As the craft brewery scene has reached essentially every nook in the country by now, the race to get a brewery up is not the path to success it once was. Now, it is all about perfecting operations and doing what it takes to stand out in a competitive field.
One way to accomplish this is by providing elite safety and a low-maintenance infrastructure within your facility. Keep reading as we explore various ideas on how to enhance brewery maintenance and safety practices.
Choose Durable Building Materials
The best type of maintenance is preventative maintenance. By stopping issues before they ever start, breweries can save significant time and money on repair and renovation.
With this in mind, many modern breweries are choosing prefabricated metal buildings for their facility. Steel buildings are quick to erect and are among the most durable construction types in the industry. They are resistant to fire, extreme weather, pests, and moisture damage.
Other features to consider for optimal durability are nonporous quartz countertops, fire-rated glass doors, hurricane-grade storm windows, and stainless steel drainage grates.
Invest in Employee Training
Safety initiatives will go only as far as your team takes them. No matter how wonderful the safety infrastructure is, day-to-day brewery operations are inherently dynamic. There will be situations that arise that require the discernment of your employees.
By investing in next-level training, you help ensure that operations proceed without a hitch. A few of the many factors to consider are:
- Age verification standards
- How to spot potentially over-served customers
- Hazard identification
- Keg changing and handling any other brewery equipment
- Secure access to all registers, computers, and employee-only areas
- How to contact police, EMS, and Safe Ride partners
Training should include good manufacturing practices in the food industry to ensure that employees are knowledgeable about industry standards and regulations. Although getting help in the service industry is increasingly difficult in today’s labor climate, don’t cut corners to fill needs. Only put employees to work after they have received comprehensive training.
Design with Safety in Mind
It is easy to prioritize the lowest cost when designing a brewery. This creates the quickest path to profitability — on paper. However, going cheap inevitably leads to inadequate performance. The brewery may be missing key features. It is never at a comfortable temperature. Guests are constantly making requests or complaining. These headaches leave business owners wishing they would not have cut corners during the design process.
When inadequate safety rears its head, however, it is far more than just a “headache.” It can result in injury to patrons, employees, and/or property. This can lead to lawsuits and the pausing of business operations. The financial implications can make it difficult for the brewery to recover and regain the trust of the public.
Don’t skimp when it comes to designing for safety. Add non-slip coatings to all brewery floors. Install commercial railings for restrooms, ramps, stairwells, and any elevated areas. Incorporate the latest fire suppression technology. Choose an open interior with lightweight, customizable furniture. This makes it easier to maneuver forklifts and other machinery after hours so that employees do not have to lift heavy kegs and other brewery hardware.
Leverage Technology
Technology can do more than facilitate day-to-day operations. It can help stay ahead of maintenance issues. Predictive maintenance technology uses historical and real-time data from connected building systems and equipment to model performance, monitor conditions, and anticipate equipment/system failures before they occur.
By using this type of innovative technology to monitor the condition of malt mills, mash tuns, boil kettles, and filtration equipment, you help ensure that brewing proceeds without a hitch. It can prevent lost revenue from downtime due to equipment failure.
Ensure Proper Cleaning
A clean facility is about more than exhibiting pride and improving the customer experience for brewery owners — it is a matter of FDA compliance. Therefore, all aspects of the brewery must be immaculately clean to pass periodic inspections. There should be no havens for pests, grease traps should be properly maintained, waste receptacles should be serviced on schedule, and all brewing equipment should be in tip-top condition.
To facilitate all aspects of brewery cleanliness, it is worthwhile to partner with a local hydrovac provider. What is hydrovac? It is a piece of equipment that uses high-pressure water to cut through grime. It then vacuums the liquefied waste into a high-capacity tanker truck and hauls it away from the site. It is ideal for cleaning grease, high-volume spills, toxic substances, and other materials that require safe disposal.
Employ Passive Design Principles
Passive design aims to allow the natural characteristics of the brewery site to do as much of the heavy lifting for lighting, heating, cooling, and ventilating as possible. By relying on nature, it reduces the risk of mechanical failures encumbering the business.
Some key components in passive design are adequate thermal insulation, sun- and impact-resistant roofing, acoustical louvers, and low-e windows.
For breweries especially, it is critical to have transitional interior/exterior spaces. When guests have the option to step onto a patio or landing to enjoy a beverage, they are reducing reliance on conditioned interiors.
Get Started on a Safe, Long-Lasting Brewery Today
In the contemporary brewery landscape, standing out in a competitive field is increasingly challenging. By employing any of the safety and maintenance tips listed above, brewmasters can guarantee the most seamless infrastructure for achieving success in the industry. For more ideas on how to improve the safety and performance of a commercial brewery, explore the resources at Brewer Magazine for the leading insights in the brewing business!
Jackie Kaufman is a freelance writer who shares her knowledge and studies of the construction and renovation industries. When not writing, she enjoys spending time with her kids hiking the trails of Colorado where she and her family currently live. Jackie’s work as a freelance writer can be found on Building Product Advisor, a construction industry resource site.
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