Manufacturing facility

Environmental Health and Safety Vision

At Douglas Dynamics, our commitment to safety and the environment stems from our vision to create a working environment that places the highest value on the welfare of our employees and instilling in them a sense of ownership and excellence in safety, production, and the quality of work being done. Our goals are simple, to create added value for our customers through best in class performance in environmental, health and safety practices.

We pledge to place the safety and wellbeing of our employees first and to embody honesty and integrity in the pursuit of our vision of creating a world class safety culture here at Douglas Dynamics.

Person welding a plow.

Health and Safety Management Plan

We utilize an extensive Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) planning tool that supports many aspects of EHS management and reporting. Our EHS Management Plan helps us track the timing of such activities, the policies and regulations we are required to comply with, target metrics and data collection, program ownership, and the standard procedures utilized for consistent execution. Some categories within this tool include:

Facility information icon

Facility information

Reporting/Record Keeping Icon

Reporting/Record Keeping

Health & Safety Icon

Health & Safety

Air Quality Icon

Air Quality

Water Quality Icon

Water Quality

Waste Management Icon

Waste Management

Soil & Ground Water Icon

Soil & Ground Water

Emergency Plan & Preparedness Icon

Emergency Plan & Preparedness

Facility Permits Icon

Facility Permits

Training

Training

Certification Statements Icon

Certification Statements

Rails in a manufacturing facility

Energy Consumption

We initiated several projects in the past few years with the goal of reducing energy consumption levels. As an example, many of our facilities have updated to reflective roofing to help offset cooling costs. We have partnered with our local power and energy companies to change our lighting from halogen to LED bulbs and implement sensor technology to minimize unnecessary electric consumption. As we build new facilities and make updates to existing locations, we assess the usage of full smart sensor technology and the utilization of more natural lighting and open workspaces.

Pine trees in front of a lake

Waste Management

We follow all local, state, and federal guidelines in managing our hazardous waste. We have worked with Waste Management to assess our overall waste profile, including waste to landfill, waste to energy, and recycled waste.

We are developing a long-term plan to reduce the amount of waste in our production processes that goes to landfills and have initiated programs throughout the Company to increase the total amount of waste we recycle. Steel is a core commodity we use in our manufacturing processes, and all scrap steel is thoroughly collected and recycled. We recycle office furniture regularly as updates are made to our facilities. We also recycle batteries, paper, plastics, and metals in all production and office workspaces.

A bridge over a river in downtown Milwaukee

Water Consumption

Water is an extremely valuable resource that touches almost everything we do, and so a robust water consumption plan is essential to our business. We have started to reduce our water usage in our manufacturing processes where possible, and we have also found ways to recycle this resource through innovative reverse osmosis technology. In addition, we are actively working with our local sewage districts to mitigate the amount of run-off in our processes to help prevent sewage overflow. We have been recognized 18 times on their Honor Roll for our efforts to protect the environment while contributing to the economic vitality of the region.

The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District has recognized Douglas Dynamics as a Significant Industrial User in the District’s regulatory program.

A group of vans with their rear doors open

Biodiversity

In 2017, we embarked on a new Dejana facility in Kansas City by leasing space in what is known as the “World’s largest green roof.” The SubTropolis, an underground business complex, was created through the mining of a 270-million-year-old limestone deposit. In the mining process, limestone is removed, leaving even spaced pillars, concrete flooring, and 16-foot high, smooth ceilings ready for occupants from all industries. In addition to being naturally temperature controlled for our workforce, the building process also conserved natural resources while utilizing less energy consumption.

With over 7 million square feet available for expansion, this location will provide years of development opportunity while also contributing to our short- and long-term sustainability goals.

Group of people

Quality and Continuous Improvement

The Douglas Dynamics Management System (DDMS) is our collective and holistic approach to running our business. DDMS encompasses best-in-class business processes and structured problem-solving techniques to drive business performance in a way that can be deployed with speed and promotes effective integration and sustainable growth.

We strive to operate our business with the highest standards for safety and quality in our manufacturing and upfit environments. In our over 75 years in business, we have never had a product safety recall.

We believe that sustainment of our DDMS success requires team members to demonstrate our WINNING BEHAVIORS and embrace our DDMS PRINCIPLES. These include:

  • Understand our Customers
  • Seek out the Data
  • Be Creative and Curious
  • Simplify the Process
  • Work as a Team, Win as a Team
Shelving in workshop

Responsible Supply Chain

We believe that long-term, high-integrity business relationships are built upon being open, honest, and complying with all local laws and regulations. To that end, all purchase orders and order acceptances are made subject to the terms of the Douglas Dynamics Supplier Code of Conduct.

We are committed to maintaining the highest level of integrity, honesty, and business ethics throughout all aspects of our supply chain.