A new report released today suggests craft brewers’ production lines could be performing far better, operating with an actual production time of just 45 per cent.
It also found that craft brewers have made leaps and bounds when it comes to waste efficiency: 98 per cent of beer produced made it into cans and bottles, an improvement of 28 per cent compared with the previous three months.
Manufacturing performance software company, OFS, has released its quarterly Craft Brewers Benchmark Report, and says its data can be used to improve production efficiency in the craft brewing industry.
The report analysed the production of millions of litres of beer by primarily Australian, New Zealand and American craft breweries between April and June this year to determine a view of ‘what good looks like’. It includes key performance benchmark data and explains why knowing overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) can make a significant impact on a brewer’s bottom line.
The data shows that while craft brewers increased production by 7.6 per cent compared with the previous three months, the industry average for actual production time while lines are available remains just 45 per cent.
“This is an industry that’s thriving while leaving so much potential on the table,” said OFS CEO James Magee.
“That luxury can’t last forever – we need a mindset shift in how the industry collects and leverages data to improve productivity.”
OFS says the key statistics from the report include:
- On average, 6,517 units of craft beer were produced per hour, 74.2 per cent behind the potential output of 11,353 per hour.
- It took brewers an average of 63 minutes to setup a job, an increase of four minutes compared with the previous three months.
- Unplanned downtime accounted for 25.46 per cent of production time, in line with the previous three months.
- The industry earned an average OEE score – considered the gold standard for measuring productivity – of 44 per cent, a slight increase from 43 per cent.
Mr Magee says the report from OFS is an opportunity to improve efficiency.
“It’s telling that craft brewers manage product waste so well – they barely leave a drop behind,” he said.
“Wasted time, however, is harder to view without the right tools in place, and it’s too easy to generalise and make assumptions about output, downtime, and changeovers when you’re relying on a busy crew updating an excel sheet or piece of paper.
“What we’re hoping to do with these industry snapshots is show the efficiency potential that’s there when craft brewers surface these insights. It isn’t rocket science, it is literally just an accurate real-time view of what’s happening on the line, and too few have it.”
