[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 8, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 7447-7449]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-3041]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
29 CFR Part 1910
[Docket No. S-048]
Logging Operations
AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
ACTION: Final rule; partial stay of enforcement.
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SUMMARY: On October 12, 1994, the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) issued a new standard for logging operations (59
FR 51672). This notice stays enforcement of the following paragraphs of
Sec. 1910.266 until August 9, 1995: (d)(1)(v) insofar as it requires
foot protection to be chain-saw resistant; (d)(1)(vii) insofar as it
requires face protection; (d)(2)(iii) for first-aid kits that contain
all the items listed in Appendix A; (f)(2)(iv); (f)(2)(xi); (f)(3)(ii);
(f)(3)(vii); (f)(3)(viii); (f)(7)(ii) insofar as it requires that
parking brakes be able to stop the machine; (g)(1) and (g)(2) insofar
as they require inspection and maintenance of employee-owned vehicles;
and (h)(2)(vii) insofar as it precludes backcuts at the level of the
horizontal cut of the undercut when the Humboldt cutting method is
used.
DATES: Effective on February 9, 1995. The partial stay will expires on
August 9, 1995. The remaining requirements of Sec. 1910.266 are
unaffected by this document and will go into effect as scheduled on
February 9, 1995, or as otherwise provided in the Final Rule.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Anne Cyr, Office of Information
and Consumer Affairs, Occupational Safety and Health Administration,
Room N-3637, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW.,
Washington, DC 20210, (202) 219-8148.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 12, 1994, OSHA issued a final
rule governing worker safety in logging operations. Among other things,
this rule included requirements for: personal protective equipment;
first aid kits at logging work sites; machine stability and slope
limitations; discharge of hydraulic and pneumatic storage devices on
forestry machines; protective structures on machines; machine braking
systems; vehicle inspection and maintenance; and tree harvesting.
Several parties have raised questions about certain aspects of these
requirements. After considering their questions, the Agency has
determined that a six-month delay in the effective date of some of the
provisions is appropriate in order to allow time for it to clarify
language in the regulatory text so that it most adequately expresses
its intent with respect to some of these provisions, and to provide
additional information on other provisions.
Stay of Enforcement of Certain Provisions of Sec. 1910.266
Paragraph (d)(1)(v)--Foot protection. The final logging standard
requires [[Page 7448]] employees to wear foot protection, such as
heavy-duty logging boots, that among other things, protect against
``penetration by chain saws.'' Some interested persons have
misinterpreted this provision to require steel-toed boots, although the
preamble to the final rule explained that the rule does not require
steel-toed boots.
OSHA has decided to grant a six-month delay in the effective date
of the portion of this provision that requires that foot protection be
chain-saw resistant. (The remaining requirements of the foot protection
provision will go into effect as scheduled on February 9.) This delay
will enable OSHA to review the logging community requirements on
available foot protection, including many types of heavy-duty leather
logging boots currently used, kevlar boots, and foot coverings that
provide adequate chain saw resistance. Finally, this delay will allow
greater availability of new products that manufacturers are developing
in response to the standard.
Paragraph (d)(1)(vii)--Eye and face protection. The logging
standard requires loggers to wear eye and face protection meeting the
requirements of OSHA's general personal protection equipment (PPE)
standards when there is a potential for injury due to falling or flying
objects. Some interested persons have interpreted this provision to
require both eye and face protection in all cases.
OSHA has decided to grant a six-month delay in the effective date
of this provision to the extent that it requires face protection. (The
current effective date of February 9 will continue to apply to the eye
protection requirement.) The delay will allow OSHA to clarify what the
standard requires, and to better inform employers about available face
protection that does not limit worker vision.
Paragraph (d)(2)(iii)--Annual approval of first-aid kits by a
health care provider. Paragraph (d)(2) states that employers mut
provide and maintain adequate first-aid kits at each worksite, and that
the number and contents of the kits must be reviewed annually by a
health care provider. Some interested persons have interpreted the
standard to require that a doctor inspect each kit annually.
OSHA has decided to grant a six-month delay in the effective date
of the provision requiring annual health care provider review. The
requirement that first-aid kits contain at least the items listed in
Appendix A (paragraph (d)(2)(ii)) will go into effect as scheduled on
February 9, 1995. During this period, OSHA will revise the statutory
language to clarify its original intent.
Paragraph (f)(2)(iv)--Slope limitations on machine operation. This
rule states that logging machines shall not be operated on any slope
greater than the maximum slope recommended by the manufacturer. Some
parties have interpreted this provision to require manufacturers to
specify maximum slopes that would be applicable in all field
situations. OSHA is granting a six-month stay of this provision to
clarify this point.
Paragraph (f)(2)(xi)--Discharge of stored energy from machine
hydraulic and pneumatic storage devices. This provision requires that
pressure or stored energy from hydraulic and pneumatic storage devices
be discharged after the machine engine is shut down. Some parties have
interpreted this provision to require discharge of air and water from
all machine components, even when the presence of air or water pressure
will not create a hazard for any employee. OSHA is granting a six-month
delay in order to clarify this point.
