OSHA finds workers at Ohio lawn and garden machine manufacturer exposed to excessive noise, lacked hearing protection; other hazards

Employer name: MTD Consumer Group

Inspection site: 979 South Conwell Ave., Willard, Ohio

Citations issued: March 23, 2016

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Toledo Area Office cited MTD Consumer Group for one willful, one serious and one other-than-serious violation.

OSHA opened an investigation at the Willard plant after receiving a complaint alleging unsafe working conditions.

The federal agency cited the company for:

• Not ensuring that hearing protection was worn by employees.
• Not implementing feasible administrative or engineering controls to reduce noise exposure.
• Failing to evaluate respiratory hazards.

The Valley City-based company manufactures and markets consumer products for the lawn and garden power equipment industry under the brand names: Cub Cadet, Troy-Bilt, Remington, Yard-man, Yard-Machine, and Bolsen.

Quote: “The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports occupational hearing loss is leading work-related illness recorded among workers in the manufacturing industry,” said Kim Nelson, OSHA’s area director in Toledo. “Employers that comply with OSHA’s common sense safety standards can protect workers from untreatable hearing loss.”

Proposed Penalties: $77,000

View citations here.

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report amputations, eye loss, workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA’s toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency’s Toledo Area Office at 419-259-7542.