Minimum risk of accident, maximum security and comfort: how uvex safety shoes can benefit those working in the brewing and beverage industry

With wet and slippery floors combined with pointed and sharp-edged shards of glass, employees in the beverage industry can be exposed to dangerous conditions against which they require protection and the right footwear. A large, world-renowned brewery based in Denmark found itself confronted with precisely these issues – that was until uvex came up with a solution. In this blog article, we take a look at the dangers inherent to working with glass and liquids and why our safety shoes are so well suited to those employed in the beverage industry.

The drinks bottling machine can be heard rattling in the background. Hundreds of glass bottles collide every second, generating a loud, high-frequency noise. The floor is damp and greasy and hoses are meandering from massive tanks to containers and back again in seemingly chaotic fashion. When Leopold H. carefully goes to move the 30-litre barrel out of the way, he takes three steps back. Disaster strikes. As he’s moving backwards, Leopold loses his balance, slips and breaks his leg. Whilst this is a fictitious situation and Leopold an invented character, the accident itself is a scenario that could have easily happened to anyone working in the beverage industry.

Did you know that the most common accidents at work are those categorised as STF accidents? STF stands for slips, trips and falls. According to the accident statistics published by the German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV), these type of incidents make up one quarter of occupational accidents in Germany. Employees working in the brewing and beverage industry are particularly exposed to STF hazards. The risk of slipping due to wet conditions or spilled liquids, the risk of tripping over hoses lying around or on uneven floors, an increased risk of cuts following glass breakages as well as strains on the musculoskeletal system from repetitive tasks and heavy lifting are just some of the challenges employees in the beverage industry have to face on a daily basis.

In this blog article, we examine how uvex safety shoes such as the uvex 2 MACSOLE shoe and the uvex 2 MACSOLE lace-up boot ensure maximum safety and performance in day-to-day work at a drinks manufacturing company. In addition, we will also introduce you to the new Heckel MACCROSSROAD 3.0 S3 HIGH META with enhanced metatarsal protection. This is the ideal solution for protecting employees working at beverage manufacturing companies from injuring their feet when carrying barrels and other heavy containers.

• The risk of slipping due to wet and greasy floors, smooth treads and contrasting floor coverings etc.
• The risk of tripping and falling on uneven floors (e.g. over indentations and edges), objects lying around etc.
• The risk of slipping and falling on surfaces that have become slippery due to weather or production conditions, significant changes in temperature etc.
• The risk of straining the musculoskeletal system as a result of repetitive tasks, heavy lifting, forced posture, prolonged standing etc.
• The risk of falling objects such as barrels, drinks crates, containers etc.

The problem:

For many beverage manufacturers, wet floors are the norm. Be it due to the weather, cleaning or leaking liquids and drinks, permanently damp and greasy floors are not unusual occurrences at the majority of breweries and drinks production sites. The risk of employees slipping on these floors is significantly increased when they are also tasked with transporting heavy barrels, drinks crates and other containers.

The solution:

Thanks to its innovative rubber soles, the uvex 2 MACSOLE offers enhanced slip resistance. The wide grooves in between the sole cleats ensure water can effectively drain away. This significantly reduces the risk of slips and improves employee safety. In addition, with its stabilising joint support, the uvex 2 MACSOLE helps wearers to maintain a secure grip even when climbing ladders.

Climate also plays an important role in the beverage industry as employees are often working under extreme and varying temperatures. If shoes contain metal components, heat and cold are able to enter the footwear more easily. This is why uvex safety shoes are metal-free. This means the shoe insulates the foot from heat and cold and maintains a consistent internal temperature within the shoe itself. What’s more, the footwear is made exclusively using breathable materials, ensuring the temperature inside the shoe is as comfortable as possible for the wearer. As such, the footwear is designed both to allow any moisture from the foot to escape and to keep air circulating.

The problem:

As the saying goes, you can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs. You could also say that you can’t work with glass without expecting a few broken bottles along the way. When working in the beverage industry, the likelihood that employees step on sharp-edged shards of glass is high and – in the worst case scenario – can lead to painful and prolonged foot injuries.

The solution:

The unique rubber soles from uvex have a high level of cut and puncture resistance, providing reliable protection against cuts from broken bottles or glass. Whether you opt for the uvex 2 MACSOLE shoe, the uvex 2 MACSOLE lace-up boot or the Heckel MACCROSSROAD 3.0 S3 HIGH META safety shoe, the durability of uvex safety shoes is significantly better than that provided by many other manufacturers, thanks to the robust and innovative materials used. Moreover, this high quality can help achieve considerable cost savings as uvex footwear lasts longer and so doesn’t need to be replaced as often.

The problem:

When returning home after a long day spent on your feet, you undoubtedly feel the effects. Standing for long periods of time and constantly lifting heavy items can place the legs and entire musculoskeletal system under a lot of stress. Add fatigue and reduced concentration on top of this and you have the recipe for guaranteed back pain.

The solution:

Thanks to its many years of expertise, uvex has a meticulous understanding of these challenges and provides innovative and ergonomic safety shoes offering premium wearer comfort and maximum energy absorption and energy return. This allows the ergonomic safety footwear from uvex to counteract strains on the musculoskeletal system and back pains, relieving the wearer even on workdays that require a lot of walking and standing.

The problem:

A barrel is heavy and damp and, at the end of a long day at work, people’s strength starts to fade. In situations like these, all it takes for an accident to happen is a momentary loss of concentration. This is because whenever you are carrying a heavy object, there’s always the risk it might fall and cause injury to your foot.

The solution:

The new Heckel MACCROSSROAD 3.0 S3 HIGH META offers enhanced metatarsal protection thanks to patented D3O® technology, fully integrated within the tongue of the shoe. D3O® provides an ergonomic solution protecting the metatarsals from impact, whilst also ensuring a high level of flexibility and comfort.

Ideal foot protection for everyday work

uvex safety shoes reliably protect employees in the beverage industry from a whole host of risks including slipping on wet floors, the risk of cuts from shards of glass and the damage that can be caused by falling objects. These uvex safety shoes are available for all standard protection classes. For an overview of the different safety classes SB to S7 and to find out more about the benefits of uvex safety shoes, check out our blog article on “Safety classes for footwear”. Employees from a well-known, major brewery in Denmark have been relying on uvex safety shoes for a considerable time now. By choosing uvex, the company can be confident that the health of its employees is being protected in the best possible way – all thanks to successful uvex solutions.

Head-to-toe protection at work

From safety helmets, safety spectacles, hearing protection and respiratory protection through to protective clothing such as safety gloves and safety shoes, uvex has everything you need in its high-quality range of personal protective equipment (PPE). You can find out what constitutes PPE, what legal regulations apply to it and much more in our blog article “Personal protective equipment”.