03-19345. Standards on Electrical Protective Equipment (29 CFR 1910.137) and Electric Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution (29 CFR 1910.269); Extension of the Office of Management and Budget's Approval of Information Collection (...

AGENCY:

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION:

Request for comment.

SUMMARY:

OSHA requests comment concerning its proposed extension of the information collection requirements specified by its standards on Electrical Protective Equipment (29 CFR 1910.137) and Electric Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution (29 CFR 1910.269).

The collections of information are needed to help employers ensure that electrical protective equipment is maintained in a safe, reliable condition and employees have received the training required by § 1910.269. The information will also be provided to OSHA compliance officers during inspections.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted by the following dates:

Hard Copy: Your comments must be submitted (postmarked or received) by September 29, 2003.

Facsimile and electronic transmission: Your comments must be received by September 29, 2003.

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 1218-0190 (2003), 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 [phone]. You must include the docket number, ICR 1218-0199 (2003), in your comments.

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

You may submit comments in response to this document by (1) hard copy, (2) FAX transmission (facsimile), or (3) electronically through the OSHA Web page. Please note you cannot attach materials such as studies or journal articles to electronic comments. If 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 there may be a significant delay in the receipt of comments by regular mail. Please contact the OSHA Docket Office at [phone] for information about security procedures concerning the delivery of materials by express delivery, hand delivery, and messenger service.

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 [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. 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 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)) (PRA-95). 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.

Under § 1910.137(b)(2)(xii), employers must certify that the electrical protective equipment used by their employees passed the tests specified in paragraphs (b)(2)(viii), (b)(2)(ix), and (b)(2)(xi) of the standard. The certification must identify the equipment that passed the tests and the dates of the tests. This provision helps ensure that electrical protective equipment is reliable and safe for employee use and will provide adequate protection against electric shock. In addition, certification helps OSHA to determine if employers are in compliance with the equipment-testing requirements of the standard.

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

The Supporting Statement for the Information Collection Request (ICR) is available for downloading from OSHA's Web site at www.osha.gov. The complete ICR, containing the OMB-83-I Form, Supporting Statement, and attachments, is available for inspection and copying in the OSHA Docket Office, at the address listed above. A printed copy of the ICR can be obtained by contacting Theda Kenney at [phone].

Section 1910.269(a)(2)(vii) requires employers to certify that each employee received the training specified in paragraph (a)(2) of the standard. Employers must provide certification after an employee demonstrates proficiency in the work practices involved.

The training conducted under paragraph (a)(2) of the standard ensures that: Employees are familiar with the safety-related work practices, safety procedures, and other procedures, as well as any additional safety requirements in the standard, that pertain to their respective job assignments; employees are familiar with any other safety practices, including applicable emergency procedures (such as pole top and manhole rescue), addressed specifically by this standard that relate to their work and are necessary for their safety; and qualified employees have the skills and techniques necessary to distinguish exposed live parts from other parts of electric equipment, can determine the nominal voltage of the exposed live parts, know the minimum approach distances specified by the standard for voltages when exposed to them, and understand the proper use of special precautionary techniques, personal protective equipment, insulating and shielding materials, and insulated tools for working on or near exposed and energized parts of electric equipment.

Employees must receive additional training or retraining if: The supervision and annual inspections required by the standard indicate that they are not complying with the required safety-related work practices; new technology or equipment, or revised procedures, require the use of safety-related work practices that differ from their usual safety practices; and they use safety-related work practices that are different than their usual safety practices while performing job duties.

The training requirements of this standard inform employees of the safety hazards of electrical exposure and provide them with the understanding required to minimize these safety hazards. In addition, employees receive proper training in safety-related work practices, safety procedures, and other safety requirements specified in the standard. The required training, therefore, provides information to employees that enables them to recognize how and where electrical and other hazardous exposures occur, and what steps to take, including work practices, to limit such exposure. The certification requirement specified by paragraph (a)(2)(vii) of the standard helps employers monitor the training their employees received and helps OSHA determine if employers provided the required training to their employees.

II. 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 proposes to extend the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the information collection requirements specified by the standards on Electrical Protective Equipment (29 CFR 1910.137) and Electric Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution (29 CFR 1910.269). The Agency will summarize the comments submitted in response to this notice, and will include this summary in its request to OMB to extend the approval of these information collection requirements.

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

Title: Electrical Protective Equipment (29 CFR 1910.137) and Electric Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution (29 CFR 1910.269).

OMB Number: 1218-0190.

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

Number of Respondents: 12,195.

Frequency of Recordkeeping: On occasion; semi-annually; annually.

Average Time per Response: Varies from one minute (.02 hour) to 15 minutes (.25 hour).

Total Annual Hours Requested: 22,685.

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).

Signed at Washington, DC on July 25, 2003.

John L. Henshaw,

Assistant Secretary of Labor.