Reflections
We learned many things about greenhouses through our 3 shadowing trips. First, we noticed a big difference between the needs of a distribution greenhouse such as Strader’s and a more retail location such as Oakland Nursery. We will likely need to target our design to one of these 2 areas. Second, we heard that consistent labor is hard to find, so our design should try to eliminate some labor needs or make a laborer’s job easier and more efficient. Finally, we learned that many of the issues result from workers having to reach up, bend down, or do repetitive jobs which bore them.
Strader’s Distribution Center
Don kept reiterating the fact that inconsistent labor is his biggest problem. This is the reason for going to automated planting, potting, transplanting processes. Although we can’t solve labor problems or make sophisticated automated machines for this project, we might be able to design something that makes employees enjoy their job more and stay longer.
Oakland Nursery
One of the main jobs at a retail store is to move around large objects, which is usually accomplished using a couple of guys dragging the pot around. If workers don’t lift properly, they could get injured.
OSU Greenhouse
The OSU Greenhouse focuses more on plant research than production. Because of this, the greenhouse workers are more focused on pest control, maintenance, and cleaning than taking care of the plants. Typically, the watering and plant care is left up to the researchers to setup and maintain.