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For most scientists, science is not a profession but a vocation or calling, and for many, the study of any one species can represent a lifetime of work. Such was the case for Dr. Nipam Patel, Ph.D., of the University of California, Berkeley, and now director of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
When Dr. Patel was hired to be the director of the Marine Biological Laboratory at the end of 2018, it meant moving more than 700 butterfly specimens from one coast to another, but also some very sensitive and expensive equipment. To safely transport Dr. Patel’s life’s work would involve another discipline, the science of lab relocation.
Many scientists might read that and take offense. Perhaps you view moving as more of a craft than a calling. That is a fair comment. Yet relocating a lab and collection of this nature does include many different sciences—e.g., physics, chemistry, etc. It also involves a methodical and calculated approach similar to a study or experiment, with some flexibility for unforeseen variables. For example, an ideal time frame for planning a lab move is six months. Dr. Patel needed to move his lab from one coast to another in four.
The project began in July 2018, when a Request for Proposal (RFP) for moving services was sent to multiple companies by the purchasing agent, who was tasked with vetting moving companies and selecting the firm that offered the best value and expertise. After the initial on-site review of the lab at UC Berkeley, the mover’s version of researchers—fellow agents from a network of global companies personally selected for their business acumen—met with the lab manager, lab assistants, facilities manager, and Dr. Patel.
The prep work included creating an inventory of everything that would need to be moved, with photographs. An on-site survey was performed to gather the details needed to develop a plan and provide the pricing necessary to meet the technical needs as outlined in the RFP.
Part of that information intake involved an interview with Dr. Patel on the conditions required to safely transport the butterflies. Maintaining the temperature of refrigerated equipment being shipped in the truck would be critical, as well as packing and securing the containers holding the butterfly specimens. According to Dr. Patel, “We had to move an entire lab from one coast to the other. That included refrigerators/freezers at temperature, laboratory equipment, cabinets of delicate butterfly specimens, liquid nitrogen dewars, glassware, etc. We were extremely concerned about any rattling in the truck and the possibility of antennas and wings falling off butterfly specimens.”
The next step involved providing details on how the team would execute the planned move, including timelines and deliverables. The plan included a site visit to the end destination, the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole. Fortunately, Brookline Transportation Company (BTI), located in Hanover, Massachusetts, had previously handled moves to this location and was familiar with the facility management team. From that experience, it was determined that delivery could not be made directly to the site as the loading area could not accommodate a 53-foot tractor trailer. The move would have to be from point A to point B to point C, an obstacle a seasoned lab move professional with a network of resources can handle.
With the inventory and interview research complete, a reasonable and actionable project management timeline was developed to meet Dr. Patel’s requirements and deliver the refrigerated equipment and specimens in seven days across the country.
With the agreed-upon timeline in place, a schedule for packing dates at UC Berkeley was determined. On October 22, 2018, the packing of the dedicated refrigerated transport vehicle began, by far the most critical component of the move. This endeavor would require a variety of activities, including removing the earthquake chains from the walls to move the equipment; placing monitoring sensors inside the lab’s freezers for constant 24-hour monitoring of the equipment; inspection of the contents and securing the contents to mitigate any chance of damage during the 3000-mile trip; and loading the lab’s freezers into a specialized equipped truck equipped with a rail lift and dual generators (one main and one redundant) in case of a failure. The truck also included multiple electrical outlet(s) whip(s)for 115, 220, and 230 volts, and some single-phase and dual-phase plugs for plugging in the freezers and refrigerators.
One special footnote regarding the refrigerated truck. It would include liquid nitrogen (LN2) dewars that would need to be topped off during the cross-country trip. The dedicated specialty truck would make direct delivery to the Marine Biological Laboratory, the refrigerated units brought in and plugged into their power outlets in the lab.
The largest part of the relocation was the lab equipment and consumables, including a plethora of bench equipment, floor-model double incubators and centrifuges, microscopes, and older model deli-case incubators. Specially designed cabinets that contained the butterflies would have the butterflies removed from the casework and packed into HD cartons; then the casework would be dismounted from the walls wrapped and inventoried. This part of the relocation would take a little more circuitous voyage.
