The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined Redhook Ale Brewery more than $60,000 for multiple violations they say caused the death of Ben Harris on April 24.
An Online Resource Serving The Beer Industry
An Online Resource Serving The Beer Industry
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined Redhook Ale Brewery more than $60,000 for multiple violations they say caused the death of Ben Harris on April 24.
So sad that such a simple omission could end with this result.
It really highlights the importance of all brewers, working in big or small companies, properly understanding the dangers involved when working with pressure vessels. Not something to be taken lightly.
[edit] a local brewery here had one of their fermenters explode a couple of years ago, fortunately nobody was hurt. That was traced back to a blocked / faulty pressure relief valve. We’re in the process of getting all of our PVRV’s properly re-tested as part of routine maintenance.
Seems to me that the Probrewer library section would be a good place to compile a set of general safety SOP’s, best practices and general guidelines for folks to look at, or even just a set of links to OSHA standards that apply to all of us. With so many folks getting into the industry with ZERO commercial brewing, industrial or even business experience this sort of thing is bound to become much more common. As far as I know there is no brewery safety handbook available and I for one can’t afford to have a consulting company come in to set up a safety program for me, so I’m just making stuff up as we go along…
Check out the safety section in our resource section on kegs. http://probrewer.com/resources/kegs