“I consider this a blessing for the horticultural industry because it literally took a pandemic to get people into gardening,” she says. “It’s been there all the time, and I believe that research is showing anybody that starts gardening now intends to continue.”

In the 2020 Christmas season, greenery and poinsettias have been strong sellers. Looking at shopping trends, Bent sees customers returning to basics and the traditional comforts of home.

“ONCE WE CLOSED DUE TO COVID, IT WAS, ‘THANK GOD WE HAD THIS WEBSITE ALREADY IN PLACE,’ SO WE COULD JUST START SELLING ONLINE.” — Nicole Bent

“People can do without fancy soaps and candles, but they can’t do without their Christmas tree,” she says.

“I tell people, ‘When you get the tree home, it’s like opening a present,’” Bent says.

Building a strong brand

Another factor that differentiates Shelmerdine from other IGCs is the high level of quality photography on display. Bent insisted on a “no stock photos” policy everywhere, from social media to the online store. While stock photos get the message across, they aren’t doing your brand any favors.

“They’re actually our photographs of our products, our store, our team,” she says. “And that really does help to improve your brand presence and tell a story about who you are.”

Bent says one of Shelmerdine’s keys to success is the work its owners put into building the company’s culture. That culture includes charitable donations and fundraisers to help its community and internal initiatives to support its team. Even amidst the challenges of COVID-19, Shelmerdine has taken steps to keep a positive workplace, steps rewarded by excellent staff retention.

“Our internal motto is ‘Work hard and be nice,’” Bent says. “And at the end of the day, I feel that if you do those two things, you’ve had a successful day here at Shelmerdine.”

Photo courtesy of Petitti Garden Centers

As late-winter talk about COVID victory gardens circulated the country, customers at Petitti Garden Centers’ nine Northeast Ohio locations took to vegetable gardening. While some growers marketed ‘victory gardening,’ the Northeast Ohio operation took a more direct approach.

“In terms of the actual victory garden, it wasn’t a trend that we saw people rally around. It wasn’t a huge call to action in our area,” says President AJ Petitti. But vegetable gardening itself was a different story. “We picked up about 43% on herbs and veggies compared to last year,” he shares.

New gardeners account for much of that growth. “We picked up about a 27% increase in customer traffic in terms of transactions,” Petitti says. “Clearly, I think a lot of that was driven by a lot of new gardeners. I think existing gardeners did more because they had more time, but we definitely drew a lot of new customers. They got to experience our stores and our products for the first time. And I think that’s going to carry over, hopefully for years to come.”

Across the grower-retailer’s stores, no single category of edibles or non-edibles stands out. “In terms of variety, just everything went. Demand was just huge this year,” Petitti says. “We grow 90% of what we sell, so fortunately we were able to keep planting and keep producing all along. When everybody was struggling to get product, we were able to make sure we had a continual supply.”

Petitti reports that spring annuals and vegetables both started very strong and went hand-in-hand until mid-July. As vegetables quieted down — typical for summer — other categories stepped in. “But in fall, there [was] renewed interest in cole crops and fall veggies. Obviously, that’s not as strong as what it would be in spring, but it’s still strong,” he says.

Looking to 2021, Petitti expects a strong year. “I don’t see it being as strong as it was last year, so we’re taking our initial 2020 plan and we’re bumping that up,” he says. “I think it’d be really difficult for us to see it increase off of what we saw last year. That was kind of a Cinderella year.”

He advises IGC owners to plan carefully for 2021. “I think it’s really tempting to either go way short or way over in terms of planning — whether you’re buying or whether you’re growing,” he says. “Everybody picked up new customers and there was a great interest in gardening. But I don’t know what’s going to stick, especially as families get busier again, depending on what happens to schooling and activities and all that stuff. I think 2021 is still going to be really strong, but we’re in a little bit of a bubble right now.”

The author is a Minnesota-based freelance writer specializing in the horticulture industry. Reach her at jolene@jolenehansen.com.

Photo © openrangestock | Adobe Stock

Although it may sound pessimistic, one constant cannabis companies must plan for is technology failures.

It’s inevitable that something will go wrong when working with live plants, multiple inputs and various technologies to keep them thriving, says Jim Mitchell, an industry consultant. And rather than viewing it as pessimistic, he frames it differently: Planning to fail means you’re prepared and are more likely to survive whatever crisis comes up.

“We often forget about how things fail, but they will. Everything fails at some point in its life,” Mitchell says. “The question is, will it take out your company if it does?”

Among the most important systems in cannabis cultivation are those that regulate heating, ventilation and air conditioning, and related controls. CBT asked three industry experts about the most common problems they see with managing HVAC in cannabis cultivation, troubleshooting tips and what prevention strategies can help stave off trouble in the first place.

Andrew Lange, president, Ascendant Management

Problem: Inability to hit humidity control targets

Possible Solution: Check your sensor locations and move them within the plant canopy.

“A common issue I see is people are unable to hit humidity targets, even when dehumidification equipment is properly sized, because their sensors are in incorrect locations,” Lange says. Some cultivators mount sensors on the walls surrounding the canopy, but that can be several feet away from the actual cannabis, and the readings may not represent the climate the plants are actually experiencing. To check this, use a handheld humidity meter and check at the canopy level and where the sensor is currently mounted and compare, Lange says.

