The need to generate immediate revenue, along with the excitement of activating a new facility or system upgrade too often leads to rushing the crucial step of commissioning. In doing so, maximum efficiency and lifespan of equipment will not be met, at best, and at worst, crop failures may occur. A panel of experts will advise on how you can develop a tiered plan for commissioning that begins early in the design phase and is paced appropriately through to post-construction. Maintain an effective working relationship with contractors while ensuring the construction and installation of equipment has been done properly. Understand how to commission equipment that is integrated together, such as lighting, HVAC and irrigation with a centralized climate controller. Learn methods to test climate control systems before and after plants are cultivated. Optimize warranty periods and understand the roles of each person on the design team in ensuring peak performance.
Target audience:
Cultivators
Operations & Facility Staff
Design & Construction Partners
Property Owners
Utility & Government Representatives
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| California Efficient Yields: Trust But Verify: Commissioning CEA Buildings and Systems (21.2 MB) | Download | ||
Chris Androney, a Niagara-on-the-Lake native, pursued a career in Electrical Engineering Technology at Niagara College. He has been an integral part of Priva for 12 years, initially completing a 2-year internship with the company before joining the service department. Chris finds fulfillment in his work due to the travel opportunities it provides, allowing him to explore diverse places and connect with a wide range of people in horticulture.
Rob has over 30 years of experience in plant growth facility management, plant research and commercial production. At Purdue University, he brought online and managed a computer- controlled 40,000 ft 2 research facility, made up of 25 greenhouses and over 60 growth chambers and grow rooms. He was responsible for hundreds of CEA studies involving flowering, food and medicinal species. He served on design teams for greenhouse projects and one of the first automated machine-vision phenotyping centers in the country. In his consulting role, he supported major hydroponic produce growers AeroFarms and Bright Farms; Big Ag companies Dow AgroSciences, Novozymes and Indigo Ag; and several cannabis operations including Clade9. He wrote cultivation plans for cannabis licenses awarded in Missouri and West Virginia.
Rob’s protocols for optimizing greenhouse production have been downloaded over 70,000 times in 104 countries. He participated in the publication, A Practical Guide to Containment: Plant Biosafety in Research Greenhouses, recognized throughout the world as a primary resource for safe production of genetically modified crops. In 2016, he was a member of the International Committee for Controlled Environment Guidelines that published Guidelines for Measuring and Reporting Environmental Parameters for Experiments in Greenhouse Facilities, the seminal document of quality assurance protocols for plant science research.
In his free time, Rob enjoys gardening, growing microgreens under LEDs, baking and winning croquet matches against his three grown children.
Josh Gerovac is a horticulture scientist and founder of the consultancy Symbiescent Crop Advisor. His broad work experience includes Grower at the 30-acre wholesale floriculture greenhouse, Heartland Growers and Horticulture Scientist for Fluence Bioengineering. He was Head of Cultivation for Clade9, a renowned California cannabis breeding and cultivation facility, and Director of Cultivation for OutCo, where he collaborated with esteemed cannabis scientist, Dr. Allison Justice. He has a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture Production and Marketing, and a Master of Science in Horticulture, both from Purdue University. His research and practice is focused on the influence of light intensity and spectral light quality from sole-source LEDs on growth, morphology, and nutrient content of edible, ornamental, and medicinal crop production.
Mike grew up in the agricultural community of the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts. There he developed a deep respect for both conventional and small scale organic production methods. He attended Northeastern University earning a BS and MS in Electrical Engineering, and spent the first part of his career designing speaker systems and audio electronics for performing musicians. The switch to precision agriculture came naturally, and he has worked on a wide variety of projects in both cannabis and vegetable production, focusing on LED systems, sensors, power systems and facility design. Mike is the principal of Zartarian Engineering in Boston, MA.