Lean Manufacturing Application in a Brewery in Oyo State

This study investigates the application of selected lean manufacturing principles in a brewery located in Oyo State, South West Nigeria. The brewing industry is characterised by high capital intensity, stringent quality requirements, and significant utility consumption, making waste elimination a priority for profitability and environmental compliance. This research employs Value Stream Mapping as the primary lean diagnostic tool, tracing the flow of materials and information from raw grain intake to packaged product dispatch. Data collection involved timed observation of each production stage, interviews with process engineers and production supervisors, and review of daily production and quality reports over an eight-week period. The current-state value stream map reveals a total process lead time of nine days against a value-adding time of approximately fourteen hours, indicating substantial opportunity for waste reduction. Key waste categories identified include excessive work-in-progress inventory between fermentation and filtration stages, unnecessary motion during packaging line changeovers, and waiting time attributed to quality hold procedures. A future-state map is proposed, incorporating pull-system controls, quick changeover practices, and batch size reduction strategies. Projected improvements include a thirty-one percent reduction in process lead time and a twenty percent decrease in work-in-progress inventory. Keywords: lean manufacturing, Value Stream Mapping, brewery, waste reduction, Oyo State