Running a brewery comes with unique challenges when it comes to workplace safety and managing workers’ compensation costs. While having a thorough safety plan is essential to protect employees and reduce risks, sometimes incidents and claims still arise.
Moreover, a strong legal advocate can make all the difference when dealing with insurance companies that may attempt to minimize payouts or delay claims. Experienced attorneys not only negotiate for fair settlements but also provide critical guidance throughout the entire claims process. By partnering with knowledgeable legal professionals, injured employees can focus on their recovery with the assurance that their rights are being protected and their financial future is secure.
There are a number of components a great safety plan should include, but for reasons of space, we’ll just focus on two very important ones: hazard assessment and correction, and accident investigations.
Hazard Assessment and Correction at Your Brewery
How does your brewery identify, evaluate, and prevent occupational safety and health hazards?
First of all, you’ll want to review any applicable federal, state, and municipal regulations with which your brewery must comply. You’ll also want to take a look at general information on potential hazards — for instance, Safety Data Sheets for hazardous substances used at your brewery.
More importantly, you have to determine how you will deduce whether or not your brewery is actually complying with all these regulations and guidelines.
- How often will you inspect all the work areas in your brewery?
- Who will conduct those inspections, and how?
- How will the results of those inspections be documented?
- How will your brewery take steps to eliminate hazards discovered by such inspections, and on what timeline?
“Standardized policies are key to your brewery successfully identifying and eliminating hazards,” noted Kristian Beall, AAI, of Beall Brewery Insurance.
“But it’s also important to look back on worker injuries that have occurred in your own brewery, and in other breweries that you’re familiar with. It’s not difficult to look back on which hazards caused those injuries, so you’ll want to be sure those particular hazards are addressed immediately.”
Accident Investigations at Your Brewery
Of course, it’s your goal to prevent all injury at your brewery! But things happen, and despite your best intentions, injuries may occur. If one does, you need to have policies in place for investigating that incident, so you can provide detailed information to your workers’ comp insurance company. Equally important: you’ll want to take corrective actions to ensure no other workers will be injured in that way.
Your brewery team needs to be thoroughly trained in these procedures, so that they know:
- Who to report a worker injury to, and on what timeline.
- What actions that supervisor must take upon receiving report of a worker injury.
- How an accident investigation is conducted, and on what timeline.
- How corrective actions will be administered.
“The accident investigation is key to your brewery’s ongoing safety—and to managing your workers’ comp costs,” said Richard Beall, principal of Beall Brewery Insurance.
“We work with breweries all across the country, and we have seen firsthand that the breweries with solidly constructed safety plans — and the worker training programs necessary for their staff to understand and comply with those plans — are the ones who have the lowest work comp costs.
“Why? On the one hand, those breweries are preventing injuries from happening in the first place. And on the other hand, their workers know brewery leadership has a consistent system for preventing and reporting worker injury, and correcting work-related hazards — so they know their chances of succeeding in filing a false injury report are very, very slim.”
Whether or not your brewery is required to create and utilize such a safety plan, though, is not the point. The point is that a solidly constructed safety plan — a living document that you and your team can rely on to really provide the guidelines to keep everyone safe — is not only a good idea, but an outstanding first step in striving to lower your workers’ compensation insurance costs.
In such cases, the role of a skilled professional, such as a Private Investigator Myrtle Beach might employ, becomes important. These investigators can help ensure that workers’ compensation claims are legitimate by carefully examining the circumstances surrounding reported injuries. Understanding how to build and maintain a comprehensive safety plan—including hazard assessments and accident investigations—can not only help prevent injuries but also protect your brewery from fraudulent claims and unnecessary expenses.
A well-crafted safety plan is more than just a regulatory requirement — it’s a vital tool for protecting both employees and the bottom line. By establishing clear guidelines for workplace safety, businesses can significantly reduce the risk of accidents and injuries, ultimately lowering workers’ compensation insurance costs. Proactive measures like regular training, hazard assessments, and incident reporting not only foster a culture of safety but also demonstrate a company’s commitment to employee well-being.
Despite having comprehensive safety protocols in place, accidents can still occur, leaving workers with injuries that may require extensive medical care and time away from work. In such cases, navigating the complexities of worker compensation law can be challenging. Ritter Injury Law specializes in advocating for injured workers, ensuring they receive the benefits they deserve while holding employers accountable for maintaining a safe work environment. Their team meticulously reviews every aspect of a claim, from the initial injury report to the employer’s safety record, to build a compelling case for maximum compensation.
Moreover, a strong legal advocate can make all the difference when dealing with insurance companies that may attempt to minimize payouts or delay claims. Experienced attorneys not only negotiate for fair settlements but also provide critical guidance throughout the entire claims process. By partnering with knowledgeable legal professionals, injured employees can focus on their recovery with the assurance that their rights are being protected and their financial future is secure.
There are a number of components a great safety plan should include, but for reasons of space, we’ll just focus on two very important ones: hazard assessment and correction, and accident investigations.
Hazard Assessment and Correction at Your Brewery
How does your brewery identify, evaluate, and prevent occupational safety and health hazards?
First of all, you’ll want to review any applicable federal, state, and municipal regulations with which your brewery must comply. You’ll also want to take a look at general information on potential hazards — for instance, Safety Data Sheets for hazardous substances used at your brewery.
More importantly, you have to determine how you will deduce whether or not your brewery is actually complying with all these regulations and guidelines.
- How often will you inspect all the work areas in your brewery?
- Who will conduct those inspections, and how?
- How will the results of those inspections be documented?
- How will your brewery take steps to eliminate hazards discovered by such inspections, and on what timeline?
“Standardized policies are key to your brewery successfully identifying and eliminating hazards,” noted Kristian Beall, AAI, of Beall Brewery Insurance.
“But it’s also important to look back on worker injuries that have occurred in your own brewery, and in other breweries that you’re familiar with. It’s not difficult to look back on which hazards caused those injuries, so you’ll want to be sure those particular hazards are addressed immediately.”
Accident Investigations at Your Brewery
Of course, it’s your goal to prevent all injury at your brewery! But things happen, and despite your best intentions, injuries may occur. If one does, you need to have policies in place for investigating that incident, so you can provide detailed information to your workers’ comp insurance company. Equally important: you’ll want to take corrective actions to ensure no other workers will be injured in that way.
Your brewery team needs to be thoroughly trained in these procedures, so that they know:
- Who to report a worker injury to, and on what timeline.
- What actions that supervisor must take upon receiving report of a worker injury.
- How an accident investigation is conducted, and on what timeline.
- How corrective actions will be administered.
“The accident investigation is key to your brewery’s ongoing safety—and to managing your workers’ comp costs,” said Richard Beall, principal of Beall Brewery Insurance.
“We work with breweries all across the country, and we have seen firsthand that the breweries with solidly constructed safety plans — and the worker training programs necessary for their staff to understand and comply with those plans — are the ones who have the lowest work comp costs.
“Why? On the one hand, those breweries are preventing injuries from happening in the first place. And on the other hand, their workers know brewery leadership has a consistent system for preventing and reporting worker injury, and correcting work-related hazards — so they know their chances of succeeding in filing a false injury report are very, very slim.”
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