Post by Kaushik Telidevara

Just wrapped up an incredibly hands-on and transformational journey as an Engineering Intern at BD Tuas, where I learned what it truly means to build with purpose — where precision isn’t optional, and quality directly impacts lives. Here’s a snapshot of my 3 core projects: 🔧 1. Hands-On Engineering at the GEMBA → Led full preventive maintenance and complex mold changeovers, managing everything from disassembly to precision reassembly → Applied Design for Maintainability (DFM) and developed a strong grasp of hot vs. cold runner systems, water testing, and diagnostics → Learned to follow exact sequences and quality checks with zero margin for error — because in medical manufacturing, every micron matters 📍 Mindset Shift: “Don’t be a paper engineer.” Being on the ground gave me insight, credibility, and the mindset of building with intent. 🧠 2. Root Cause Analysis & Kaizen Redesigns → Solved high-impact downtime issues by identifying true root causes — from thermal degradation to dimensional mismatches → Documented, tested, and implemented redesigns that saved 90+ hours annually, US$11K in soft savings, and achieved 45% downtime reduction → Practiced structured RCA (DMAIC), data-driven troubleshooting, and learned how small changes can drive system-wide impact 📍 Lesson: The ability to separate signal from noise is a skill I now apply to every system I analyze. 📊 3. Digital Transformation & Automation → Built an interactive Power BI dashboard analyzing 800+ engineering records — shifting strategy from to optimizing logistics and planning → Fully automated a manual approval system using Power Automate, Excel, and Forms — eliminating errors and enabling real-time tracking → Both tools are now live across teams, creating lasting, scalable process improvements 📍 Insight: What gets measured gets improved. And often, the bottleneck isn’t people — it’s visibility. 💡 Key Takeaways ✔️ Don’t be a paper engineer — Real insight comes from being on the ground and doing the work ✔️ Proactive design > reactive repair — Preventing failure is more powerful than fixing it ✔️ Find the signal, not the noise — Root Cause Analysis taught me to solve the real problem, not just the symptom ✔️ Kaizen is a mindset, not a tool — Continuous improvement starts with culture, not just frameworks ✔️ True engineering is holistic — It’s the synergy of systems, people, and processes that makes solutions scalable and effective 🙏 Special thanks to my mentor Mr. Khairul Azhar Sharifuddeen, who was with me every step of the way and supported me in more ways than I can count. Grateful to my fellow intern Jay Shah, who worked alongside me day in and day out, and to Mr. Jonathan Tan for entrusting us with the opportunity to learn and contribute meaningfully on the plant floor. I’m now actively exploring hardware engineering roles at early-stage startups in the Bay Area