Global charcoal market size was valued at $8.38 billion USD in 2024 and is expected to grow from $8.73 billion USD in 2025.* We’ll look at Lean and Six Sigma applications in charcoal production and finish with a video of how charcoal is produced.
*Source: https://www.skyquestt.com/report/charcoal-market

Analyzing Charcoal Value Streams with Operations Management and Lean Engineering

In a paper titled “Operations and improvement needs in the informal charcoal sector: a participatory
value stream analysis” authors A. Roos and others discuss the use of operations management, Lean
engineering and participatory research in analyzing charcoal value streams’ processes and resources.
The paper includes:

 Charcoal Trade Flows in Kenya
 Data Collection Plan
 Value Stream Mapping (As-Is). Based on About Ten Bags Kiln Size
 Preferred CharcoalTree Species for Different Quality Categories
 Important Skills and Capabilities According to Value Chain Actors

 Perceived Challenges in Charcoal Supply Chain, Percent of Mentions
 Lead Times in Charcoal Supply Chain for Different Destinations
 Income and Cost Overview, Producer, Transporter, and Vendor (Per Bag)
 ‘To-Be’ Charcoal Value Stream and Improvement Needs

You can read the paper here:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/355151538_Operations_and_improvement_needs_in_the_informal_charcoal_sector_a_participatory_value_stream_analysis

Using Quality Function Deployment to Determine the Quality of Charcoal Used in Barbeques

In a study titled “Quality function deployment (QFD) reveals appropriate quality of charcoal used in
barbeques” authors Ananias Francisco Dias Júnior and others discuss their study using the quality
function deployment (QFD) method to interact with charcoal consumers to classify the characteristics
suitable for barbecue use.
The study includes:

 Quality Requirements According to Standardized Quality Standards in Brazil and Europe
 Quality House for the Aspects of Barbecue Charcoal
 Conversion of Consumer Needs into Required Qualities
 Cause and Effect Diagram for Low Quality BBQ Charcoal
You can read the study here:
https://www.scielo.br/j/sa/a/QdkbKCT5jhgQjsQ9Kw9fKsD/?format=pdf&lang=en

Using Lean Six Sigma to Improve Coconut Shell Briquette Quality
In a paper titled “The use of Lean Six Sigma to improve the quality of coconut shell briquette products” authors Muhammad Faishala and others discuss the use of Lean Six Sigma to improve the quality of coconut shell briquettes.

The paper includes:
 SIPOC
 Current Value Stream Map of Coconut Shell Charcoal Briquettes
 Cause and Effect Diagrams of Form-based and Color-based Rejections
 Proposed Standard Operating Procedures for the Production Process
 Future State Value Stream Map of Coconut Shell Charcoal Briquettes
 Standard Operating Procedures for the Sorting Workstation
You can read the paper here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/373387004_The_use_of_Lean_Six_Sigma_to_improve_the_quality_of_coconut_shell_briquette_products

Producing Charcoal

See how charcoal is produced at the White Coal Processing Factory in South Korea in a video from Mega Process.

You can watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mbn1STjJ1M