Standard on Presence Sensing Device Initiation (PSDI) (29 CFR 1910.217(h)); Extension of the Office of Management and Budget's Approval of Information-Collection (Paperwork) Requirements

AGENCY:

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION:

Request for comment.

SUMMARY:

OSHA solicits comments concerning its proposal to extend OMB approval of the information-collection requirements contained in the Standard on Presence Sensing Device Initiation (PSDI) (29 CF 1910.217(h)). This standard regulates the use of presence-sensing devices (“PSDs”) in mechanical power-press safety systems; a PSD (e.g., a photoelectric field or curtain) automatically stops the stroke of a mechanical power press when the device detects an operator entering a danger zone near the press. Accordingly, the standard protects employees from seriouos crush injuries, amputations, and/or death.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted by the following dates:

Hard Copy: Your comments must be submitted (postmarked or received) by April 27, 2004.

Facsimile and electronic transmission: Your comments must be received by April 27, 2004.

ADDRESSES:

I. Submission of Comments

Regular mail, express delivery, hand delivery, and messenger service: Submit your comments and attachments to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. ICR 1218-0143(2004), Room N-2625, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210. OSHA Docket Office and Department of Labor hours of operation are 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., e.s.t.

Facsimile: If your comments, including any attachments, are 10 pages or fewer, you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-1648. You must include the docket number of this document, Docket Number ICR 1218-0143(2004), in your comments.

Electronic: You may submit comments, but not attachments, through the Internet at http://ecomments.osha.gov/.

II. Obtaining Copies of the Supporting Statement for the Information Collection

The Supporting Statement for the Information Collection Request is available for downloading from OSHA's Web site at http://www.osha.gov. The Supporting Statement is available for inspection and copying in the OSHA Docket Office at the address listed above. A copy of the Supporting Statement can be obtained by contacting Theda Kenney at (202) 693-2222.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Theda Kenney, Directorate of Standards and Guidance, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-3609, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-2222.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Submission of Comments on This Notice and Internet Access to Comments and Submissions

You may submit comments in response to this document by (1) hard copy, (2) fax transmission (facsimile), or (3) electronically through the OSHA webpage. Please note you cannot attach materials such as studies or journal articles to electronic comments. When you have additional materials, you must submit three copies of them to the OSHA Docket Office at the address above. The additional materials must clearly identify your electronic comments by name, date, subject and docket number so we can attach them to your comments. Because of security-related problems, a significant delay may occur in the receipt of comments by regular mail. Please contact the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350 for information about security procedures concerning the delivery of materials by express delivery, hand delivery and messenger service.

II. Background

The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent (i.e., employer) burden, conducts a preclearance consultation program to provide the public with an opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing information-collection requirements in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA-95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

This program ensures that information is in the desired format, reporting burden (time and costs) is minimized, collection instruments are understandable, and OSHA's estimate of the information-collection burden is correct. The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the Act) authorizes information collection by employers as necessary or appropriate for enforcement of the Act or for developing information regarding the causes and prevention of occupational injuries, illnesses, and accidents (29 U.S.C. 657).

A number of paragraphs in OSHA's Standard on Presence Sensing Device Initiation (PSDI) (29 CFR 1910.217(h)) (the “Standard”) contain paperwork requirements. These requirements include: Certifying brake-monitor adjustments, alternatives to photo-electric presence sensing devices (PSDs), safety-system design and installation, and employee training; annual recertification of safety systems; establishing and maintaining the original certification and validation records, as well as the most recent recertification and revalidation records; affixing labels to test rods and to certified and recertified presses; and notifying an OSHA-recognized third-party validation organization when a safety system component fails, the employer modifies the safety system, or a point-of-operation injury occurs. In addition, Appendix A of § 1910.217 provides detailed information and procedures required to meet the certification/validation provisions, as well as the design requirements, contained in the Standard. Accordingly, Appendix A supplements and explains the certification/validation provisions of the PSDI Standard, and does not specify new or additional paperwork requirements for employers. Appendix C of § 1910.217 describes the requirements and procedures for obtaining OSHA recognition as a third-party validation organization; therefore, the paperwork requirements specified by this appendix do not impose burden hours or cost directly on employers who use PSDs.

By complying with these paperwork requirements, employers ensure that PSDI-equipped mechanical power presses are in safe working order, thereby preventing severe injury and death to press operators and other employees who work near this equipment. In addition, these records provide the most efficient means for an OSHA compliance officer to determine that an employer performed the requirements and that the equipment is safe.

To date no third-party organization is available to validate employer and manufacturer certifications that their PSDI equipment and practices meet the requirements of the Standard. Therefore, the Agency cannot attribute burden hours and cost to the paperwork requirements of the Standard.

The Agency is currently conducting a Lookback Review on PSDI pursuant to Section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act and section 5 of Executive Order 12866 on Regulatory Planning and Review (67 FR 55181, Docket No. S225A). The purpose of this review is to determine, while protecting worker safety, whether there are ways to modify this standard to make implementation more practical, to reduce regulatory burden on small business and to improve its effectiveness. The Lookback Review process is scheduled to be completed in March 2004.

III. Special Issues for Comment

OSHA has a particular interest in comments on the following issues:

• Whether the proposed information-collection requirements are necessary for the proper performance of the Agency's functions to protect workers, including whether the information is useful;
• The accuracy of OSHA's estimate of the burden (time and costs) of the information collection requirements, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
• The quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; and
• Ways to minimize the burden on employers who must comply; for example, by using automated or other technological information-collection and transmission techniques.

III. Proposed Actions

OSHA is proposing to extend the information collection requirements in the Standard on Presence Sensing Device Initiation (PSDI) (29 CFR 1910.217(h)). The Agency will summarize the comments submitted in response to this notice, and will include this summary in the request to OMB to extend the approval of the information-collection requirements contained in the Standard.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently-approved information-collection requirement.

Title: Standard on Presence Sensing Device Initiation (PSDI) (29 CFR 1910.217(h)).

OMB Number: 1218-0143.

Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; not-for-profit institutions; Federal government; State, local, or tribal governments.

Number of Respondents: 0.

Frequency of Recordkeeping: On occasion; annually; other (initially).

Average Time per Response: 0.

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 0.

IV. Authority and Signature

John L. Henshaw, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, directed the preparation of this notice. The authority for this notice is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3506), and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 5-2002 (67 FR 65008).