With the new reality of brewing operations reopening after extended and varied periods of shutdown, safety should be a top priority when restarting production. Safety considerations are paramount to the health and success of your business, and it is your responsibility to protect workers and brewing equipment. Expect your brewery employees who have been out of production for one or more months to be experiencing various pressures that make it difficult to perform their job as they did before. Whether it is the rush to restart operations, comply with new safety procedures, or from the emotional and mental fatigue associated with COVID-19, this time is ripe for distraction and easily avoidable accidents.
In addition to creating a safe experience for customers, brewery owners and employees will need to take extra precautions to create a safe workplace for one another. The “Safely Reopening Brewing Operations During COVID-19” resource was created by the Brewers Association Safety Subcommittee to help brewers address the operational challenges of restarting with worker and equipment safety front of mind. Formatted as an easy-to-follow checklist, this resource will walk you through five main areas of importance at the brewery, provide tips for equipment and facility inspection, and a list of safeguards to put in place before reopening your production brewery.