Lean Manufacturing | Operational Excellence | AI Development

Mehul Wadhavekar

Trainer in Operational Excellence, building Lean Six Sigma capability inside manufacturing teams.

M.Eng. professional in Berlin with experience across Tesla, PanTrac, Medtronic and W. L. Gore - connecting training systems, process engineering and practical continuous improvement.

136+LSS participants
40+Completed projects
EUR 139K / yearTraining cost savings
View Timeline Explore AI + OPEX
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Building measurable impact from shop floor optimization to enterprise learning systems.

The Storyline

A theme-based journey of how I build operational advantage.

Theme 01

Lean Manufacturing Discipline

I redesign flow, reduce variation and remove waste through practical Lean tools: SMED, VSM, Kanban and line balancing.

Theme 02

Operational Excellence Systems

I build repeatable OPEX frameworks through DMAIC, root-cause thinking, standard work and capability-building across teams.

Theme 03

New AI Development in Industry

I integrate AI tools into operations and training to accelerate decision cycles, transfer knowledge faster and scale performance.

Professional Timeline

From foundational engineering to high-impact operational leadership.

2021

Academic Foundation

Completed B.E. in Mechanical Engineering and moved to Germany for Master's studies in industrial systems and manufacturing excellence.

2022

W. L. Gore & Associates

Internship focused on process understanding, testing methodology and operational analytics in manufacturing settings.

2023

Process Engineer - Medtronic Sofamor Danek Deggendorf GmbH

Led automation projects for capacity and cost improvements, optimized material and information flows, analyzed process performance, built Power BI dashboards, and supported project portfolio reviews.

2024

Process Engineer - PanTrac GmbH

Introduced new cutting technology to eliminate manual cutting risk, redesigned production setup to save 30 minutes of daily preparation time, and evaluated machine performance for safety, throughput and cost optimization.

2025 - Present

Trainer - Operational Excellence (Lean Six Sigma), Tesla Berlin-Brandenburg

Built and delivered the internal White-Yellow Belt program (17 sessions, 136+ participants), enabled 40+ completed improvement projects and 170+ ideas from Gemba exercises, achieved average feedback of 4.3/5, and drove EUR 139,000 annual savings via Excel training insourcing.

Company Impact Stories

A slick snapshot of the environments where I have built value.

Medtronic

Medtronic

Automation and process-performance improvement, including dashboard-based monitoring and flow optimization in medical manufacturing.

PanTrac

PanTrac

Safety-first process redesign, new cutting technology integration, and measurable startup-time reduction in production operations.

Tesla

Tesla Berlin

Internal Lean Six Sigma capability buildout with White-Yellow Belt tracks, RCA training, and insourced Excel learning systems.

AI + OPEX Initiatives

Where modern AI development meets continuous improvement culture.

Project PACE

Reduced packaging downtime by 65% (2.5 hours to 50 minutes) through root-cause analysis and targeted technical measures.

DMAICLeanExecution Excellence

Project AME

Planned a USD 1.2M collaborative robotics pilot to transition manual workflows toward autonomous packaging operations.

AutomationCobotsFeasibility

RCA and LSS Training System

Developed a Root Cause Analysis training and integrated it as a recurring offer (2x per quarter), while co-training Yellow and Green Belt cohorts and delivering 350+ hours of Lean training.

RCALSS TrainingShopfloor Management

Core Capabilities

Lean Manufacturing

  • SMED and setup reduction
  • Value Stream Mapping
  • Kanban and flow systems
  • Waste elimination strategy

Operational Excellence

  • DMAIC problem solving
  • Root cause systems
  • Process capability improvement
  • Performance governance

Training and Leadership

  • OPEX curriculum design
  • Technical facilitation
  • Cross-functional coaching
  • Change enablement

Digital and AI

  • AI tools for productivity
  • Data-backed decision workflows
  • Automation opportunity mapping
  • Continuous digital learning

Methods and Certifications

  • Lean Six Sigma (Green Belt)
  • DMAIC
  • A3
  • 5S
  • SMED

Tools and Languages

  • MS Office 365, Power BI, Visio, SharePoint
  • SolidWorks, CREO, CFD
  • German, English, Marathi, Hindi
  • Training content and workshop systems

Education and Leadership

M.Eng. Engineering Management

IU International University of Applied Sciences (Mar 2021 - Jul 2023). Focus: Product Development, Industry 4.0, Performance Management, Quality Management.

B.E. Mechanical Engineering

University of Mumbai (Aug 2016 - Feb 2021). Focus: Production Planning, Industrial Automation, Design, and PLM.

Extracurricular Leadership

Secretary at LEO-Deutschland (2021-2022) and prior volunteer/marketing support for Satkarma Balakashram NGO in India (2013-2020).

Let's Build the Next System

Open to roles and collaborations in Lean Manufacturing, OPEX transformation and AI-enabled operations. If you are building high-performance systems, let's connect.

Start a Conversation
LinkedIn mehulwadhavekar@gmail.com