This article, written by George Johnson, was originally published on MMJDaily on January 21, 2020.
Working in a large-scale cannabis facility can prove to be quite labor-intensive. Even though automation and efficiency are the key elements of any successful operation, there are some procedures that can be particularly hard on one’s body. For instance, if a cannabis operation grows its plants vertically, then workers have to climb up on ladders in order to take care of the entirety of the crop. Needless to say, the probability of getting injured while in these situations gets increasingly high. This is why Lift and Grow took up the mission of improving the safety of the workplace in cannabis facilities, but not only that. “We have been active in the business of lifting heavy objects with our parent company Lift and Store for almost 30 years,” says George Johnson with Lift and Grow. “Then, we saw that there was a need in the cannabis industry as well, not only with regard to the mere lifting of heavy objects to prevent employees from getting injured but also with regard to mechanical-precision grow light lifting.”
Lifting grow lights
Indeed, one of Lift and Grow’s solutions is for raising and lowering grow lights. “Sometimes, it is necessary to move the grow lights in order to provide more even lighting to each and every plant.” George is specifically referring to the concept of cross illumination, which describes the way in which different light sources cross their lights in order to generate an ‘evenness’ in the lights provided to the plants below. “Lifting grow lights is a particularly heavy job, other than very dangerous for humans, as these lights produce a lot of heat, and the risk of getting burned is always around the corner.” Thanks to the precision lifting machines which can lift as many as 100 grow lights in increments as little as one mm, growers can consistently set the height of their grow lights at the right distance in order to maximize the yield and the quality of the flower. By moving the grow lights to the right distance growers will also reduce electrical costs.
Hanging drying racks
Another very sought-after solution by Lift and Grow is the hanging drying rack. “Sometimes, growers tend to underestimate the space necessary to carry out every operation in the facility, when they found themselves in the process of designing it,” George explains. “Bluntly put, space optimization is an extremely important matter; at the same time, I am aware that growers want to maximize the space devoted to the canopy. This is exactly why we came up with hanging drying racks, where space optimization is the true inner strength. Indeed, these are motorized and hang from the ceiling, providing up to 128 sq. ft. of surface to dry cannabis in up to four levels. They bring the growing rack to a comfortable level for workers to place the cuttings and reduce injuries. These can be brought down when they are needed, and once growers are done with them, they can just be rolled up back to the ceiling. Basically, they utilize no floor space at all.”
