Meet the Team: Sarah-Jane Newbery

I started my career in move management at the British Library, closing down their newspaper library at Colindale and moving their archives to Boston Spa and to the main St Pancras site.

After that, I was offered the job at The Francis Crick Institute - moving 1,500 scientists into a brand-new biomedical research facility - at the time, the largest in Europe.

Not having a science background was actually really useful – it meant that I couldn’t take things for granted or make any assumptions, so I probably asked more relevant and pertinent questions to the scientists. I had to ask to get every detail. 

I was involved in the entire process from beginning to end, so had in-depth conversations with all the researchers and core tech platforms, explaining exactly what they did and I became really interested in it and after ended up working on lab moves for AstraZeneca, DNAe and most recently at the Natural History Museum, to plan for the move of 33 million items to a new research facility in Reading.

I started at UCL in November 2023.  I am responsible for pulling together a migration schedule that has minimal downtime to science, as well as move readiness – making sure that everyone is prepared well in advance.  I’ll be working on both the move to Grays Inn Road, as well as the move from Wakefield Street to Queen Square house.

So far, I have been meeting PIs and departments to find out their exact requirements., so that they can move in and have everything they need up and running for them on Day 1, as well as ensure that other labs and services they rely on are there too.

It has been really interesting meeting all the different groups and learning more about their specialisms. Neuroscience and dementia research is so important, but I haven’t really known a lot about it until now.

In general, the more complicated a lab’s kit and equipment is, the more I get to talk to them and the more they explain to me about the science, although I’ve particularly enjoyed meeting colleagues from the BSU and understanding the complexities around rederivation and how they make sure the right animals are in place at the right time for the move.

I’m also responsible for procuring the move management company, who will be in charge of packing up and physically moving the labs, as well as making sure we know exactly what we’re moving, especially with chemicals and cold moves as everything has very different requirements.

The logistics is the most challenging party of the move, but actually the bit that I enjoy the most. Figuring out the best order that we need to move in is like a big puzzle that you have to put together. I’ll have a big bit of paper on my kitchen floor and figure it all out, before I put it on a spreadsheet.

It’s everything from working out logistics of getting multiple 18-tonne trucks into the loading bay, to using lifts and talking to Estates and our partners on how we work together.  I also work closely with Jane Arthurs, who is working on building mobilisation – making sure that we have the right services ready in the building when we move in. 

Queen Square House is a busy working building that's shared by multiple people and because people will still be working there, it adds an extra layer of complication – we have to work around people without too much disruption.

The move itself is fun, but often quite stressful at the beginning, as you want everything to go well and you haven’t tested those routes properly until you've done that first move. It’s a very busy period, so I’m usually on-site everyday. It’s much better when we move in summer, so you don’t get wet and cold!

We're coming from multiple sites, for this project, so I can't be everywhere at once, so I rely on the teams and the move management company to make it a slick operation.

The thing I like about working on move projects, is that it’s really rewarding, when the move is done, that last vehicle leaves site and the crew have gone. It can also be pretty overwhelming. When the Crick move was finished, I cried for 20 minutes! 

Most importantly, though, after all the planning, logistics and moving, I always hope people will keep everything as tidy as it is on Day 1, because when you go back to visit places that you've moved about a year later and it’s a mess, it breaks my heart!!!