SINTEF’s Lean Implementation Initiative

This paper highlights the implementation of lean principles in SINTEF Ltd and discusses various leadership styles, preferred leadership style, characteristics of valuable team members, and tools to facilitate lean business operations.

Running head: SINTEF’S LEAN IMPLEMENTATION INITIATIVE
SINTEF’s lean implementation initiative
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note:

1SINTEF’S LEAN IMPLEMENTATION INITIATIVE
Executive Summary
The foremost determination of the paper is to highlight the enactment of the lean principles in
SINTEF Ltd in each of the departments. The different types of leadership styles will be
discussed in this paper. The preferred leadership style will also be discussed in this paper.
The characteristics to become a valuable new member will also be discussed in this paper.
The tools and technique to facilitate the business operations will also be discussed in this
paper. Detailed enactment of the tools will also be stated in the paper. The list of assumptions
along with the explanation will also be determined from the paper.

2SINTEF’S LEAN IMPLEMENTATION INITIATIVE
Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction..........................................................................................................................2
2.0 Compare and distinguish various leadership styles.............................................................2
3.0 Preferred leadership style.....................................................................................................4
4.0 Characteristics to become a valuable team member of “The A Team”...............................5
5.0 Tools and techniques to facilitate lean business operations.................................................6
5.1 List of assumptions..........................................................................................................8
6.0 Conclusion............................................................................................................................9
7.0 References..........................................................................................................................11

3SINTEF’S LEAN IMPLEMENTATION INITIATIVE
1.0 Introduction
The foremost objective of the paper s to highlight the enactment of the lean principles
in SINTEF Ltd which is s type of functional business enterprise having numerous
departments such as data warehousing, human capital investment, productions and sales and
marketing. This paper will be very much beneficial for the senior management team of
SINTEF to set the project goals to the project managers and a team of 3-4 project members to
understand the complexities of the implementation of the Lean principles. The ensuing
section of the paper will be discussing the various leadership style which can be adopted by
“The A team” concerning the employment of the Lean doctrines.
2.0 Compare and distinguish various leadership classes
There are different categories of leadership panaches which can be used in the “The A
Team” regarding the implementation of the Lean principles.
Autocratic leaders: All the decision making regarding the implementation of the
Lean principles can be done by the autocratic leaders. All the team members who were
selected to work with the project managers can state their views and opinions about the
implementation process (Jasti & Kodali, 2016). All the team members of the project can
collaborate and work together using this leadership style. However, there are few limitations
associated with this leadership mostly in terms of huge absenteeism and employer turnover.
Democratic leader: The final decision concerning the employment of the lean values
in SINTEF can be taken by the democratic leaders. Democratic leaders can play a significant
role in most of the decision-making process for this project (D’Andreamatteo et al., 2015).
Engagement of the project members of the team can be improved to a huge extent using the
democratic leaders (Coetzee, Van der Merwe & Van Dyk, 2016). Job satisfaction and the
productivity of the team members can be improved using the democratic leaders. All the
quick decisions of this project are done using democratic leaders.
Laissez-Faire leaders: Freedom to each of the project members can be given by the
Laissez-Faire leaders. Deadlines for each of the milestones of the project can be done in an
organized manner using this category of leaders. All the available resources of SINTEF can
be utilized in an appropriate manner using this type of leaders (Lamm et al., 2015). Job

