06-4824. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Standards for Shipyard Employment; Extension of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Approval of Information Collection (Paperwork) Requirements

AGENCY:

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION:

Request for public comment.

SUMMARY:

OSHA solicits public comment concerning its request for an extension of the information collection requirements specified by its standards on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Shipyard Employment (29 CFR part 1915, subpart I).

DATES:

Comments must be submitted by the following dates:

Hard copy: Your comments must be submitted (postmarked or received) by July 24, 2006.

Facsimile and electronic transmission: Your comments must be received by July 24, 2006.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by OSHA Docket No. ICR-1218-0215(2006), by any of the following methods:

Regular mail, express delivery, hand delivery, and messenger service: Submit your comments and attachments to the OSHA Docket Office, Room N-2625, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone [phone] (OSHA's TTY number is [phone]). OSHA Docket Office and Department of Labor hours are 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., e.t.

Facsimile: If your comments are 10 pages or fewer, including attachments, you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at [phone].

Electronic: You may submit comments through the Internet at http://ecomments.osha.gov. Follow instructions on the OSHA Web page for submitting comments.

Docket: For access to the docket to read or download comments or background materials, such as the complete Information Collection Request (ICR) (containing the Supporting Statement, OMB-83-I Form, and attachments), go to OSHA's Web page at http://www.OSHA.gov. In addition, the ICR, comments and submissions are available for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office at the address above. You may also contact Theda Kenney at the address below to obtain a copy of the ICR. For additional information on submitting comments, please see the “Public Participation” section in SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Theda Kenney or Todd Owen, Directorate of Standards and Guidance, OSHA, 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)). This program ensures that information is in the desired format, reporting burden (time and costs) is minimal, collection instruments are clearly understood, and OSHA's estimate of the information collection burden is accurate. The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the Act) (29 U.S.C. 615 et seq.) 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). The Act also requires that OSHA obtain such information with minimum burden upon employers, especially those operating small business, and to reduce to the maximum extent feasible unnecessary duplication of efforts in obtaining information (29 U.S.C. 657).

Part 1915 subpart I specifies several paperwork requirements.^[1] The following describe the information collection requirements:

Hazard Assessment and Verification (29 CFR 1915.152(b)). Paragraph (b) requires that the employer assess work activities to determine whether there are hazards present, or likely to be present, which necessitate the employee's use of PPE. If such hazards are present, or likely to be present, the employer must: (1) Select the type of PPE that will protect the affected employee from the hazards identified in the occupational hazard assessment; (2) communicate selection decisions to affected employees; (3) select PPE that properly fits each affected employee; and (4) verify that the required occupational hazard assessment has been performed. The verification document must contain the following information: Occupation, the date(s) of the hazard assessment, and the name of the person performing the hazard assessment.

Training and Verification (29 CFR 1915.152(e)). Paragraph (e)(1) requires that the employer provide training to each employee who is required to use PPE and paragraph (e)(3) requires retraining under certain circumstances. Paragraph (e)(4) requires that the employer verify that each affected employee has received the PPE training. The verification must contain the following information: Name of each employee trained, the date(s) of training, and the type of training the employee received.

The part 1915 standards on PPE protection for the eyes and face (§ 1915.153), head (§ 1915.155), feet (§ 1915.156), hands and body (§ 1915.157), lifesaving equipment (§ 1915.158), personal fall arrest systems (§ 1915.159), and positioning device systems (§ 1915.160) do not contain any separate information collections requirements.

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, 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 requesting OMB to extend their approval of the collection of information requirements contained in the standards on Personal Protective Equipment for Shipyard Employment (29 CFR part 1915, subpart I). The Agency is requesting an increase in burden hours for the existing collection of information requirements from 1,761 to 2,041 (a total increase of 280 hours). The Agency will summarize the comments submitted in response to this notice, and will include this summary in its request to OMB.

Type of Review: Extension of currently approved information collection requirements.

Title: Personal Protective Equipment Standards for Shipyard Employment (29 CFR part 1915, subpart I).

OMB Number: 1218-0215.

Affected Public: Business or other-for-profits; Federal Government; State, local, or tribal government.

Number of Respondents: 639.

Frequency: On occasion.

Average Time per Response: Varies from one minute (.02 hour) to maintain training documentation to 5 minutes (.08 hour) to document a hazard reassement.

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 2,041.

Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $0.

IV. Public Participation—Submission of Coments on This Notice and Internet Access to Comments and Submissions

You may submit comments and supporting materials in response to this notice by (1) Hard copy, (2) FAX transmission (facsimile), or (3) electronically through the OSHA Web page. 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] (TTY [phone]) for information about security procedures concerning the delivery of submissions by express delivery, hand delivery, and courier service.

All comments, submissions, and background documents are available for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office at the above address. Comments and submissions posted on OSHA's Web page are available at http://www.OSHA.gov. Contact the OSHA Docket Office for information about materials not available through the OSHA Web page and for assistance using the Web page to locate docket submissions.

Electronic copies of this Federal Register notice as well as other relevant documents are available on OSHA's Web page. Since all submissions become public, private information such as social security numbers should not be submitted.

V. Authority and Signature

Edwin G. Foulke, Jr., Assistant Sececretary 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 et seq.) and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 5-2002 (67 FR 65008).

Signed at Washington, DC, on May 18, 2006.

Edwin G. Foulke, Jr.,

Assistant Secretary of Labor.

Footnotes

1.  This Information Collection Request (ICR) does not include burden hours and costs associated with the information collection requirements in the standard on Respiratory Protection (29 CFR 1915.154), which has been addressed in a separate ICR. See OMB Control NO. 1218-0099.