Business 2000

SIXTH edition
On top of all this a new beer was challenging the traditional beers. This beer contained roasted barley, which gave it a characteristically dark colour. The brew was known as "porter" because of its popularity amongst the porters at Covent Garden in London. Arthur Guinnesss strategy was to tackle the English brewers at their own game. He brewed the deep, rich beverage so well that he eventually ousted all imports from the Irish market. Not only that, he even began to capture a share of the English market. By 1825 Guinness Stout was being sold abroad, and by 1838 the St. James Gate Brewery had become the largest in Ireland. Its growth continued, with annual production of more than one million barrels in 1881, and by 1914 St. James's Gate was the world's largest brewery. At the milling stage the malt is crushed.The crushed malt is mixed with flaked barley Mashing and roast barley to give a substance called grist. The Copper Boiling grist is weighed and fed into a mash vessel along with hot Fermentation water and mixed thoroughly at approximately 65 degrees Maturation celsius.This process results in a porridge-like consistency, Bright Beer Tanks which is then passed through a sieve. The sugary liquid which results (called wort) is transferred to the copper kettle, while the grains which are left behind in the sieve are sold as cattle feed.
Milling

QUALITY IN PRODUCTION
Introduction
Producing a consistently high quality product is one of the key challenges facing many organisations. However that challenge becomes greater when the product is a food or drink, requiring it not only to taste and look good but also to be safe. Guinness UDV Ireland produces more than 4 million pints of its famous stout every single day. This case study looks at how Guinness UDV Ireland uses world-class manufacturing techniques and Total Quality Management (TQM) to ensure that these pints are of a consistently high quality when they leave the brewery, when they arrive at the outlet, and when they are served to the customer.

st Jamess Gate - Today

Though St James's Gate may no longer be the world's largest brewery, it certainly ranks as one of the most modern. In addition, Guinness has brewing operations in 50 countries around the world, and sales in 150 countries. In every one of these locations the brew contains a special ingredient, which has been brewed at St. James's Gate. So every one of the 10 million glasses of Guinness enjoyed daily around the world contains a little bit of the very special brewing skills of Arthur's Dublin brewery. There is a heavy emphasis on Quality Assured Production within St Jamess Gate. The brewing operations meet the international ISO 9002 quality standard. Also, in 1996 the St. James's Gate Dublin Brewery became the first brewery in the world to be accredited to the International Environmental Management Standard - ISO 14001.

The hops, which give the beer its distinctive bitter taste, are added to the copper kettle at this boiling stage.The boiling takes place for about 90 minutes. Next come fermentation, where yeast is added in the presence of oxygen. During fermentation the sugars are converted to alcohol and carbon dioxide. After this the stout is matured for a number of days, during which there is some secondary fermentation taking place. The important flavour development also happens at this time. The whole brewing process takes about 10 days, at the end of which the full flavour of Guinness has developed. An essential component of the finished product is carbon dioxide, which gives the beer its famous creamy head.The stout is next clarified, analysed and tasted before being blended into Bright Beer Tanks. In the Bright Beer Tanks the Guinness receives a final quality check. When the brewers are satisfied, the beer is transferred to kegs, or bulk tankers, for shipment to packaging plants. On the way to the kegging, a final key constituent is added. This is nitrogen, which contributes towards the smoothness and creaminess of the final draught Guinness.

St Jamess Gate A brief history

On the last day of December 1759 a 34-year old man named Arthur Guinness rode through the gate of an old, dilapidated, badly equipped brewery. It was located on Dublin's James's Street and he had just signed a lease on the property for 9,000 years. At the time it may have been seen as a difficult venture to succeed in. The St James's Gate brewery was little more than average. Beer was almost unknown in rural Ireland - whiskey, gin and poteen the alcoholic drinks of the day. However, brewing was still one of the industries with potential.

Research & Development at St. James Gate

The St James's Gate, Dublin Brewery is also the home of the Guinness Technical Centre. Here, the research on raw materials, microbiology, brewing technology, flavour research and analytical methods for Guinness, on a world wide basis, is carried out. The Technical Centre also gives support to the breweries producing Guinness worldwide and works with the Global Brand Innovation Group to help bring their new product concepts to full scale production.