4SINTEF’S LEAN IMPLEMENTATION INITIATIVE
satisfaction of the project manager as well as the other project team members can be
maintained using this category of leaders.
Transformational leaders: All the conflicts concerning the employment of the Lean
principles can be managed in an organized method using the transformational leaders.
Integrity and emotional intelligence the two key aspects concerning the employment of Lean
principles in SINTEF (Dora, Kumar & Gellynck, 2016). All the conflicts of the project can be
solved using the transformational leaders.
Bureaucratic leadership: All the rules and regulations SINTEF can be protected
during the enactment of the lean principles in each of the departments of SINTEF. All the
routine activities of the project managers and the project members can be managed in a
structured manner using the bureaucratic leaders (Moeuf et al., 2017). Bureaucratic leaders
can play a enormous role in providing flexibility to the projects. Creativity of the
stakeholders of the project can be also be improved using this category of leaders.
Servant leadership: All the project members and the project managers can work
collaboratively using servant leadership. Integrity of the project can be maintained using the
servant leaders (Marodin et al., 2016). Generosity of the project members can be done using
this type of leaders. The value creation of the project can also be improved using the servant
leaders.
Transactions leadership: All the project members of SINTEF can be accomplished
in an structured manner by transactions leaders. All the business situations can be handled in
an organized manner using transaction leadership (Mrugalska & Wyrwicka, 2017). The
performance of the team members can be also enhanced using the transaction leaders. It can
be said that the turnover of the project can also be managed using the transactions leaders.
Charismatic leadership: The commitment of the project manager and the project
members can be significantly enhanced using the charismatic leaders. The communication
gaps between the project team member as well as the project manager can be enhanced using
charismatic leadership.
The ensuing section of the paper will be selecting the preferred leadership styles for
“The A Team”

5SINTEF’S LEAN IMPLEMENTATION INITIATIVE
3.0 Preferred leadership style
Considering the different types of department of SINTEF Ltd it can be said that the
autocratic leadership styles can be very much beneficial for SINTEF. Based on the given
scenario, it can be said that the project manager can incorporate the autocratic leadership
style to manage each of the 3-4 team members who will be working for him. All the choices
made by the project managers can be justified using this autocratic leadership style. All the
involvement of the project members are checked and tackled in a systematized modus using
the autocratic leaders (Nallusamy & Ahamed, 2017). The autocratic leaders can play a big
role in this business enterprise as those leaders can help to brief the gap among the top level
management team and the employees of the organization working in each of the departments.
The distribution of the responsibilities and tasks concerning the enactment of the Lean
principles can be done in an organized manner using the autocratic leaders. It can be said that
the autocratic leaders that operations of SINTEF can be significantly improved using the
autocratic leaders (Jasti & Kodali, 2015). The responsibilities of the autocratic leaders is very
much important to identify all the employees with low moral or confidence. Most of the
quick decision making of this business enterprise can also be managed in a professional
manner using SINTEF.
Figure 1: Autocratic leadership
(Source: Netland & Ferdows, 2016)

6SINTEF’S LEAN IMPLEMENTATION INITIATIVE
All the operations in the workplace of SINTEF can be also managed using a
professional manner using the autocratic leadership style. This category of leadership style
will make the implementation of the Leans principles a great success (Roy et al., 2018). All
the insecurities of the group members can be dealt with in a professional using this leadership
styles. All the errors made by the project members can be done in a professional manner
using the autocratic leadership style of the project managers. At the same time it can also be
said that the leadership qualities of the autocratic leaders can be very much important to deal
with the complexities of each department such as the HR department and the Sales and
Marketing department. All the major complex decision of sales and marketing can also be
understood in a better manner using the autocratic leaders (Sanders, Elangeswara &
Wulfsberg, 2016). It can be said that the project managers can use their experience and
qualification to the project members so that the overall efficiency of the project can be
achieved. Thus, based on the above discussion it can be said that the autocratic leadership
style is very much compatible with the working procedures of SINTEF.
4.0 Characteristics to become a valuable team member of “The A Team”
The most significant criteria to be a valuable member of the A team is that the
candidate should be having both the theoretical as well as practical knowledge about the
enactment of the Agile technique. The member must be having detailed knowledge about the
advantages as well as the disadvantages of the Agile project management methodology which
is selected for the enactment of the Lean doctrines (Sharma Dixit & Qadri, 2016). The
concept of Lean project management has to be known clearly understood by the team
member. Analysing the potential of the other team members can be other important
characteristics of team members. In order to be a treasured team member of this project the
candidate should be good communicator (Tortorella & Fettermann, 2018). It can be said that
the integrity of the team and the team members must be understood in the first place by
valuable team member. One of the other valuable quality which is desired from the team
members is autocratic leadership style, as this leadership style can be very much used to
identify the risks in the enactment procedure of lean doctrines in SINTEF (Bhutta et al.,
2017). SINTEF can be significantly benefitted if the team member of the A Team are good
decision makers. Dealing with adverse business conditions, in this case, can be much easier if
the project team member are good decision makers (Wagner, Herrmann & Thiede, 2017).
The expert in task delegation is also one of the other desired qualities of the team members of

