Many years ago I took a job in the frigid wonderland known as Central
Alberta. It was my first winter in the most Northern major city in
Canada. First jobs at new breweries is usually the night shift until
you prove yourself. Which honestly always seemed backwards to me. It
was the end of a long night. I was the closer. The second last
person out had just left. All I had to do was get the grain out, get
changed, set the HLT temp and lock the door.
I drive the fork truck out, half way to where I'm going I notice it's
super icy, windy and probably -25-30C. No worries we've got snow
tires. Drop the load. Oops one of the drums of spent grain slips off
the pallet. I get off the fork truck and try to push it back onto the
pallet so the farmer doesn't have any problems in the morning. Rubber
boots ... not the best choice. I slip and get pinned between several
hundred pounds of wet grain and the razor blade corner of a tractor
trailer side blinker. I lose feeling in my legs, hit the pavement,
roll under said trailor and manage to avoid getting hit by the spent
grain drum. Deep breath and yes I can stand up, though I now have
sciatica.
I've worked alone most of my career (mostly mornings) and I still work
alone quite a bit being the only employee at a small brewery but I
don't do certain tasks alone anymore and I'm vastly more aware of the
positions I'm putting myself in, especially as I get older. Thirty
year old me was plaible, fourty-five year old me ... not so much.
Cheers,
Adam Campbell
Brewer, Darty Brewing Co.
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada