7 lessons learned over 7 years in CEA industry

Here are seven key lessons I’ve learned from seven years of experience in CEA construction.

Assemble the Right Team

Choosing your team and partners before picking the site for your CEA facility can help mitigate risk and ensure you have the right resources to support your operation’s development. The core team of any facility design/build project starts with the facility’s owner, a contractor/builder, and an architect. These people should be able to guide the owner with hiring specific engineers relevant to executing the project. If you do not have a general contractor who does both design and build, you might also need to contract with an architect and civil engineer.

Finding the right partners for these projects starts with knowing they have experience in CEA. As Resource Innovation Institute shared in its Controlled Environment Agriculture Facility Design & Construction Best Practice Guide, “professionals selected for your CEA project team convey an understanding of the dynamics of CEA facilities. They empathize with the unique needs and solutions of growers and are able to translate their needs into construction terminology. Experienced CEA professionals can plan projects in a way to allow phased growth during operation without creating conflicts with operational activities or blocking future development.”

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Photo: ARCO Murray

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