7SINTEF’S LEAN IMPLEMENTATION INITIATIVE
this project (Babalola, Ibem & Ezema, 2018). The new member of this team must be a great
problem solver and must have their own proficiency.
The other qualities which are required to be a valuable team member of SINTEF is
detailed knowledge about the span of management required for the enactment of the Lean
principles. The lead development principles in terms of the elimination of the waste, build
quality in, creating knowledge, deferring of the commitment, faster delivery of the products
and respecting people.
5.0 Tools and techniques to facilitate lean business operations
It can be said that there are different types of tools and techniques which are used to
increase the efficiency of each of the business operations such as the sales and marketing
departments, human capital investment, procurement and data warehousing and production.
Project management techniques such as the Agile methodology, Waterfall methodology,
Prince methodology, Scrum Framework and Critical chain methodology (Yang et al., 2015).
Project management tools such as the Liquid Planner, Zoho projects, Base Camp and Click
Up are the other different types of techniques which can be used in to enhance the efficiency
and performance of each of the departments of SINTEF.
It can be also said that the seven tools of Total Quality Management are very much
important to increase the efficiency and performance of each of the departments of SINTEF.
Detailed description of each of the tools is included in the following table.
Tools Description
Check sheet Real time data collection can be done using
this tool in SINTEF. This tool can be used
by each of the department so that the data
can be used to make all the probable change
as required. The improvement of the
performance of each employee working in
this organization can be monitored and
tracked effective using this quality
management tool.
Control chart The changes require over time can be
achieved in a organized way using this
graph. The upper and the lower limits of the
efficiency of the stakeholders of each
department can be managed and all the
changes are made according to using the
control chart. Historical data of each

8SINTEF’S LEAN IMPLEMENTATION INITIATIVE
department of SINTEF can be very much
important to improve the infrastructural
facilities of each of the departments. The
lower control limit and the upper control
limit can be used to make all the probable
changes.
Stratification All the classes, categories and layers of each
of the departments can be monitored and
managed using the stratification. All the
data and the object of each of the
departments in SINTEF can be tracked
using the stratification tool. This tool can be
very much important to deal with the
strategic analysis of each department.
Pareto chart This quality management tools can be used
in each of the departments of SINTEF. The
frequency of the problems in each of the
departments of SINTEF can be identified
and solved in the first place using this tool.
Every minute details of each department
such as the technologies used in each
department as well as the human resources
used in those departments can be reviewed
using this quality management tool.
Histogram This quality management can be very much
important to check the progress of each of
the stakeholders which are working in each
of the departments of SINTEF. The gap in
the calculation and prediction are fulfilled
using thus quality management tool.
Cause and effect diagram The fishbone diagrams can be very much
important to identify the errors and
complexities of each departments (AlManei,
Salonitis & Xu, 2017). All the factors
which are behind the issues in each of the
department of SINTEF. The root causes of
the problem can be identified in the first
place using this quality management tool.
Scatter diagram The scatter graph can be very much useful
to display the value of the variable and the
constants in each of the departments of
SINTEF.
Table 1: 7 tools and techniques to facilitate business operations of SINTEF
(Source: Made by the author)

