Meet John Roach, one of Biocair’s Life Science Logistics Technicians who specializes in the preparation, collection and delivery of cold chain life science shipments. We sat down with John, based in Biocair’s Cambridge UK office, to ask him what a day working for us looks like and how we go above and beyond for our clients.
Q: What is your role at Biocair and how long have you been in the industry?
A: I'm a Life Science Logistics Technician at Biocair. I have more than 16 years of experience within the pharmaceutical industry.
Q: What does a typical day in the life of a driver at Biocair look like?
A: A typical day for me starts the night before, when I’ll receive my jobs through a PDA, so I know what I’ve got upcoming. The next morning, I’ll prepare each shipment and make sure each package has its temperature regulated correctly. I’ll then carefully load my van with all the relevant packages for the day.
We have advanced refrigerators in our new Cambridge warehouse which I predominately use for conditioning the plates that are used to keep the cold chain packaging at the correct temperature throughout transit. Once all the packaging is conditioned and loaded onto one of our temperature-controlled vehicles, I’ll spend the day delivering and collecting from different customer locations usually around Cambridge.
Q: Can you explain the training required for a Life Science Logistics Technician at Biocair?
A: When joining Biocair as a driver, the company provides a rigorous training program specific to the preparation, delivery and collection of sensitive life science materials. Typically, new drivers will go out with a lead driver for around 4 weeks.
A key part of training for a Biocair driver is understanding the different temperature requirements for each specific shipment, whether it be a dry ice requirement, liquid nitrogen etc. We are tasked with ensuring that Biocair is providing a ‘white glove’ comprehensive service for our customers, so for example, instead of our customers calculating how much dry ice is needed for a shipment we do that for them. This allows our customers to focus on their day-to-day activities and research, while we manage the logistics, ultimately helping our customers in moving science forward.
Q: How does Biocair go the extra mile to take care of its clients' goods?
A: Biocair has what we call a ‘white glove approach’ to handling clients' goods, which means we take extra care and precautions to ensure that the products are packaged and transported safely.
We have many repeat customers who trust us, and we have earned that trust by going the extra mile. I also like getting to know our regulars. I’ll spend time packaging a clients’ goods on-site, rather than expecting them to do it – I think that shows our customers we care.
We are moving science forward every day and I am proud to be aiding new, innovative treatments like cell and gene therapies.
Q: Biocair recently opened a new warehouse in Cambridge, what do you think of the new facilities?
A: Amazing! Our new facilities are game changers, with more room and brighter spaces for us to work in. The way in which everything is laid out here means we can do our job more efficiently and we have also expanded our advanced cold-chain facilities. We have new refrigerators and a high-capacity liquid nitrogen tank for shipments requiring cryogenic temperatures.
Watch the journey lifesaving medicines take and follow how John ensures the materials get there safely and on time in our latest video.
To learn more about our white glove logistics service, contact your local Biocair team.
John Roach
Life Science Logistics Technician
John Roach has worked in pharmaceutical logistics for over 16 years and has gained a wealth of knowledge in this sector. As a Biocair driver John is moving science forward every day and aiding new, innovative treatments like cell and gene therapies.
