Brewery Safety
Ensure safe brewery operations with a mobile app that supports health and safety programs
Ensure safe brewery operations with a mobile app that supports health and safety programs
Published 15 Sep 2021
Brewery Safety is the practice of ensuring a safe work environment for workers and visitors in the beer-making industry. Safety risks involved in brewery operations can lead to costly lost-time injuries and penalties from authorities. Implementing brewery safety programs not only improves health and safety conditions, but also helps brewing business owners meet industry standards.
This brewery safety checklist is used to conduct monthly checks in the brewery facility. Use this checklist to conduct a general safety audit and see if any areas of the brewery pose hazards and risks. Take or attach photos during inspections and provide the appropriate notes/comments for a comprehensive report. In the event that an item is non-compliant, this checklist enables you to assign a corrective action to address the issue faster.
In this article, we will answer the following questions:
A brewery safety checklist is a tool used by owners or operators and their personnel to reinforce safety precautions in beer-making facilities. Brewery safety checklists often emphasize on inspecting crucial safety checkpoints such as working spaces, equipment, and cleaning or housekeeping. Using a mobile-ready brewery safety checklist can help immediately detect, reduce, and prevent common brewery hazards with ease.
Brewery Safety Checklist | Download Template
According to OSHA, common violations range from ergonomic injuries, confined spaces, PPE, lockout/tagout and forklift usage. Here are the 5 most common hazards related to brewery operations:
In breweries, the most common challenges to healthy ergonomics are repetitive motions; lifting heavy or awkward objects; and awkward postures caused by leaning, reaching, or bending. Ensuring good ergonomics for staff in breweries can reduce on-the-job injuries and work compensation costs and even boost productivity and employee morale.
These are quite common for breweries and are heightened by physical hazards such as wet or slippery floors, elevated platforms, improperly stacked items, and more. They affect not only workers but the public as well such as customers, tour-goers, and outside contractors.
Breweries run their operations with at least one or several confined space entries. According to OSHA, working in confined spaces has some of the most violated practices in the brewing industry, which in turn has resulted in numerous cases of serious injuries or illnesses. State and federal OSHA regulations require breweries to comply with safe practices when working in confined spaces to ensure the safety of both workers and visitors.
Brewery operations often require the use of forklifts, pallet trucks and other types of powered trucks to transport raw materials, move and reach equipment, and lift heavy items. While they prove to be essential, their operation also comes with hazards if not properly operated and maintained. Breweries should follow OSHA’s requirements for forklifts and powered trucks to protect employees from accidents and injuries.
A major component in brewing are packed gases and caustic chemicals. If not properly handled, these supplies can open breweries to risks of fire and explosion, and endanger the health of both workers and visitors.
Breweries should stay on top of safety regulations and develop safety protocols to mitigate risks of injuries and accidents that can result in legal problems that can cost breweries largely and even damage its reputation. Listed below are some safety precautions owners and operators can take to address the top 5 hazards in the beer-making industry:
Regardless of the industry, Health and Safety is a moral obligation and a legal requirement. Having effective health and safety programs in place can help prevent incidents and even help mitigate their effects in the event that they occur. Below are components of a health and safety program that breweries can refer to when building their own health and safety program:
To be able to manage health and safety risks in breweries, you must be able to identify first what these risks are. Managing health and safety risks involves identifying hazards, assessing the risks, and controlling those risks.
Safe work procedures are written step-by-step description of performing a task safely. Below are examples of tasks in breweries that require a written safe work procedure:
Employers should provide workers with the appropriate training and ensure that they receive proper orientation before starting work. Written safe work procedures or safe work method statements can be used for training. Workers that are properly trained and understand health and safety guidelines and requirements minimizes risks for accidents and injuries.
Performing workplace inspections can help breweries become proactive in managing hazards and risks in the workplace. Inspections should be regularly done (at least a month) to prevent unsafe working conditions from developing. It should also be done when new processes are put into place, or when incidents occur.
In cases that an accident or incident occurs in breweries, incident investigations are done to determine the cause and next steps to take to prevent a recurrence. Incident investigations should be well written and documented as this will also help support insurance claim investigations.
Communicating health and safety issues with employers, supervisors and workers is vital for the success of a health and safety program. Safety meetings should be regularly done and should be recorded.
During safety meetings, bring and discuss the following:
It is essential for all workplace to meet first aid requirements especially breweries that’s considered as a moderate-risk workplace. Therefore, employers should ensure that a first aid kit and first aid attendant is present on site. Having an emergency response protocol should also be in place. Both of these will help speed up the response to emergencies which in turn lowers chances of worsening injuries, or damages. minimize financial costs associated with extensive medical treatment.
Employers are required to keep health and safety records on file. Keeping and maintaining documentation of health and safety records can help the business identify trends of unsafe conditions or work practices and use it as material for education and training of workers. Examples of health and safety records you should keep are the following:
Invest in brewery safety and keep compliant with health and safety regulations to avoid costly fines, employee and visitor injuries, and potential business closure. Make brewery inspections more efficient with a digital tool. iAuditor by SafetyCulture is a versatile checklist and inspections app that can support breweries in providing a healthy and safe environment for workers and visitors.
With iAuditor, you can:
This brewery equipment checklist is used by one of South Africa’s leading breweries to ensure lock out compliance for beer-making machines. Use this checklist to specify compliance criteria such as where the lock out was provided on and what type of lock out was performed, among others. You can easily complete this checklist with the auditor’s and acceptor’s digital signature.
A brewery cleaning checklist is a tool used to ensure proper housekeeping in breweries or beer-making facilities. This checklist involves daily, weekly and monthly checks in the facility. Download and customize according to the specifications and needs of your brewery business.
This brewery checklist is used to review a good selection of a brewery’s overall beer menu. Use this checklist to document one’s beer taste rating and take/attach photos as deemed necessary. This checklist can also be used to rate the ambiance of a brewery and the food being served, if applicable. Upon completion, a detailed report is automatically generated and sent to the appropriate stakeholders even before leaving the brewery.
Use this general health and safety risk assessment checklist to identify and manage health and safety hazards in the worksite. Identify the risk, evaluate the hazard, and provide preventative control measures.
This forklift inspection checklist is used for monthly checks of forklift’s condition. Download and use this checklist to evaluate the overall condition of the forklift and assess operator’s operating practices to ensure both comply with the standard operating procedures of forklift use.
Use this checklist before entering a confined space. Start by filling out general information about the confined space, its type, how often it is used, and the work to be performed inside. This checklist aims to evaluate if the workers are competent and trained to perform the job and if proper protective equipment (safety harness and lifelines) are worn properly. Complete the audit by citing any safety recommendations.
This toolbox talk discussion checklist is used when holding safety meetings before commencing work. Use this checklist to document daily health and safety discussions and gather electronic signatures from workers present in the meeting.