9SINTEF’S LEAN IMPLEMENTATION INITIATIVE
Enactment of the tools
As stated by Zahraee, (2016), the successful interpretation of these tools is depended
on the documentation of each of the quality assessment tools User acceptance testing can be
very much significant for the efficacious enactment of these quality improving tools. All the
business unit of SINTEF can be benefitted after the implementation of these tools. The
dynamics which are responsible for the prosperous enactment of the quality tools are as
followings:
 Assess actual business requirement: Implementation of the tools must be aligning
with the existing business practices of each of the departments.
 Selection of the tool: The appropriate tool must be selected for analysing the
performance of the existing stakeholder of this organization.
 Implementation: The implementation of the tools should not be having any negative
effect on the existing tools which are already used in the working environment of
these departments (Zhou, 2016). Documentation is an important aspect of the
implementation phase of the software.
5.1 List of assumptions
The assumptions which can be made regarding the implementation of these tools in
SINTEF are discussed in the following table.
Assumptions Explanation
Fish Bone diagram. Bureaucratic leadership style was primarily
followed in this organization and the
implementation of the autocratic leadership
surely will be helping in the
implementations of these quality enhancing
tools such as the Fish Bone diagram.
Pareto chart and the Histogram The Pareto chart and the histogram is
important in identifying the changes needed
in the business strategy of SINTEF.
Cause and effect diagram This diagram can be very much important to
manage each of the complexities faced
during the enactment of lean principles in

10SINTEF’S LEAN IMPLEMENTATION INITIATIVE
SINTEF.
Control chart The progress of the implementation of the
lean principles can be tested in an organized
using this monitoring tool.
Table 7: Explanation of the assumptions
(Source: Generated by the author)
6.0 Conclusion
The report can be very much important to understand different types of leadership
styles such as the autocratic leaders, transformational leaders, bureaucratic leaders,
transaction leaders and the charismatic leaders. Qualities and abilities if each of the leaders
can be determined from the paper. Based on the discussions of the different types of
leadership style the paper successfully highlights the preferred leadership style which will be
suitable for SINTEF concerning the successful enactment of the Lean principles using Agile
project methodology. It based on the working procedures which are practised in each of the
departments of this organisation it can be said that the autocratic leadership style in the most
appropriate leadership style in this scenario. IT can be concluded that the gap between the
employees and the top level management team of this organization can be significantly
reduced using the autocratic leaders. The autocratic leaders can play a huge role in the
identifying the employees with low morale in each department in this organization, thus the
efficiency and the productivity of each of the department of SINTEF can be significant
improved using the autocratic leadership styles. The characteristics to become a valuable
member of “The A Team” can be understood from the paper as well. The most desired
criteria is to have both the practical as well as theoretical knowledge about the Lean
principles. All the risks and challenges allied with the enactment of the lean principles using
the Agile project management methodology. The paper was very much helpful to understand
the tools and techniques which can be used to expand the efficiency of each of the
departments of SINTEF. The effectiveness of each of the project management tools such as
the Liquid Planner, Zoho projects, Base Camps and Click up. The seven tools which can be
very much useful to facilitative the business operations of SINTEF can be determined from
the paper as well. It can be concluded that the control sheet can be used to track the
performance of each of the employees working in different departments. Control can be
beneficial to identify the changes required in each department whereas the stratification can

11SINTEF’S LEAN IMPLEMENTATION INITIATIVE
be successfully used in SINTEF to manage the business analysis in each department. The
Pareto chart can be used to manage each of the available resources in an organized manner in
departments. The gap in the progress of each department can be successfully identified using
the Histogram. The cause and effect diagram can be useful in the identification of the
complexities in each department. Scatter diagram can be useful to identify the value each
department adds to the organizational value. The assumptions of the implementation of four
tools can also be determined from this report. Thus, this report can be very much beneficial
for the senior management team of SINTEF concerning the enactment of the Lean principles
using the Agile project management methodology using “THE A TEAM”.

