[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 80 (Monday, April 27, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20661-20662]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-11107]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration
[Docket No. NRTL-2-97]


Detroit Testing Laboratory, Inc., Recognition as an NRTL

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration; Labor.

ACTION: Notice of recognition as a Nationally Recognized Testing 
Laboratory (NRTL).

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the Agency's final decision on the 
application of Detroit Testing Laboratory, Inc. for recognition as an 
NRTL under 29 CFR 1910.7.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This recognition will become effective on April 27, 
1998 and will be valid for a period of five years from that date, until 
April 28, 2003, unless terminated prior to that date, in accordance 
with 29 CFR 1910.7.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bernard Pasquet, Office of Technical 
Programs and Coordination Activities, NRTL Program, Occupational Safety 
and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution 
Avenue, N.W., Room N3653, Washington, D.C. 20210, or phone (202) 219-
7056.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Notice of Final Decision

    Notice is hereby given that the Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration (OSHA) has recognized Detroit Testing Laboratory, Inc. 
(DTL) as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory for the equipment 
or materials listed below. DTL applied for recognition as a Nationally 
Recognized Testing Laboratory, pursuant to 29 CFR 1910.7, and a notice 
of the application was published in the Federal Register (62 FR 62358, 
11/21/97). The notice included a preliminary finding that DTL could 
meet the requirements for recognition detailed in 29 CFR 1910.7, and 
invited public comment on the application by January 20, 1998. No 
comments were received concerning this request for recognition.
    Copies of all application documents (Docket No. NRTL-2-97) are 
available for inspection and duplication at the Docket Office, 
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of 
Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Room N2634, Washington, D.C. 
20210.
    The address of the laboratory covered by this application is: 
Detroit Testing Laboratory, Inc., 7111 E. Eleven Mile, Warren, Michigan 
48092.

Background

    Detroit Testing Laboratory, Inc. (DTL), according to the applicant, 
is a Michigan corporation and was formally incorporated in 1949. The 
applicant states that the lab was originally founded in 1903 as a 
partnership, that ownership of the lab changed in 1948 and again in 
1968, and that in 1976, the current owner purchased DTL as sole 
stockholder.
    The applicant submitted an application package, and separately 
submitted a Quality Assurance (QA) Manual (see Exhibits 2A and 2B). The 
QA Manual includes: An organization chart, position descriptions, and 
resumes of key personnel; department descriptions including equipment 
and standards used for departments involved in testing; description of 
certifications done and standards used for certification; and the 
details on how calibrations are handled, including descriptions of 
equipment and standards.
    The four primary criteria for recognition are presented below, 
along with examples which illustrate how DTL has met these criteria.

Capability

    Section 1910.7(b)(1) states that for each specified item of 
equipment or material to be listed, labeled or accepted, the laboratory 
must have the capability (including proper testing equipment and 
facilities, trained staff, written testing procedures, and calibration 
and quality control programs) to perform appropriate testing. The 
application and on-site review report indicate that DTL meets these 
criteria.
    The applicant has one main facility at its site in Warren, 
Michigan, and a smaller test facility in Center Line, Michigan. This 
smaller site is not included in the applicant's request for 
recognition. The applicant has natural gas, electric, compressed air, 
steam, and water available in the laboratory for product testing and 
for calibrations and tests.
    The applicant's QA Manual shows the testing experience of its key 
testing staff, mentions its certification, and listing and labeling 
experience with products, and describes its testing capabilities and 
experience in a number of specific areas. It also contains a list of 
major instrumentation and equipment.
    Quality Assurance (QA) Procedures, Test/Operating procedures 
(developed on a form, the original of which is kept by each lab), 
calibration procedures, and audits (including proficiency audits which 
depends in part on the use of outside private services) are described 
in the QA Manual. Furthermore, the QA includes an Internal Corrective 
Action Procedure whereby reports are issued to an area when it operates 
outside the guidelines of the QA System. The QA Manual also contains a 
sample handling procedure and procedures on employee training. Written 
procedures exist for typical tests, per QA Manual.

[[Page 20662]]

Control Procedures

    Section 1910.7(b)(2) requires that the NRTL provide certain 
controls and services, to the extent necessary, for the particular 
equipment or material to be listed, labeled, or accepted. These consist 
of implementation of control procedures for identifying the listed or 
labeled equipment or materials, inspecting the production runs at 
factories to assure conformance with test standards, and conducting 
field inspections to monitor and assure the proper use of identifying 
marks or labels. The application and on-site review report indicate 
that DTL meets these criteria.
    The application contains the description of the listing and 
labeling procedure, and indicates ``inspections'' will be done four 
times per year and periodic compliance testing is done every four 
years. A sample listing and follow-up agreement was also provided. In 
addition, ``Instructions for * * * Inspections * * *,'' and a sample 
inspection form were submitted.

