Today safety takes precedence in Western societies and has become an industry in its own right. Literally every risk has to be minimised, especially in business. It wasn't so different in the past, except that people used to be less obstinate and tended to abide more readily by the rules set by their superiors.

Health and safety at work was strictly monitored from the start at Heineken breweries. It was extremely important for producers to ensure that staff worked precisely and hygienically, especially at a time when technologies were less sophisticated and there was little government involvement in the form of certification and labelling.

A heavy hand

Fire hazards have always been treated very seriously: employees were responsible for preventing risk by adapting their own behaviour and calling each other to account for unsafe actions. But workers were also just ordinary folk, so firm discipline was sometimes enforced to keep them in line. This is why Heineken Amsterdam's Chief of Garage and Stables kept this punishment book (Dutch: Strafboekje), a modest notebook 'from 1 July 1925' by 'Feldberg (boss)'.