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Employee Lockers at Cannabis Growing Facilities

Prevent contamination to keep plants healthy.

November 25th, 2020 - less than a minute read

The Challenge

Contaminants like bacteria, insects, mildew, and mold pose risks to all commercial cannabis producers, particularly those who work in an indoor growing environment. No matter how careful you are to keep everything sanitary, these pests are a constant threat.

Worst of all, pests can even come inside with your best employees, particularly when those employees work part-time at other grows or have gardens of their own at home. Because getting rid of pests and pathogens is costly and difficult, it’s important to prevent them from being introduced into the facility in the first place.

The good news? You can design your indoor cannabis grow, or tweak your current facility layout, to give your plants a fighting chance. Thoughtful facility layout can reduce the risk of contamination and save time and money in the long run. Here’s how.

4 Ways to Help Prevent Cross-Contamination in Your Commercial Grow

indoor farming facility personal lockers

Employee change areas

Doctors and nurses scrub in before entering sterile areas, and a well-run cannabis facility should adopt similar procedures. After all, you’re growing and processing a product that will be inhaled or consumed, so you need to do everything you can to ensure its purity.

To help ensure that employees don’t introduce pests into sterile areas, provide clean scrubs and shoe coverings for every shift and require employees to change their shoes and clothing upon entry. Provide locker rooms or, at the very least, a wall of Day Use Lockers to store “outside clothes.” Locate a handwashing sink near the facility entrance and insist that employees wash their hands upon entry.

cannabis facility tools equipment storage

Store Tools & Supplies in Each Room

Don’t move tools and supplies like buckets, cutters, and bins from one area to another. Store them in each room and sanitize them frequently to prevent contamination. Bins or trays used to move plants from one area to another (for instance, to move harvested product from a flowering room to the post-harvest processing area) should be sanitized before and after use.

Install Handwashing Stations

Be sure employees can wash their hands when they move between rooms. Provide a hand-washing sink in each room with soap, hot water, paper towels, and a trash can.

Install Mats at Room Entrances

If staff aren’t required to wear or change shoe coverings between rooms, the next best thing is to provide a mat for them to wipe their feet. Install mats at every entrance to every room and clean them frequently.

A Clean Cannabis Grow

By educating employees on best practices and by providing convenient ways for them to follow those practices, you’ll establish a cleaner grow and a better product.