05-21843. Submission for OMB Review: Comment Request

October 31, 2005.

The Department of Labor (DOL) has submitted the following public information collection requests (ICRs) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35). A copy of each ICR, with applicable supporting documentation, may be obtained by contacting Darrin King on 202-693-4129 (this is not a toll-free number) or e-mail: [e-mail].

Comments should be sent to Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503, 202-395-7316 (this is not a toll-free number), within 30 days from the date of this publication in the Federal Register.

The OMB is particularly interested in comments which:

• Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility;
• Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
• Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
• Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.

Agency: Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Type of Review: Extension of currently approved collection.

Title: Permit-Required Confined Spaces (29 CFR 1910.146).

OMB Number: 1218-0203.

Frequency: On occasion.

Type of Response: Recordkeeping and Third party disclosure.

Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit institutions; Federal Government; and State, Local, or Tribal Government.

Number of Respondents: 238,853.

Number of Annual Responses: 9,124,977.

Estimated Time Per Response: Varies from 1 minute to maintain a certificate to 16 hours to develop a written permit space entry program.

Total Burden Hours: 1,523,763.

Total Annualized capital/startup costs: $0.

Total Annual Costs (operating/maintaining systems or purchasing services): $.

Description: 29 CFR 1910.146 specifies a number of collections of information requirements. The collections of information are used by employers and employees whenever entry is made into permit-required confined spaces. The following sections describe who uses the information collected under each requirement, as well as how they use it. The purpose of the information is to ensure that employers systematically evaluate the dangers in permit spaces before entry is attempted and to ensure that adequate measures are taken to make the spaces safe for entry. In addition, the information is needed to determine, during an OSHA inspection by a compliance safety and health officer, if employers are in compliance with the Standard.

Section 1910.146(c)(2) requires the employer to post danger signs to inform exposed employees of the existence and location of, and the danger posed by, permit spaces.

Section 1910.146(c)(4) requires the employer to develop and implement a written “permit space program” if the employer decides that its employees will enter permit spaces. The written program is to be made available for inspection by employees and their authorized representatives. Section 1910.146(d) provides the employer with the requirements of a permit-required confined space program (“permit space program”) required under this paragraph.

Section 1910.146(c)(5)(i)(E) requires that the determinations and supporting data specified by paragraphs (c)(5)(i)(A), (c)(5)(i)(B), and (c)(5)(i)(C) of this section are documented by the employer and are made available to each employee who enters a permit space or to that employee's authorized representative.

Under paragraph (c)(5)(ii)(H) of § 1910.146, the employer is required to verify that the space is safe for entry and that the pre-entry measures required by paragraph (c)(5)(ii) of this section have been taken, using a written certification that contains the date, the location of the space, and the signature of the person providing the certification. The certification is to be made before entry and is required to be made available to each employee entering the space or to that employee's authorized representative.

Section 1910.146(c)(7)(iii) requires the employer to document the basis for determining that all hazards in a permit space have been eliminated using a certification that contains the date, the location of the space, and the signature of the person making the determination. The certification is to be made available to each employee entering the space or to that employee's authorized representative.

Section 1910.146(c)(8)(i) requires that the employer inform the contractor that the workplace contains permit spaces and that permit space entry is allowed only through compliance with a permit space program meeting the requirements of this section. Section 1910.146(c)(8)(ii) requires that the employer apprise the contractor of the elements, including the hazards identified and the host employer's experience with the space, that make the space in question a permit space. Section 1910.146(c)(8)(iii) requires that the employer apprise the contractor of any precautions or procedures that the host employer has implemented for the protection of employees in or near permit spaces where contractor personnel will be working. Section 1910.146(c)(8)(v) requires the employer to debrief the contractor at the conclusion of the entry operations regarding the permit space program followed and regarding any hazards confronted or created in permit spaces during entry operations.^[1]

Section 1910.146(c)(9)(iii) requires that the contractor inform the host employer of the permit space program that the contractor will follow and of any hazards confronted or created in permit spaces, either through a debriefing or during the entry operation.^[2]

Section 1910.146(d)(5)(vi) requires the employer to immediately provide each authorized entrant or that employee's authorized representative with the results of any testing conducted in accordance with paragraph (d) of this section.^[3]

Section 1910.146(e)(1) requires the employer to document the completion of measures required by paragraph (d)(3) by preparing an entry permit before employee entry is authorized. Paragraph (f) of § 1910.146 specifies the information to be included on the entry permit. Paragraph (e)(3) requires that the employer make the completed permit available at the time of entry to all authorized entrants by posting the permit at the entry portal or by any other equally effective means, so that the entrants can confirm that pre-entry preparations have been completed. Paragraph (e)(6) requires the employer to retain each canceled entry permit for at least one year.