Paragraph (f)(3)(ii)--Machine rollover protective structures. The
final rule requires that all rollover protective structures (ROPS) be
installed, tested and maintained in accordance with the Society of
Automotive Engineers (SAE) J1040, April 1988, performance criteria for
rollover protective structures (ROPS). OSHA has learned that some
logging equipment currently in production has not yet been designed to
meet the 1988 SAE criteria document. OSHA has decided to delay the
effective date of this requirement for six-months in order to determine
whether any additional extension may be appropriate.
Paragraph (f)(3) (vii) and (viii)--Machine operator cab protective
structures. These provisions require that the lower portion of the
operator's cab be enclosed with ``solid'' material that will prevent
objects from entering the cab. Some parties have interpreted this
provision to encourage the use of materials like steel plating that may
restrict the operator's field of vision. OSHA is granting a six-month
delay in the effective date of this provision in order to clarify this
requirement.
Paragraph (f)(7)(ii)--Machine braking systems. This provision
requires that each machine be equipped with ``a secondary braking
system, such as an emergency brake or a parking brake, which shall be
effective in stopping the machine and maintaining parking
performance.'' OSHA has since learned that the terminology used in this
provision is inconsistent with that used by some manufacturers. These
manufacturers consider a secondary braking system to be a subsystem of
the service brake system and that each subsystem should be capable of
stopping the machine even though the other subsystem fails. The parking
brake system is not designed to stop the vehicle in motion but rather
to restrain it once movement has stopped; thus it is not considered a
secondary system.
OSHA is granting a six-month delay in this provision only to the
extent that it requires that parking brakes be able to stop the
machine. During this period, employers must still assure that each
machine has a service brake system that is capable of stopping the
machine and a parking brake system that can hold the machine and its
maximum load on any slope that the machine is operated. OSHA will
revise the terminology in this provision to clarify its intent.
Paragraph (g) (1) and (2)--Inspection and maintenance of employee-
owned vehicles. These provisions require that any vehicle used off
public roads at logging work sites or to perform any logging operation,
including employee-owned vehicles, be maintained in a serviceable
condition. Some parties have interpreted this provision to require
logging employers to inspect and maintain all vehicles, including those
employee-owned vehicles that they allow on their logging sites.
OSHA is granting a six-month delay in the effective date of these
provisions insofar as they apply to employee-owned vehicles. The
additional time will enable OSHA to reexamine the record on this issue
and clarify its intent of the standard.
Paragraph (h)(2)(vii)--Backcuts. This rule requires that backcuts
be above the horizontal line of the undercut. OSHA is aware that when
loggers use the Humboldt cutting method, in which the diagonal cut is
below the horizontal cut of the undercut, the backcut is at the level
of the horizontal cut. The Agency is granting a six-month delay in the
effective date of this provision only to the extent that the rule does
not permit loggers using the Humboldt method to place the backcut at
the level of the horizontal cut. (OSHA emphasizes that backcuts may
never be made below the horizontal cut.) OSHA will reexamine the record
on this issue.
III. Authority
This document was prepared under the direction of Joseph A. Dear,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S.
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC
20210. [[Page 7449]]
The actions in this document are taken pursuant to sections 4, 6,
and 8 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 653,
655, 657), Secretary of Labor's Order No. 1-90 (55 FR 9033), and 29 CFR
part 1911.
Signed at Washington, DC., this 2nd day of February, 1995.
Joseph A. Dear,
Assistant Secretary of Labor.
For the reasons set forth above, 29 CFR part 1910 is hereby amended
as follows:
PART 1910--[AMENDED]
1. The Authority citation for subpart R of 29 CFR part 1910
continues to read as follows:
Authority: Secs. 4, 6, 8, Occupational Safety and Health Act of
1970 (29 U.S.C. 653, 655, 657); Secretary of Labor's Order No. 12-71
(36 FR 8754), 8-76 (41 FR 25059), 9-83 (48 FR 35736), or 1-90 (55 FR
9033), as applicable.
Sections 1910.261, 1910.262, 1910.265, 1910.266, 1910.267,
1910.268, 1910.272, 1910.274, and 1910.275 also issued under 29 CFR
part 1911.
Section 1910.272 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 553.
2. A note is added at the end of Sec. 1910.266, to read as follows:
Sec. 1910.266 Logging operations.
* * * * *
Note: In the Federal Register of February 8, 1995, OSHA stayed
the following paragraphs of Sec. 1910.266 from February 9, 1995
until August 9, 1995:
1. (d)(1)(v) insofar as it requires foot protection to be chain-
saw resistant.
2. (d)(1)(vii) insofar as it requires face protection.
3. (d)(2)(iii).
4. (f)(2)(iv).
5. (f)(2)(xi).
6. (f)(3)(ii).
7. (f)(3)(vii).
8. (f)(3)(viii).
9. (f)(7)(ii) insofar as it requires that parking brakes be able
to stop the machine.
10. (g)(1) and (g)(2) insofar as they require inspection and
maintenance of employee-owned vehicles.
11. (h)(2)(vii) insofar as it precludes backcuts at the level of
the horizontal cut of the undercut when the Humboldt cutting method
is used.
[FR Doc. 95-3041 Filed 2-7-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-26-M
