Dive Brief:
- The Department of Labor proposed $222,392 in penalties against Stanley Black & Decker last week for safety violations at its Willard, Ohio, facility.
- The federal agency found that the tool and equipment manufacturer could have prevented a worker from suffering severe burns from an electrical arc blast while making repairs on an industrial oven in December 2023.
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors found that the company’s subsidiary MTD Products failed to provide employees at the facility with the required personal protective equipment for working around activated electrical machinery, according to the May 28 release.
Dive Insight:
MTD Products’ Willard facility designs and produces lawn tractors, mowers, snow blowers, outdoor power equipment and garden tools under brands like Cub Cadet and Troy-Bilt. Stanley Black & Decker acquired MTD Products in December 2021 for $1.6 billion.
OSHA found that MTD Products did not provide the proper safety training for handling live electrical conductors or ensure that employees were qualified to oversee the live equipment.
A flash of electric currents released into the air can produce temperatures over 35,000 degrees Fahrenheit and explode, endangering workers in close range, according to the Virginia Department of Energy.
OSHA also found that MTD failed to adequately protect employees from fall hazards approximately 13 feet from the ground, the Labor Department noted in the citation. The agency investigated the Willard facility between December 20, 2023, and May 7, according to the citation.
“Each year, hundreds of workers are hurt or worse by electrical-related injuries when employers fail to provide required personal protective equipment and follow safety procedures,” OSHA Area Director Todd Jensen in Toledo, Ohio, said in a statement. “Employee safety and health should be every employer’s most important bottom line.”
Stanley Black & Decker, which received the citation on May 15, had 15 days to comply or contest OSHA’s findings, according to the news release.
“We are committed to compliance with OSHA rules and regulations to ensure the safety of our employees and the communities where we operate,” Debora Raymond, VP of Public Relations at Stanley Black & Decker, said in an email to Manufacturing Dive.
