Darren Whitman on Building Reliable Installations

There’s a moment in every new Daniels partnership where everything matters.

The trucks have arrived. Containers are staged. Hospital staff are watching closely. It’s Day One. And according to Darren Whitman, there’s no such thing as a redo.

“You buy a car, sign the paperwork, and then you go to drive it off the lot,” Darren says. “We’re that first drive. Our job is to make sure everything runs exactly how it should. No surprises, no buyer’s remorse.”

For Darren, getting that moment right has become a career-long focus and helped shape the way Daniels approaches customer implementations today.

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Building a Better First Experience

Darren joined Daniels in 2009 as a Plant Manager in Michigan. As the business grew, so did his responsibilities, eventually taking him into a Midwest Director of Operations role where he became known for identifying operational gaps and building practical solutions around them.

In 2019, that mindset led him toward a new challenge: strengthening the customer installation experience.

At the time, there was an opportunity to bring more structure, ownership, and coordination to the process and better position customers for long-term success.

“If we don’t get that first experience right, everything after that becomes harder,” Darren says.

That thinking helped shape the installation model Daniels operates with today.

Building the Process Behind Day One

What was once a more blended process has evolved into four clearly defined functions: Field Service, Implementation, Supply Chain, and Installation.

“We’ve built four lanes now,” Darren explains. “Field service focuses on service. Implementation focuses on planning. Supply Chain procures the inventory needed, and installation executes.”

While customers experience the results on Day One, the work begins much earlier.

Detailed site assessments, cross-functional planning, and a defined playbook bring teams together to identify potential challenges before they become problems. The goal is to walk into a healthcare facility understanding its layout, operational needs, expectations, and potential obstacles.

“The more we figure out ahead of time, the smoother that first day is,” Darren says.

For Darren, ownership is just as important as preparation. Installation Managers stay connected throughout the process, from the initial walkthrough through the final installation, creating continuity from planning to execution.

“That relationship and follow-through piece was missing,” Darren says. “Now we walk in ready.”

Of course, even the best plans can change. Healthcare environments are complex, and unexpected challenges still arise. The measure of a strong implementation, Darren believes, is often how little of that complexity the customer has to experience.

“There’s always things happening behind the scenes,” he says. “Our job is to keep that invisible.”

Growing Alongside the Business

As Daniels has grown, so has the team Darren helped build.

What began as a small installation group has developed into a 12-person Installation Management team capable of supporting multiple large-scale installations across the country at the same time.

So far this year, the installation team has placed more than 55,000 containers, with fewer than one percent requiring a return visit or additional support after installation.

“That comes from preparation,” Darren says.

His own role has evolved along with the team. Today, much of Darren’s focus is on building the playbooks, processes, and tools that give people the confidence to make decisions and execute consistently in the field.

“When people have something to rely on, they move faster and make fewer mistakes,” he says.

A Culture of Ownership

For all the processes Darren has helped develop and the milestones his team has reached, those aren’t what he points to when asked what makes him most proud.

He points to his people.

“They’ve taken ownership,” Darren says. “They lead, they ask for help, and they focus on the customer.”

It’s an approach that reflects the culture Darren has spent more than 15 years helping build at Daniels: give people clear expectations and the right tools, then trust them to take ownership.

That culture becomes especially important during an implementation, when success depends on people across different teams working toward the same outcome. When everyone arrives prepared, aligned, and ready to respond, customers feel the difference.

Setting the Tone from Day One

For Darren, an installation has never been simply about delivering containers. It is about setting the tone for the partnership that follows.

Day One is when weeks of planning become real. It’s when a new customer sees how Daniels communicates, responds, solves problems, and follows through.

“Our team is that first impression,” Darren says. “If we get that right, everything else becomes easier.”

After more than 15 years with Daniels, Darren is still focused on getting that first experience right. Only now, he’s helping build the people, processes, and culture that make it possible at a much larger scale.