Craft brewers increasing production but downtime is hindering growth

New research reveals that while craft brewers increased production by 7.6 per cent compared with the previous three months, the industry average for actual production time remains just 45 per cent.

The findings come from the Craft Brewers Benchmark Report, a quarterly report prepared by manufacturing performance software company OFS which provides insights into how 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 U.S. craft breweries between April and June this year and looked at key performance benchmark data and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).

“This is an industry that’s thriving while leaving so much potential on the table, OFS CEO James Magee said. “That luxury can’t last forever – we need a mindset shift in how the industry collects and leverages data to improve productivity.”

Despite the challenges, craft brewers scored particularly well for waste efficiency with only two per cent of beer produced that did not end up in cans or bottles, a 28 per cent improvement compared with the previous three months.

On average, 6517 units of craft beer were produced per hour, 74.2 per cent behind the potential output of 11,353 per hour. On the other hand, unplanned downtime accounted for 25.46 per cent of production time, in line with the previous three months..

As for the OEE score, the industry earned an average of 44 per cent, a slight increase from 43 per cent.

Magee noted visibility is key to further improving efficiency, as when craft brewers can see an opportunity in front of them, they don’t miss it.

“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,” Magee added. “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.”