12SINTEF’S LEAN IMPLEMENTATION INITIATIVE
7.0 References
AlManei, M., Salonitis, K., & Xu, Y. (2017). Lean implementation frameworks: the
challenges for SMEs.
Babalola, O., Ibem, E. O., & Ezema, I. C. (2018). Implementation of lean practices in the
construction industry: A systematic review. Building and Environment.
Bhutta, K., Egilmez, G., Chatha, K., & Huq, F. (2017). Survey of Lean management practices
in Pakistani industrial sectors.
Coetzee, R., Van der Merwe, K., & Van Dyk, L. (2016). Lean implementation strategies:
how are the Toyota Way principles addressed?. South African Journal of Industrial
Engineering, 27(3), 79-91.
D’Andreamatteo, A., Ianni, L., Lega, F., & Sargiacomo, M. (2015). Lean in healthcare: A
comprehensive review. Health policy, 119(9), 1197-1209.
Dora, M., Kumar, M., & Gellynck, X. (2016). Determinants and barriers to lean
implementation in food-processing SMEs–a multiple case analysis. Production
Planning & Control, 27(1), 1-23.
Jasti, N. V. K., & Kodali, R. (2015). Lean production: literature review and trends.
International Journal of Production Research, 53(3), 867-885.
Jasti, N. V. K., & Kodali, R. (2016). An empirical study for implementation of lean principles
in Indian manufacturing industry. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 23(1),
183-207.
Lamm, M. H., Eckel, S., Daniels, R., & Amerine, L. B. (2015). Using lean principles to
improve outpatient adult infusion clinic chemotherapy preparation turnaround times.
American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 72(13), 1138-1146.
Marodin, G. A., Frank, A. G., Tortorella, G. L., & Saurin, T. A. (2016). Contextual factors
and lean production implementation in the Brazilian automotive supply chain. Supply
Chain Management: An International Journal, 21(4), 417-432.

13SINTEF’S LEAN IMPLEMENTATION INITIATIVE
Moeuf, A., Tamayo, S., Lamouri, S., Pellerin, R., & Lelievre, A. (2016). Strengths and
weaknesses of small and medium sized enterprises regarding the implementation of
lean manufacturing. IFAC-PapersOnLine, 49(12), 71-76.
Mrugalska, B., & Wyrwicka, M. K. (2017). Towards lean production in industry 4.0.
Procedia Engineering, 182, 466-473.
Nallusamy, S., & Ahamed, A. (2017). Implementation of lean tools in an automotive industry
for productivity enhancement-A case study. In International journal of engineering
research in Africa (Vol. 29, pp. 175-185). Trans Tech Publications.
Netland, T. H., & Ferdows, K. (2016). The S‐curve effect of lean implementation.
Production and Operations Management, 25(6), 1106-1120.
Roy, A., Colpitts, J., Becker, K., Brewer, J., & van Lutterveld, R. (2018). Improving
efficiency in neuroimaging research through application of Lean principles. PloS one,
13(11), e0205232.
Sanders, A., Elangeswaran, C., & Wulfsberg, J. P. (2016). Industry 4.0 implies lean
manufacturing: Research activities in industry 4.0 function as enablers for lean
manufacturing. Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management (JIEM), 9(3),
811-833.
Sharma, V., Dixit, A. R., & Qadri, M. A. (2016). Modeling lean implementation for
manufacturing sector. Journal of Modelling in Management, 11(2), 405-426.
Tortorella, G. L., & Fettermann, D. (2018). Implementation of Industry 4.0 and lean
production in Brazilian manufacturing companies. International Journal of
Production Research, 56(8), 2975-2987.
Wagner, T., Herrmann, C., & Thiede, S. (2017). Industry 4.0 impacts on lean production
systems. Procedia CIRP, 63, 125-131.
Yang, T., Kuo, Y., Su, C. T., & Hou, C. L. (2015). Lean production system design for fishing
net manufacturing using lean principles and simulation optimization. Journal of
Manufacturing Systems, 34, 66-73.

14SINTEF’S LEAN IMPLEMENTATION INITIATIVE
Zahraee, S. M. (2016). A survey on lean manufacturing implementation in a selected
manufacturing industry in Iran. International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, 7(2), 136-
148.
Zhou, B. (2016). Lean principles, practices, and impacts: a study on small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs). Annals of Operations Research, 241(1-2), 457-474.