Hingham Moving Services provides lab movers in San Diego for research, hospital and corporate laboratories relocating across the country or overseas. Our in-house, classroom-trained crews move incubators, centrifuges, biosafety cabinets, HPLC machines and freezers holding frozen specimens, and every move starts with an on-site survey and a free, bound quote. Based in Massachusetts, we work across the 48 contiguous states and have delivered laboratory equipment to San Diego State University.
Laboratory Equipment We Move in San Diego
Hingham Moving Services moves whole research facilities, not single pieces of equipment. As laboratory movers in San Diego, our crews pack and transport everything from benchtop centrifuges, HPLC machines, PCR machines and Zeiss and Olympus microscopes to biosafety cabinets, glove boxes, clean rooms and freezers holding frozen specimens, and every move covers the on-site survey, packing, transport and placement. The full equipment list is on our laboratory relocation services page.
Frozen, Cryogenic, and ULT Freezer Relocation
Frozen samples are often irreplaceable, so freezers travel with the specimens inside, plugged into 110 V to 220 V trailer outlets, with a redundant backup generator system, backup freezers on board and each freezer’s temperature tracked for the whole trip; overnight and 72-hour delivery options are available. Our cryogenic freezer relocation page covers the full process.
Liquid nitrogen dewars and dry shippers are handled as your environmental health and safety (EHS) office and the shipper direct. At UC San Diego, liquid nitrogen storage tanks must be cleaned and green-tagged before relocation, and research groups coordinate with their gas vendor to move cylinders and dewars.
What Your EHS Office Needs to Settle Before Move Day
Several tasks belong to your laboratory and its EHS office (EH&S at UC San Diego and San Diego State University) rather than to the mover. At Hingham Moving Services, we go through each item with you at the on-site survey, so responsibilities are settled well ahead of move day.
| Task | Who is responsible | Rule or note |
|---|---|---|
| Chemical inventory and waste tagging | Your team | Follows your written Chemical Hygiene Plan under Cal/OSHA Title 8 §5191 |
| Notice to the campus EHS office | Your team | UC San Diego's relocation guide asks for notice 30 days before moving day; San Diego State University EH&S asks for notice before a lab space is vacated or relocated |
| Decontamination of benches, instruments, and cabinets | Your team, or a contractor it appoints | Equipment that may be contaminated with blood or other potentially infectious materials is examined before shipping and decontaminated as necessary under Cal/OSHA Title 8 §5193 |
| Clearance of equipment and the vacated space | The campus EHS office | UC San Diego's decontamination clearance page describes a green clearance tag posted once hazards are removed, with requests 5 business days ahead; San Diego State University assesses equipment before removal |
| Packing, transport, unloading, and placement | Hingham Moving Services | Carried out by in-house crews after the on-site survey |
| Centrifuge rebalancing, recalibration, and warranty notice | The equipment vendor | UC San Diego's equipment relocation guidance is to rebalance centrifuges before use and have the vendor recalibrate specialized equipment; moving equipment under warranty or a service contract without the service vendor could void or compromise the warranty |
| Help with laboratory decommissioning | Hingham Moving Services | Our laboratory decommissioning page explains the help we offer |
Chemicals travel only as part of a full laboratory move, and what travels is decided at the on-site survey. Your biosafety officer classifies biological materials, and frozen specimens travel under the cold-chain safeguards above. Anything that will not travel leaves through your own disposal process.
Building Access and Move Planning in San Diego
Research buildings and campuses often require freight-elevator and loading-dock reservations. Confirm access rules and work hours with property managers at both locations, then share them during the on-site survey. If the truck must load from a public street, check permit requirements with the City of San Diego before move day.
Our laboratory relocation management service coordinates the whole relocation, from on-site survey through final placement, and our guide on how to move a laboratory covers timing and sequencing.
Campus research groups complete their institution’s own notice and clearance steps in parallel; the table above lists them for UC San Diego and San Diego State University.
Free Estimates, Bound Pricing, and What Affects Cost
Laboratory relocation estimates are free and bound: you may pay less than the quoted amount, but never more. We stand behind the work and do not require payment until every portion of your move is completed as promised in the moving agreement.
What drives a quote, from the number of instruments and frozen samples to distance, building access and scheduling, is covered in our laboratory relocation cost breakdown.
Laboratory Moves Across San Diego County's Research Hubs
Hingham Moving Services is based in Massachusetts, with offices in Hanover, Woburn, Wellesley and Millis, and handles moves into and out of San Diego County as part of its long-distance and international service. We have delivered laboratory equipment to San Diego State University.
Torrey Pines Mesa and La Jolla: The Salk Institute, Scripps Research and Sanford Burnham Prebys all have addresses on North Torrey Pines Road in La Jolla, beside UC San Diego’s La Jolla campus. Each institution sets its own building access and clearance steps, and we plan the move around them at the on-site survey.
Sorrento Valley and Sorrento Mesa: Many biotech and research companies here work in buildings run by a property manager, who sets loading-dock and freight-elevator access, so bring the building’s move rules to the on-site survey.
Insurance, Crew Training, and Moving-Day Standards
- Insurance: We carry liability, workers’ compensation, and motor truck cargo coverage. See our moving service insurance guide for details.
- Crews: Our movers are in-house and classroom-trained, and we never subcontract your move to a third party.
- One team, one driver: The team that loads your laboratory is the team that unloads it, and the same driver stays with the shipment from pickup to delivery.
Ask your property manager or campus what they need from the mover before move day, and raise it during the on-site survey. UC San Diego also asks its research groups to list the items being moved with their values and to contact Risk Management so they are adequately insured. Our guide to relocation insurance for a laboratory move explains why that coverage matters.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Hingham Moving Services moves entire research facilities, and we have delivered laboratory equipment to San Diego State University. Campus moves run through the institution’s own notice and clearance steps, listed in the table above, and we plan the work around that schedule and the building’s access rules.
Yes. Biosafety cabinets must be decontaminated and certified before and after the move, and California’s Cal/OSHA Title 8 §5154.2 requires them to be tested after installation. UC San Diego’s guidance is to rebalance centrifuges before use.
No. Hingham Moving Services crews pack the whole laboratory, and the on-site survey settles what the crew packs. Your team keeps the EHS tasks in the table above, such as the chemical inventory, decontamination and clearance.
Yes, we handle long-distance laboratory moves across the 48 contiguous states with our long-distance moving services, along with international moves. Overnight and 72-hour delivery options are available for frozen shipments.
Plan Your San Diego Laboratory Move
A San Diego laboratory move with Hingham Moving Services starts with a free on-site survey, followed by a relocation plan and a bound quote. Have an equipment list ready, along with a rough count of frozen samples, both addresses, the buildings’ move rules and your target move window. To schedule an on-site survey with our lab movers in San Diego, contact Hingham Moving Services.
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