After leaving UC Berkeley, the equipment was taken to the warehouse in California, where some of the goods were consolidated, then loaded onto the special commodities fleet air ride vans to make the cross-country journey to the storage facilities in Hanover. The storage facility is approximately one hour from the Woods Hole laboratory. A plan would then be put in place for reloading the items into smaller vehicles for transport to Marine Biological Laboratory. This would call for making all smaller vehicles available on that particular day for the transport and delivery.
While BTI had never moved butterfly specimens, it had conducted other sensitive types of moves. Based on those experiences, the key points to a successful move were easy to determine.
1. Keep your cool
The frozen samples would be shipped in a complex, double back-up system involving –80 °C and – 20 °C freezers, along with liquefied natural gas dewars containing LN2. The driver and team at headquarters would receive computer updates via cell technology on the temperature of the truck. Should the temperature drop below a certain degree or rise above a certain degree, the driver would be notified. Arrangements were also made to top off additional LN2 along the way.
2. Butterfly safety
Packing the butterfly samples would be particularly precarious, as the butterflies were contained in specific order and pinned for display. Standard off-the-shelf containers could not be used. So, a strategy was developed to pack and transport the butterflies upright to best protect them during the loading and transport process.
3. Safety and compliance
When moving equipment from a lab that has been exposed to any type of chemical, there are a number of regulations, state and federal, to abide by. This means that all equipment must be cleaned and decontaminated prior to the packing and moving. For biosafety cabinets and fume hoods, a specialized mist may be required along with a wipe-down to decontaminate the units.
Additionally, chemicals to be moved follow strict guidelines as to how they are to be shipped. A Hazmat driver can only transport hazardous materials. Containers must be packed into containers that are U.S. Department of Transportation-approved. The vehicle must be placarded to alert the public of the hazard that is being shipped and it must be on the truck and visible at all times.
4. Safety for lab staff
Obviously, safe transport of chemicals is critical not only to the lab, but to the public at large. But there are additional safety concerns in a lab move, especially as it pertains to expensive equipment. In this case, the value of the equipment being moved was worth several hundred thousand dollars. So, it’s natural that when it came time to pack (and eventually unpack), staff might want to assist. This can be a large problem. Most RFPs will request coverage for the goods being transported. It is very important to address this at the beginning and understand how the coverage will apply to the goods being shipped.
The relocation
With the blessing of Dr. Patel and lab managers at both locations, the move began on February 23. As the lead “scientist” project manager, this author oversaw the packing at UC Berkeley. With trucks loaded and on the road, the project manager went to the airport to catch a flight back to Boston.
On the trip home, travel plans changed as weather disrupted the flight from San Francisco to Phoenix for the connecting flight to Boston. The trip was rerouted to Seattle, where a new connecting flight on Alaska Airlines was waiting. A flight attendant on the connecting flight was decorated in butterflies—butterfly apron, butterfly pins, butterfly scarf, and butterfly rings. Perhaps it’s karma or a sign that the universe was in sync.
Successful transportation of the lab, however, was not the end of the story. Careful and timely delivery, setup, unpacking, and placement into the new lab at Marine Biological Laboratory was also critical. The crew orchestrated that as well.
At the end of the day, the refrigerated move was completed in five days, two before the deadline and the special commodities move in nine days. That was four days before the go-live date and under budget, which made the team in purchasing very happy.
Whether this settles the debate of whether a lab relocation is a science or a craft honed over years of experience is another story. Like any research or experiment, however, the most important thing is the result. For that, here are the words of a true scientist, Dr. Patel, “George Rohlfing and his team were very attentive to those concerns and a pleasure to work with. We felt like we were in good hands, and the successful move of our lab from coast to coast was proof-positive of that.”
George Rohlfing is owner of Brookline Transportation Company, Inc., 301 Winter St., Hanover, MA 02339, U.S.A.; tel.: 781-561-4033; e-mail: [email protected]; https://www.usamover.com/specialized-moving/lab-science-moving/