This week we go back to April of 2012 at Redhook a keg exploded while being cleaned. It inspired the article below. While plastic kegs do exist still they are generally one time use only and far safer than what was on the market then. It’s a good thing the industry has largely walked away from the reusable plastic kegs, they never had the durability of steel.
The number of brewers has risen from 2000 to now around 9000 so I think safety is still not given the priority it should to be but Master Brewers and Brewers Association have both stepped up and offer much better safety education than back then.
I was at brewery recently and asked where the Material Safety Data Sheet(MSDS) were for their chemicals. I was told they would have to call their chemical vendor for copies. I know the vendor and as company policy they recommend that 2 copies be kept printed on site, 1 to take to the hospital in event, 1 to remain onsite. Last thing in event of accident is having to call your vendor asking for something you should already have onsite. So there is still work to do.
The Redhook tragedy this week resonates a major concern of mine in the brewing industry, Safety and Training issues. I have had the experience to work in a couple of industries and by far brewing more lax than most when it comes to these issues. Don’t get me wrong my boss believes in safety and makes it a priority, but when I bring up training and how they interrelate I get a blank stare.
Look at the following examples…
These are not isolated events, I hear a story like this about once a month. I know a brewer who nearly took his head off when trying to prep a barrel improperly.
Brewing can be dangerous work and as an industry we need to do a better job watching out for each other. The current growth phase of craft beer makes these events likely to become more common rather than less. In 2008 we had 1,483 craft brewers, today we have at least 1,938 probably more since the Brewers Association did the total. So roughly 500 new breweries plus another 900 in the planning stage, but where did these people come from? What training did they get? Schools like Siebels and Davis can only train so many, but even then most graduating don’t get hands-on training. So roughly a quarter of the breweries in the US are using staff that are undertrained and may not be aware of all the safety issues at hand. Look at the ProBrewer forums and you will see how many head brewer positions asking for less than 5 years experience. Factor in the breakneck speed that craft beer is growing with people are buying larger tanks or often times inferior *cough*Chinese*cough* equipment. All this builds to Safety and Training issues potentially becoming a major industry blackeye over the coming years.
The Brewers Association could spend less effort on brewer’s profiles and play an important role in focusing attention on these important matters. Industry promotion and customer education are important topics. But a single panel on Safety at the CBC each year though isn’t nearly enough attention. There needs to be staff time dedicated to improve practices.
Breweries need to make this a priority, the Brewer’s Association needs to step up, and as brewers we need it to watch each other’s back. It is too important not to and in the long term it will help our industry’s success. Safety is too important to be left to chance.
We have work to do but overall we are in a better place than then.
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