Thirteen individuals from the Great Dane Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) team recently participated in the first professional development program created for EHS professionals in our industry.
The program, developed by Dave Ritchie, Great Dane’s senior director of EHS, is designed for professionals at all levels new to the industry to provide technical expertise and leadership training.
The program consisted of two weeks of classroom instruction, followed by an invitation for supervisors to engage in an additional two weeks of experiential learning. This experiential learning involved shadowing a manufacturing supervisor or collaborating with a service center manager while observing customer interactions.
“This dynamic, immersive course was highly effective in reaching its goals and closing identified gaps,” said Ritchie. “I believe our participants are better equipped for our industry and their roles at Great Dane from the knowledge they gained throughout this program. I was so impressed with their focus and the incredible interaction from beginning to end. These individuals will make a big difference in their new roles at Great Dane.”
Great Dane leadership taught the program’s focus areas. Brian Roberts, Great Dane Aftermarket safety manager, led a 30-hour OSHA compliance training. Seth Novak, Great Dane regional safety manager, taught functional training. Dave Ritchie was the instructor for EHS Leadership.
Ritchie added that he’s proud of the event, the teachers, and the participants and will continue to offer the program as needed.
