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Headquartered in Muncie, IN, DD DANNAR, Inc. (DANNAR) is on a mission to help municipalities and the armed forces perform both daily operations and emergency response with the cleanest, most versatile, and powerful equipment on the market. DANNAR manufactures the all-electric Mobile Power Station (MPS), the first zero-emission modular platform that functions as both a multi-purpose on- and off-road work vehicle as well as a grid-scale auxiliary power supply. More information on the MPS and DANNAR is available at https://www.dannar.us.com.

Situation:

DANNAR already had a strong safety culture within its organization but wanted to take it to the next level by pursuing OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP). The VPP recognizes employers and workers in the private industry and federal agencies who have implemented effective safety and health management systems and maintain injury and illness rates below National Bureau of Labor Statistics averages for their respective industries. To assist them with this journey, they utilized Purdue MEP for additional safety training and resources to fine-tune their established practices and enhance their safety culture.

Solution:  

Purdue MEP completed five days of training with members of DANNAR’s executive leadership and safety committee, covering topics such as OSHA Best Practices, Effective Safety Committees, Incident Investigations, OSHA Train the Trainer, and Hazard Detection. Additionally, DANNAR has served as a host site for both OSHA 10-Hour and OSHA 30-Hour trainings, registering its employees in the open-enrollment workshops alongside participants from the Muncie area.

Results:

As a result of the trainings, DANNAR has seen an increase in not only employee awareness, but in personal accountability to the safety program itself. Employees are utilizing their knowledge and training to proactively make safety recommendations and ensure their own safety, as well as their coworkers. It has strengthened the communication, documentation, and internal compliance company-wide. The team is still actively pursuing the VPP process, which is expected to take about two years.

Impact metrics:

DANNAR has realized several immediate, positive outcomes following the training with Purdue MEP including:

• Completed enhanced safety training for 18 members of the DANNAR team
  • 10 of those team members were on the safety committee
• 4 employees have completed OSHA 10-Hour training and 2 have completed OSHA 30-Hour
• Compiled a list of 38 policies with coordinating trainings that require development
  • Over 30 policies are ready for peer/committee review
• Increased consistency of safety messaging during onboarding process by utilizing recordings of company-wide meetings
• Company-wide increased awareness of production floor risks and PPE/safety requirements
• Greater confidence that DANNAR can seamlessly adjust to clients’ additional needs/levels of safety compliance for individual projects

"Participating in the executive leadership training was just the beginning to realize our next level of commitment to safety by all at DANNAR, including our customers. Our Safety Committee is experiencing a broader safety program for our Mobile Power Station, in our production plant and on the job.  Being the first of its kind, having such transparent collaboration on safety has been paramount to our mission."

- Gary Dannar, Founder & CEO, DANNAR

"The training provided by Purdue MEP gave us the confidence to look at OSHA as a partner instead of a regulatory agency. We now think of our safety program from their perspective and are constantly looking for ways to improve and take us to the next level, including the goal of being a VPP site."

- Jake Lightfoot, Production Manager, DANNAR

"Working with Purdue MEP has reinvigorated our commitment to safety and training. The impacts of the safety trainings have been felt company-wide and now have a strong foothold in our onboarding process."

- Mary Hughes, HR Site Lead, DANNAR

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