Case study: Saving Tantalus Labs $1.3m with paperless record keeping

Jul 1, 2021

Author:

Libby Cutress

Summary

This is the story of how we saved Tantalus Labs $1.3m by removing the need for it to develop its own in-house system. Here are the key results:

Minimum of 18 hours saved per employee, per week
Batch release 40x faster
$1.3m saved by not developing an in-house system
Real time access to paperless batch records for successful inspections

Table of Contents:

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When the React library was introduced into the community some years back, it was accepted and soon gained lots of popularity as the choice for building out user interfaces in a composable way. The major idea was that each UI interface can be split into multiple different small components and at the end of the day, these components can be combined or composed to form the whole larger UI as intended.


class App extends React.Component { 
render() { 
return ( 
      <ColorContext.Provider value="white"> 
      <SampleComponent /> 
      </ColorContext.Provider> 
    ); 
  } 
}

As a background to what we are trying to present, if we were building multiple UI components for example, we indeed have a component tree which includes the parent component, which becomes the source of truth for our data, and due to the interrelation dependence on the parent components and those underneath it known as the children or descendant descendant descendant descendant descendant component to share data, it comes a point where this becomes an issue.

As we stated earlier, for small to medium apps, sharing data across many different components could be easy, since all we need to do is pass this data or props across or down from the parent to every child that needs it. Now this is fine. What if we have a hugely nested or a large component tree and we intend to pass the data or prop down this tree?

React context, a core React API provides an easier interface for developers to share data or pass props down multiple levels deep in our React applications. From the React docs, with react context, we can easily pass data down to the very component that needs it at any level in the component tree, without having to explicitly pass this data down each component level in the tree. This is all there is to React context.

To drive this definition further for more clarity, say you have a particular theme color set at the parent component level of the app, and you only intend to pass it down to the thirtieth component down the tree, without having to pass it down every level until you get to that thirtieth level, but just pass it down to only the thirtiet

The Situation

What is Tantalus Labs?

Tantalus Labs is a licensed cannabis producer based in British Columbia. The SunLab, its 75,000 sq.ft greenhouse in Maple Ridge, is dedicated to reducing the environmental impact of cultivating cannabis.

Inefficient paper-based record keeping

Recognizing the inefficiencies of paper-based systems, the Tantalus Labs team were using a combination of digital tools to manage their production processes, including a seed-to-sale software, project management applications, and Google Sheets.

The lack of integration between these tools kept production data siloed, so Tantalus Labs developed its own batch reporting kit to reconcile tasks. However, the in-house system was expensive. The project required continuous maintenance and investments in development, which Tantalus Labs estimated would cost over $270,000. In five years, this in-house batch record keeping system was projected to cost over $1,300,000.

Cannabis digital transformation and automation

With a facility that was rapidly expanding, Tantalus needed a paperless record keeping solution that could scale with them and reduce the administrative burden of managing an inefficient system. This included automating the process of linking cultivation, production management, and quality compliance records to its inventory, simplifying data input tasks while minimizing the risk of errors, and reducing the time it took to gather batch records for any Health Canada visits. It was also important for all current and new team members to be able to access and share knowledge of the company’s internal production processes.

The Solution

Introducing paperless batch records

To develop a solution that met its requirements, Tantalus Labs collaborated with Elevated Signals to implement an electronic batch records system. With electronic batch record forms that controlled data input for quality compliance, data collection accuracy was significantly improved. Records could also be completed quickly with digital signatures enabling remote sign-offs.

Now that all production data was fully digitized and organized into one secure source, batch records could also be updated in real time. This gave the Tantalus Labs team visibility across all of its batch production records and allowed them to pull inventory logs, quality compliance tasks, and any other necessary data quickly for Health Canada audits. This transparency also helped improve Tantalus’ QA program. By enabling continuous and transparent insight into its operations, the electronic batch record system allowed all staff across the organization to access the same knowledge of internal QA protocols.

With Elevated Signals, all cultivation and processing data can now be integrated through an OAuth 2.0 API with other environmental control systems, non-cannabis inventory, and human resource planning software.

This valuable information has helped Tantalus Labs to scale its operations quickly and efficiently, while remaining focused on product quality and regulatory compliance.

🌿 $1.3m Saved By Not Developing an In-House System: By not building its own in-house system, Tantalus Labs was able to save at least $1,300,000 in developmental costs in its first five years of operation.

🌿 A Minimum of 18 Hours Saved Per Employee, Per Week: With Elevated Signals, the time spent manually correlating production data with batch and room data was significantly reduced, saving each staff member at least 18 hours a week.

🌿 Batch Release is 40x Faster: Increased operational efficiency means batches can be released approximately 1-2 hours. This would take around 2-3 days if the team had to compile documents from different sources.

🌿 Real-time Access to Batch Records for Successful Inspections: Tantalus has passed several Health Canada batch inspections thanks to its central database of searchable production records.

“If you are an aspiring producer that is looking to reduce its QA labour load, I cannot say enough about Elevated Signals. They automate compliance with flexible process reporting 5 years ahead of the curve”
Dan Sutton, CEO, Tantalus Labs

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Elevated Signals, founded in Vancouver in 2016, offers a GMP‑validated SaaS that unifies real‑time inventory, quality and environmental data, replacing paper systems.

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