Workflow visibility
Shop Foreman Priority Board
Designed an internal workflow concept to centralize work status and priorities, reduce manual status checking, expose bottlenecks earlier, and improve decision-making around technician workload.
Operations • Process Improvement • Operational Analytics
I build better systems for how work gets done.
I'm Brian Baethke, an Alabama-based operations and process improvement professional with 16 years of progressive experience in operational leadership, workflow optimization, performance analysis, complex problem solving, and cross-functional execution.
16years of progressive experience
7progressively responsible roles
20+technicians developed
~22technicians in multi-building foreman coverage
Operational depth. Systems mindset.
Operational execution
I coordinate changing priorities, capacity, capability, task complexity, dependencies, parts availability, customer commitments, quality requirements, and cross-functional handoffs in a live service environment.
Process improvement
I look for recurring constraints instead of repeatedly treating symptoms—then improve visibility, prioritization, accountability, handoffs, documentation, and standard work.
Performance analytics
I track productivity, utilization, efficiency, available versus produced hours, workload distribution, quality trends, and bottlenecks to turn operating data into action.
Structured problem solving
My technical and operational career has centered on ambiguous problems: isolate the cause, verify the evidence, coordinate stakeholders, implement corrective action, and confirm the result.
Experience
Training Foreman / Satellite Operations Lead
- Lead daily operations for a five-technician satellite service operation across technicians, advisors, dispatch, parts, management, and manufacturer support.
- Plan and reprioritize work using capacity, capability, complexity, dependencies, customer commitments, and changing constraints.
- Analyze productivity, utilization, efficiency, available vs. produced hours, workload distribution, and quality trends.
- Build workflow and tracking solutions where existing systems do not provide sufficient operational visibility.
- Provide recurring main-shop foreman coverage across three buildings with an effective technician scope of approximately 22.
- Serve as an escalation point for complex technical and operational issues using root-cause analysis and corrective action.
Progressive Technical & Operational Career
Advanced from frontline service work through Certified, Expert, Master, and Master Diagnostic Technician roles before moving into operational leadership. Reached Toyota's highest technical diagnostic level while developing deep experience in complex troubleshooting, documentation, stakeholder coordination, quality, and customer/business priorities.
Selected operational projects
Process standardization
Repair Order Logging & Documentation Tool
Developed a structured logging workflow for repair-order activity, jobs, labor time, flagged hours, date ranges, and recurring work—designed to reduce documentation friction and improve operational visibility.
Capability development
ASE Tech Academy
Built a technician-development application spanning major ASE subject areas with evaluation, tailored learning, drills, testing, feedback, and progress-oriented workflows to make development more systematic and scalable.
Knowledge operations
Tech Assist Hub
Created an internal support concept focused on faster access to technician guidance and standardized documentation, reducing time lost searching for information and improving consistency.
Portfolio examples are intentionally generalized. No customer information, proprietary repair data, confidential employee performance data, or employer-sensitive operating information is published here.
Capabilities & technology
Credentials & development
Lean Six Sigma
White Belt • Yellow Belt • Green Belt
Advanced automotive credentials
ASE Master Automobile Technician (A1–A8, L1) • Toyota Master Diagnostic Technician
Business coursework
ACE-recommended coursework includes Principles of Management, Introduction to Statistics, Critical Thinking, Organizational Behavior, and Project Management.
Continuing education
Completing transferable college coursework in preparation for a bachelor's degree in Business Administration.
Where I'm headed
I'm focused on operations, business operations, process improvement, continuous improvement, operational excellence, implementation, service operations, customer/client operations, and reporting or data operations—especially roles where better systems, clearer information, and disciplined execution produce measurable results.