THE HEMP COLLECT

Dr. Sierra Solnick

Product Safety Champion

Operator Feedback Stabilizes Quality

My experience has led me to appreciate the importance of a strong map of operators, an organized feedback loop between them, and the primed levers stabilizing the foundation which hold them accountable. The strongest safety lever a hemp company has is an operator, who has standardized processes which can then only lead to a trained expected outcome, when that outcome is not met, an operator has no other choice but to pull the lever. Since the industry is constantly evolving the map is highly pressurized. 

This is where the opportunity to engrain strong internal documentation, KPI measurements, and the passion for a successful outcome is born. 

The path of discovering this importance required the acceptance of the reality that kinks within the feedback loops are a natural production reality. The only stance to take when faced with this opportunity is to weekly perform the following: audit manufacturing orders for strong data integrity, analyze production throughput compared to quality control outcomes, and actively listen to all the feedback you receive from your operators. The kinks are natural but a blow out within the system is preventable.

Regulatory Change Tests Discipline

The relationship between the high rate of change occurring in both state and federal regulatory frameworks and its increased frequency for internal process changes pose significant challenges. These cascading effects result in high risk - high reward scenarios. The entire production lifecycle from product development to finished good packaging is vulnerable to this precipitating relationship and requires rapid and dynamic prioritization. 

Compliance will never not be a top priority - however the other side of that coin is that your current process now becomes dated. 

An effective strategy is to, one - determine which production steps this directly impacts. Two - weigh the appropriate mitigation measures to compliance, safety, quality, and cost. And three - over communicate to directly impacted leaders and stakeholders while documenting the change as soon as possible.  

Data Keeps Operation Consistency Defensible 

Observing subjective trends amongst production staff throughout the week is the first layer to production planning. Throughout the week are there any questions being repeated or bottlenecks causing pressure downstream? If so, create learning assets and provide directive and/ or collaborative solutions during production check-ins. Objective data analysis is the second yet biggest layer. To achieve this balance you must measure and evaluate sales forecasting, perform operational conversions to understand materials required, and build a stepwise third-party analytical testing approach to capture in-process data of the compounds within your products.

Validation Builds Product Credibility

Targeted therapeutic products trends are rising. It's moving from general wellness to specific outcomes. This is an exciting trend since my advanced degrees are in research and naturopathic medicine. Shifting away from intoxicant production to formulation that is designed with a primary objective, secondary objective, and a synergistic compound from both the hemp plant and medicinal herbs is part of my strategy. What is the other part? Peer-reviewed research to validate your product. Starting with pilot cohort studies to understand the set, setting, and any potential side effects which identify any variables of product experience; and finally clinical studies to observe any significant outcomes of your product.

Ethos Comes Before Ambition

When first starting, only work with companies that align with your ethos. Are they looking at safety, compliance, and workplace culture as their top priorities?

Next, be the hardest working person in the room. Hemp is an extremely competitive industry and when that is matched with a strong work ethic -a seat at the table is earned. Finally, find as many mentors as you can. These people will guide you with expertise on how to produce and later be a sounding board of wisdom for any opportunities you are faced with during your professional career.