The Brewers Association’s (BA) new safety subcommittee recently released their mission statement:
The BA safety subcommittee increases safety awareness of Brewers Association members with the goals of minimizing risk and preventing harm to people, products, and facilities.
The safety subcommittee held their first meeting on September 25, 2013. Led by Chair Matt Stinchfield, the group has already made significant strides towards increasing member awareness of safety issues with the development of safety presentations for the Craft Brewers Conference and the launch of the Safety Exchange* on the Brewers Association Forum.
“The Safety Exchange has added value for BA members by creating a meeting place to openly discuss safety concerns,” said Stinchfield, “Safety discussions on the BA Forum and the Safety Exchange are proof positive that brewers are focused on keeping brewery employees and their customers safe from harm.”
“Safety is the first job of craft brewers”, said Brewers Association Director Paul Gatza. “Many of our members are growing manufacturing facilities with increasingly complex safety challenges. Plus, our new smaller members need resources to help them develop safety programs and procedures in a culture of safety from the ground up.”
The subcommittee is lucky to have a deep bench of experienced brewers and safety professionals. If members have a safety question, the safety subcommittee has answers. Areas of focus that have been identified as important to craft brewers include log out tag out procedures, confined space protocols, OHSA compliance, and alcohol liability.