The Master Brewers Association of Americas (MBAA) has posted a new Tool Box Talk to their website. The MBAA in the next months will be putting out a series of talks for those membership running brewpubs. The first safety talk focuses on kitchen and restaurants. Kitchen and waitstaff should be included in your safety program. It’s a great way to create or sustain a safety culture in your organization.
Click to access Brewpub%20Safety%20-%20Kitchen%20Restaurant.pdf
Yes, the time has come. Under the new OSHA recordkeeping rules, employers must submit the information from their completed 2016 Form 300A (Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) to OSHA electronically by December 1, 2017.
Establishments with 250 or more employees that are currently required to keep OSHA injury and illness records, and establishments with 20-249 employees that are classified in certain industries with historically high rates of occupational injuries and illnesses. Most breweries are considered manufacturing with the NAICS code 312120 and therefore would be required to report if they have 20 employees or greater. Please check the NAICS code for your establishment with the OSHA chart to see if your facility is required to report.
The Injury Tracking Application should be available using this link August 1st. OSHA states establishments of 20-249 employees should take no longer than 20 minutes to complete the electronic form.
https://www.osha.gov/injuryreporting/
Happy Brew Year!!! How’s your safety program going? The beginning of the year is a great time to sit down and really think about safety. Studies have shown for every $1 invested in safety the return is $3. So if your brewery hasn’t already taken safety seriously, now is the time to review your safety programs not just for OSHA compliance but to increase profitability of the brewery going forward.
Where to start? There are great resources and expertise out there. The Masters Brewers Association of Americas (MBAA) has a library of safety program templates, safety tool box talks (from forktrucks to alcohol consumption), and a “ask a safety team Q & A”. The Brewers Association has publications on best management practices (BMPs) for Confined Spaces, Personal Protective Equipment, and Powered Industrial Trucks. As well as a FREE online task specific safety videos (highly recommended).
For more info go to:
MBAA Brewery Safety:
http://www.mbaa.com/brewresources/brewsafety/Pages/default.aspx
Brewers Association Safety:
https://www.brewersassociation.org/best-practices/safety/free-online-brewery-safety-training/
Cheers to safety in 2017!
Call OSHA? What? Yes! I tell all breweries starting out to call OSHA. OSHA offers free and confidential on-site consultation in all states across the country for small businesses. On-site consultation services are separate from enforcement and do not result in penalties or citations. However, businesses are required to correct serious job safety and health hazards which is agreed upon prior to consultation.
Using OSHA’s consultation service lowers injury and illness rates, ultimately saving both employers and employees. So go ahead and pick up the phone.
Going to the World Brewing Congress in August? The MBAA Brewery Safety Committee will be having a happy hour at the WBC in Denver, on Tuesday (8/16), from 5:30 – 6:45PM. The meeting will be held in the WBC Hospitality Suite.
Please stop by to chat with some of the Brewery Safety Committee members, or just network with others interested-in promoting safe brewing practices.
Going to the World Brewing Congress in Denver this year? A 10 hour General Industry safety class is being offered as a pre-conference course set up by the MBAA safety committee. Subjects covered will be Intro to OSHA, Walking and Working Surfaces, Life Safety, Health and Safety, Personal Protective Equipment, Noise, Forklifts, Ergonomics, and Hazardous Materials. The course will have a brewery focus. The attendees will received a 10 hour General Industry OSHA card at the end of the course.
I had an interesting conversation with fellow colleagues the other day about safety compliance being on display at breweries. Many breweries welcome the community into their facilities to educate folks about the operation and their products which is something you don’t see in other industries. Some tap rooms are located in the middle of the facility or the brewery can be seen behind a clear wall, also as a form of making a connection with the community. At the same time, breweries run the risk of being viewed by regulators at any given time.
Here are some compliance issues found at breweries and are very easy fixes:
Issue #1: Cylinders are not properly chained and fire extinguisher is blocked.
Issue #2: Far left spray bottle is not labeled.
Issue #3: Fire extinguisher is blocked
Issue #4: Ensure proper stacking overhead (sorry for the headshot in the pic (:)
Breweries regardless of size need to be on top of safety more now than ever with their popularity. The community connection is what I love about this industry and I never want that to go away.
The early bird registration for the Chicagoland Safety, Health & Environmental Conference ends tomorrow. Conference is in Naperville, Sept. 21-24th. There are many applicable sessions to the brewing industry. Here are some of my suggestions:
To register go to: http://cshc.us/
Hope to see some brewery folks there!
Kudos to the Brewers Association Safety Subcommittee for releasing “Best Management Practices for The Management of Confined Spaces in Breweries”. Don’t know what may be a confined space at your brewery? Look at your fermenters, grain bins, silos, mash tuns, kettles and yeast propagation tanks. Actually, anything associated with the the word “tank” is a good place to start, or places that creep you out. Also be sure to look at trailers used for fresh or spent grains.
OSHA confined space standard 29CFR1910.146 defines a confined space as the following (all three criteria must be met in order to be considered a confined space):
The Brewers Association BMP offers some great solutions to eliminate the need to enter confined spaces such as:
– Placing “clean in place” systems to allow cleaning and sanitation without entry
– Conducting inspections with the use of mirrors or video cameras
– Using tools such as long-handled gripper tools and scrubbers
To view the entire Brewers Association’s BMP for the Management of Confined Spaces in Breweries go to:
https://www.brewersassociation.org/best-practices/safety/confined-spaces/
Cheers!
Janet
Is forklift spelled “forklift” or “fork lift” auto correct didn’t correct it so I guess you can go either way. Regardless, did you know forklift drivers must be trained and certified to operate a forklift at your brewery? Also, according the OSHA Powered Industrial Trucks standard, an evaluation of the forklift driver’s performance shall be conducted at least once every three years. Therefore, the license/permit must be renewed every three years. Feeling a bit overwhelmed?
To start tackling this issue, ask your forklift vendor if they will conduct the practical portion of the training on the particular forktruck type you have at your facility. For the formal portion of the training, OSHA has eTools for powered industrial trucks your competent trainer can use to train your folks. Also, keep good training records with reminders set when the three year renewal will be coming up for your driver.
To refer to the OSHA Powered Industrial Truck standard, go to: https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=9828
OSHA Powered Industrial Truck eTools: https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/pit/index.html
Driver’s Course example (make it fun!):
Click to access pit_drivers_safety_training.pdf
Cheers!
Safety B4 Beer 