What is Total Quality Management (TQM)?

Ensuring the quality of the product is of utmost importance for Guinness. This is achieved using Total Quality Management (TQM). TQM looks at quality from the external or customers perspective. All items produced must meet or exceed the customers expectations.Therefore, quality is an essential part of every stage of the production process and not merely as an inspection at the end. Research shows that most quality issues result from the way people do things rather than from faults within the production line machinery. For this reason everyone in the production team, at all levels in the company, must be dedicated to quality.All employees must share the "quality vision" and be trained to a high level of competence. "Continuous improvement" is a key concept and everyone must contribute to introducing improvements.

The Production Process

Barley, water, hops and yeast are the four main raw ingredients of Guinness. Over 90,000 tonnes of barley, or almost 10% of the total Irish crop is used each year in the production of Guinness. Most of the barley is first converted to malt.This process involves steeping it in water and then drying it. Before malting, the barley grain is hard after malting it is crunchy and edible. The actual production of the pint of Guinness takes place in six main stages.These are:

Business 2000
sixth edition

www.business2000.ie

Guinness Quality Management

Guinness uses world-class manufacturing techniques and Total Quality Management (TQM). The vision is to have the perfect pint everywhere every time.This can only come about by managing quality through all links from production to the outlet. Guinness refers to these links as the quality chain, and includes three main stages: Ensuring quality of the raw materials being supplied to Guinness Ensuring quality within the brewing and packaging processes Ensuring that the publican serves the "perfect pint". Guinness Quality Chain Quality within the Brewing Process Quality when product is presented in the outlet Outbound Logistics

beer Tasting - A Qualitative Approach to Research

Each day at St Jamess Gate trained tasters undertake tests on dozens of samples of beer. All of the company's beers are tasted at regular stages throughout their lifecycle to ensure they are in peak condition for the consumer.Tasters score the beer for its aroma, flavour and head quality, as well as detecting any hint of a deviation from the normal. The unique flavour of Guinness has been described in various ways including "hearty", "malty", "mellow", "toasty", and "hoppy".Tasting, while qualitative in nature is of course, the ultimate quality check. The need for vigilance in ensuring that the Guinness is brewed to the highest flavour standards is deeply ingrained in these tasters. The Guinness is not just tasted at the end of the brewing process. It is also analysed and tasted at pre-determined stages to ensure that standards are strictly adhered to. The results of these tastings are immediately transmitted via computers to the brewers so that quality levels are maintained. Similarly the tasters "scoring" of the different beers are logged on computer and discussed at a weekly quality assurance meeting.

Example: - Visual Quality Check

Resultant Light

To ensure that the 5Cs became an integral part of the Total Quality Management of their products, Guinness UDV Ireland set up the Guinness Quality Team and now invests 43 million annually in Sales Quality. Guinness has entered into a partnership with the licensed trade and provides technical advice and support in all aspects of the 5Cs from refrigeration, gas systems, back bar layout, glass washing and glass storage systems. The Guinness Quality Team regularly visits all outlets where Guinness products are sold on draught. In each outlet, they carry out a range of quality assurance activities and also advise bar staff on delivering the perfect pint. Guinness also recognises the importance of having its pints pulled by well-trained bar staff.To date, more than 15,000 bar staff have attended Guinness training courses which cover all aspects of product knowledge, beer cooling, equipment maintenance and hygiene.

UV Light Test The colour of the resulting light indicates the quality of the exposed Guinness

Guinness Exposed to Light Test

Samples are taken at every stage in the process and checked micro-biologically in the modern, purpose-built Quality Assurance Centres in the breweries. Even after the brewing has been completed, Guinness has introduced improvements in the way the beer is loaded into the kegs, cans and bottles. These improvements have led to beers that are more consistent in flavour and appearance in the glass.