Section 1910.146(g)(4) requires that the employer certify that the training required by paragraphs (g)(1) through (g)(3) ^[4] has been accomplished by preparing a written certification record.

Section 1910.146(k)(1)(iv) requires that the employer inform each rescue team or service of the hazards they may confront when called on to perform rescue at the site.

Section 1910.146(k)(2)(ii) requires that the employer train affected employees to perform assigned rescue duties. The employer must ensure that such employees successfully complete the training required to establish proficiency as an authorized entrant, as provided by paragraphs (g) and (h) of this section. Section 1910.146(k)(2)(iii) requires that the employer train affected employees in basic first-aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The employer shall ensure that at least one member of the rescue team or service holding a current certification in first aid and CPR is available.

Section 1910.146(k)(4) requires that if an injured entrant is exposed to a substance for which a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) or other similar written information is required to be kept at the worksite, that the employer make the MSDS or written information available to the medical facility treating the exposed entrant.^[5]

Section 1910.146(l)(2) requires that employers make all information required to be developed by this section available to affected employees and their authorized representatives.^[6]

Agency: Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Type of Review: Extension of currently approved collection.

Title: Vehicle-Mounted Elevating and Rotating Work Platforms (Aerial Lifts) (29 CFR 1910.67).

OMB Number: 1218-0230.

Frequency: On occasion.

Type of Response: Recordkeeping and Third party disclosure.

Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit institutions; Federal Government; and State, Local, or Tribal Government.

Number of Respondents: 1,000.

Number of Annual Responses: 1,014.

Estimated Time Per Response: Varies from 1 minute to maintain the manufacturer's certification record to 2 minutes to disclose it to an OSHA Compliance Officer.

Total Burden Hours: 21.

Total Annualized capital/startup costs: $0.

Total Annual Costs (operating/maintaining systems or purchasing services): $0.

Description: OSHA's Vehicle-Mounted Elevating and Rotating Work Platforms Standard (29 CFR 1910.67) (the “Standard”) specifies one paperwork requirement.

Manufacturer's Certification of Modification (paragraph (b)(2)). The Standard requires that when aerial lifts are “field modified” for uses other than those intended by the manufacturer, the manufacturer or other equivalent entity, such as a nationally recognized testing laboratory, must certify in writing that the modification is in conformity with all applicable provisions of ANSI A92.2-1969 and the OSHA Standard and that the modified aerial lift is at least as safe as the equipment was before modification. Employers are to maintain the certification record and make it available to OSHA compliance officers. This record provides assurance to employers, employees, and compliance officers that the aerial lift is safe for use, thereby preventing failure while employees are being elevated. The certification record also provides the most efficient means for the compliance officers to determine that an employer is complying with the Standard.

Ira L. Mills,

Departmental Clearance Officer.

Footnotes

1.  These sections identify usual and customary communications between employers, contractors, and employees; therefore, they do not impose burden hours or costs on the employer. For example, as a matter of business practice, information about hazards and permit-required confined spaces, etc., would be conveyed to contractors during initial discussions of work to be performed.

2.  See footnote 1.

3.  See footnote 1.

4.  The Agency concludes that the training required under § 1910.146(g)(1) through (g)(3) and (k)(2)(ii) and (k)(2)(iii) § 1910.146(k) is written in performance-oriented language and, thus, not considered a collection of information under the implementing rules and guidelines of PRA-95.

5.  The burden hours and cost for MSDS accessibility is taken under OMB Control Number 1218-0072 (the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) ICR).

6.  See footnote 1.