Enhancing efficiency and sustainability in Lean Management

Daria Larsson defended her PhD thesis at University of Stavanger 11 April 2025.

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En gruppe mennesker samlet etter en disputas.
From left Mona Minde, Samindi Samarakoon, Chandima Ratnayake, Daria Larsson, Uday Kumar, Jan Frick and Abbas Barabadi.

Department of Mechanical and Structural Engineering and Materials Science has successfully completed an industrial PhD project focused on enhancing efficiency and sustainability in Engineering-to-Order (ETO) organisations through the application of Lean Management principles, under the supervision of Professor Chandima Ratnayake. The PhD candidate, Daria Larsson, placed particular emphasis on improving knowledge work, primarily conducted in office environments, which plays a critical role in project delivery and overall performance. The project aimed to address key weaknesses commonly observed in project-based ETO outcomes.

Currently, only 73% of projects meet their original goals and business intent, just 67% are completed on time, and only 68% are delivered within budget, even at the highest levels of organisational maturity. Throughout the project, the PhD candidate Daria Larsson collaborated with three different companies for both data collection and the implementation of knowledge work improvements. Currently, she is implementing all her findings in a third multi-national company located in Stavanger. This clearly aligns with the Research Council's aims, as her PhD research contributes to both national and international development. This PhD project builds on a previous doctoral study supervised by Professor Chandima Ratnayake and continues the work initiated through the EC Erasmus+ international project, ILA-LEAN.

Head of Department, Mona W. Minde, is happy to see yet another PhD defend their thesis at the department. Dr. Larssons work har also a large part of applicable research, making the project important for several areas, and it is easy to see how this can be implemented. Minde would like to thank the supervisors Professor Chandima Ratnayake, Professor Samindi Samarakoon and Professor Tore Markeset for their contribution and the committee:

  • Professor Uday Kumar, Luleå University of Technology, Sweden
  • Professor Abbas Barabadi, The Arctic University of Norway
  • Professor emeritus Jan Frick, University of Stavanger