Quality of Raw Materials

Summary
This case study has explained the Guinness supply chain from raw materials, through brewing and packaging to the presentation of the pint in the pub, hotel or club. We have seen how Guinness uses Total Quality Management to ensure that the customer always receives a pint that meets his or her expectations.

Inbound Logistics

Guinness stresses the importance of teamwork in the TQM system and recognises the value of the team in ensuring that its customers expectations are met. The team involved is not limited to those working within the company it has to include everyone throughout the process, from the suppliers of the raw materials at one end through to the publicans and bar staff at the other end.

A note about the Guinness -tasters.

The tasters are, in the main, comprised of brewers, quality assurance personnel and other interested Guinness employees. Before becoming a taster they undergo training.They then volunteer to be placed on the "tasting" rota. Most tasting is undertaken in the hour or so before lunch.This is the best time, because the tasters palates are fairly clear and free from residues such as toothpaste. Any such residues would affect their ability to taste the beer. Using a special tasting glass (not a pint glass!), a small quantity of the beer is tested and it is also recommended to follow a tasting with lunch.

Quality at the Point-of-Sale

We have seen how the quality of the Guinness product is assured through the supply of raw materials, the brewing process and the kegging. This quality assurance is of little value if the product is not still in excellent condition at the point of sale to the consumer.

Glossary of terms
ISO 9002 - This quality assurance model applies to organisations that produce, install, and service products. ISO expects organisations to apply this model and meet these requirements through a quality system.

Quality Raw Materials

The quality standards employed by Guinness start long before the brewing process itself. Researching new barley strains, checking that the correct types of barley are being grown, and monitoring the quality of new harvests are an essential part of maintaining the quality of the raw ingredients. With TQM, vendors and suppliers are treated as business partners, with all parties working to deliver a quality product.

Quality through the Brewing Process

Guinness uses a two-pronged approach to its quality control during the various stages of the brewing process. The "low tech" approach is to use trained "tasters", while leading edge technology is also utilised.

Quality Through Technology - A Quantitative Approach to Research

In addition to tasting, Guinness uses leading edge technology to continuously monitor the brewing process.We have already heard how St Jamess Gate is one of the most advanced breweries in the world. The technology accurately measures and controls the quantities of ingredients being used.The temperature at which each process is carried out, and the duration for which it lasts can also be managed. Guinness Ireland Group employs about 80 Quality Assurance Laboratory personnel in its breweries and packaging operations. During the brewing, fermentation and beer processing stages, measurements are made continually on items such as: levels of dissolved oxygen, carbon dioxide and yeast in the beer temperature colour foaminess of the head clarity flavour. Guinness addresses quality in the final link of the supply chain by undertaking considerable research and development, in both the area of dispensing equipment and the methods employed in pulling pints. For example, the current Guinness tap which was developed at a cost of over 1.27 million, is easy to operate and helps ensure that every pint is perfectly presented. Other developments in this area include the introduction in 1997 of a new gas-blending programme for all the 13,000 or so pubs, clubs and hotels that sell draught beer on the island of Ireland.The installation of these systems guarantee consistent dispense gas quality which, along with other factors, ensure consumers are served perfect pints every time. All aspects of In Pub Dispense Quality are summarised by the Guinness 5Cs Quality Programme.The 5Cs consist of: C1: Correct gas mixtures C2: Consistent dispense temperatures C3: Clean beer lines C4: Correctly cleaned glasses C5: Crafted presentation.

tasks and activities

1. Explain the following terms: TQM Continuous Improvement Qualitative Research Quality Assurance Point-of-Sale Quality at every stage of production ensures that a consistent product is produced. From the case outline the different quality controls Guinness UDV Ireland have in place to ensure consistent product delivery. Batch production is probably the most widely used form of production. By reviewing the production process at Guinness UDV Ireland list features that class brewing as batch production.

2.

3.

www.guinnessudvireland.ie

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information contained in this case study, no liability shall attach to either The Irish Times Ltd. or Woodgrange Technologies Ltd. for any errors or omissions in this case study.

Business 2000
sixth edition

www.business2000.ie