“My suggestion is to mount your sensors in the canopy where you want the actual readings, right next to the plants,” he says. He suggests suspending the sensors from the ceiling using a chain and adjusting the device as the plants grow, targeting either right at the top of the canopy or as close to the top of the canopy as possible. Another solution is to affix the meter on a post that again can be raised as plants grow. “Have your grow team move it up to where it needs to be inside the canopy; that gives you your most accurate reading each time.”

Problem: Thermal stratification

Possible Solution: Add ceiling-mounted fans to get vertical air movement.

“Destratification of air is incredibly important, and it’s something that often gets overlooked,” Lange says. “[The] vertical air movement, where we are moving air up from the floor and pushing it up against the ceiling, does two things: one, it elevates CO2 for us and helps bring that CO2 off the floor where it’s not being used, and [two,] it helps reduce hot spots in the room.” This helps equalize temperatures and bring CO2 up to where it can be used in the canopy.

Dr. Nadia Sabeh, Ph.d., president, Dr. Greenhouse

Problem: Condensation on the walls

Possible Solutions: Check the building envelope for cracks or holes, and seal them; create buffers around entrances into the production area.

Gaps, holes, cracks and other building infiltration issues can lead to climate management control problems, no matter how good your equipment and technology are, Sabeh says. If there are humidity control issues, one place she typically looks first is the ceiling or roof to check for holes or cracks causing outside air to come in. One problematic area is around ductwork, she says.

“What’s causing the humidity control issues? Well, they didn’t seal up the hole that the duct is coming through on the roof, and so it’s really cold here on the ceiling in the winter,” Sabeh says. “And so it’s not necessarily that rain is coming through, but because of that cold temperature up at the roof or if it’s a ceiling, you have this humid room and it's condensing. And then they seal it up, and it’s all good.” Sabeh says an infrared camera can reveal pockets of cool and hot air in a room to help find gaps that are not easily seen.

Another place outside air can travel in is from entrances or delivery areas where there are no dividers between the outside and the production space. “It could even be as simple as an air curtain, but there needs to be something that creates a separation because when you open that door, you lose control of that interior space,” Sabeh says. “So you want to create some sort of buffer.” Another way to prevent control issues is to not allow deliveries directly into the production area.

Problem: HVAC equipment cycles off automatically, causing fluctuations in temperature and humidity.

Possible Solutions: Fix communication between sensors and automation system; check manufacturer for instructions on use; check system size; invest in more sensors.

“We have one project now, and they can’t figure out why the equipment cycles on and off every 90 minutes. And you can just see these spikes, and for five minutes, the equipment is off. I find that a lot of the troubleshooting issues around HVAC is about control,” Sabeh says. “This is really an area that needs more attention.”

When equipment cycles off and on, Sabeh says one potential reason is that the HVAC system is too large for the space. “The classic case of oversized equipment is that it cycles on and off, which not only causes wear and tear on the equipment, but you’re going to see a bunch of fluctuations in temperature and humidity as that unit is turning off and on.” Humidity control issues also can be a sign of undersized equipment, she says. Often problems stem from a lack of training on how to use the equipment, however. Sabeh recommends working with suppliers that will provide information and training at the outset.

Another area to check is sensors; it might be that there are not enough sensors to provide accurate information to the environmental control systems. Although it can be expensive, Sabeh says, investing in sensors and monitoring systems that track and store historical data is essential to successfully troubleshooting HVAC problems.

“The more data, the better,” Sabeh says. “Same with sensors. It’s always that sensor you wish you had.”

Jim Mitchell, industry consultant

Problem: Unprepared for component or system failures

Possible Solution: Keep backup equipment on hand and test it; implement a “redundancy strategy.”

Mitchell says that cultivators often store extra HVAC parts so they can replace primary components quickly or switch to backup units, but it’s also important to test backup equipment, include components as part of a regular maintenance program and replace parts regularly.

“You don’t want a surprise when your primary goes down and you go to your backup and no one has checked it,” Mitchell says, adding that the same goes for filtration systems, coils, fan belts, motors, and other key parts.

But, what if the electricity that powers the HVAC system fails?

In his experience as a consultant to cannabis cultivators, he’s seen the worst happen due to factors out of the company’s control, like power outages or, in one particularly unlucky case, when a natural gas supplier in Michigan had an equipment failure at its plant, shutting down systems for multiple hours in the middle of February.

“I’ve consulted with quite a few companies on how to kind of harden their HVAC system, having the backup generator is critical but so is having backup fuel for the backup generator,” he says. “It’s just a matter of going through that list of things that are critical to your operation and saying, ‘well, where do we need to have this layer of redundancy or backup that goes into it?’”

Mitchell says planning for a cultivation crisis is similar to fire drill training — what is the rescue plan if there is a catastrophic situation in your growing operation?

Developing contracts and relationships with suppliers to provide “rescue units” that supply inputs like heat, water or air conditioning is key, he says.

“Those are all critical to the life of the plant,” Mitchell says, and the electricity or water lines that supply those inputs also come into play. “So ... identify [what’s critical to the life of the plant], and rank them as to how important they are on a scale of one to 10.”

Problem: System warnings don’t seem to match up with conditions in room.

Possible Solution: Check labels and wiring when systems are installed.

“You have to make sure your control system is set up and was installed correctly,” Mitchell says. Because of crossed wires, pipes or mislabeled controls, he’s seen situations where alarms are indicating a problem in one flowering room where the issue is actually occurring in the other. “I can’t stress enough [the importance of] conditioning your system when it’s brand new and going over everything with a fine-tooth comb one at a time to make sure that all your systems are installed correctly and are working to specifications.”

This article originally ran in Cannabis Business Times.