Independence

    Section 1910.7(b)(3) requires that the NRTL be completely 
independent of employers subject to the tested equipment requirements, 
and for any manufacturers or vendors of equipment or materials being 
tested for these purposes. The application and on-site review report 
indicate that DTL meets these criteria.
    A statement of independence was supplied attesting that DTL is 
independent of any producer, supplier, or vendor. The applicant claims 
in the statement that, for products being tested and certified: It has 
no managerial affiliations with any producer, supplier, or vendor; it 
has no securities, investments, or stock options in the product lines; 
the employment security of its personnel is free from influence by any 
producer, supplier, or vendor; that it is not owned, operated, or 
controlled by any producers, suppliers, or vendors; and that it is not 
engaged in promotion or design.

Creditable Reports/Complaint Handling

    Section 1910.7(b)(4) provides that the NRTL must maintain effective 
procedures for producing creditable findings and reports that are 
objective and without bias, as well as for handling complaints and 
disputes under a fair and reasonable system. The application and on-
site review report indicate that DTL meets these criteria.
    The QA Manual contains details on development of test data and 
reports, and both the application and the QA Manual describe a 
complaint procedure.

Standards

    After publication of the notice of the application and preliminary 
finding, DTL informed OSHA that one of the standards it had requested 
for recognition, ANSI/UL 1025 Electric Air Heaters, had been withdrawn 
by Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL), the organization that developed 
this test standard. DTL subsequently requested recognition for the two 
standards which replaced ANSI/UL 1025, in a letter dated January 6, 
1998.
    Inasmuch as the original standard was withdrawn by UL prior to the 
publication of the application, the notice was in error and OSHA is 
granting the request to correct the error. Also, OSHA believes that the 
two new standards are substantially equivalent to the standard 
withdrawn, and that DTL has the necessary capability to test and 
certify to those standards.

Final Decision and Order

    Based upon a preponderance of the evidence resulting from an 
examination of the complete application, the supporting documentation, 
and the OSHA staff finding including On-Site Review Report, dated June 
25, 1997 (see Exhibit 3), OSHA finds that Detroit Testing Laboratory, 
Inc. has met the requirements of 29 CFR 1910.7 to be recognized by OSHA 
as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory to test and certify 
certain equipment or materials. Pursuant to the authority in 29 CFR 
1910.7, Detroit Testing Laboratory, Inc. is hereby recognized as a 
Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory, subject to the limitations 
and conditions listed below.

Limitations

    This recognition is limited to equipment or materials which, under 
Title 29, require or permit testing, listing, labeling, approval, 
acceptance, or certification, by a Nationally Recognized Testing 
Laboratory. This recognition is further limited to the use of the 
following test standards for the testing and certification of equipment 
or materials included within the scope of these standards.
    DTL asserts by its application that the following standards pertain 
to equipment or materials that will be used in environments under 
OSHA's jurisdiction, and OSHA has determined they are appropriate 
within the meaning of 29 CFR 1910.7(c):

ANSI/UL 234 Low Voltage Lighting Fixtures for Use in Recreational 
Vehicles
ANSI/UL 1278 Standard for Safety for Movable and Wall- or Ceiling-Hung 
Electric Room Heaters
UL 2021 Fixed and Location-Dedicated Electric Room Heaters

Conditions

    Detroit Testing Laboratory, Inc. must also abide by the following 
conditions of the recognition, in addition to those already required by 
29 CFR 1910.7:
    OSHA shall be allowed access to DTL's facility and records for 
purposes of ascertaining continuing compliance with the terms of its 
recognition and to investigate as OSHA deems necessary;
    If DTL has reason to doubt the efficacy of any test standard it is 
using under this program, it shall promptly inform the test standard 
developing organization of this fact and provide that organization with 
appropriate relevant information upon which its concerns are based;
    DTL shall not engage in or permit others to engage in any 
misrepresentation of the scope or conditions of its recognition. As 
part of this condition, DTL agrees that it will allow no representation 
that it is either a recognized or an accredited Nationally Recognized 
Testing Laboratory (NRTL) without clearly indicating the specific 
equipment or material to which this recognition is tied, or that its 
recognition is limited to certain products;
    DTL shall inform OSHA as soon as possible, in writing, of any 
change of ownership or key personnel, including details;
    DTL will continue to meet the requirements for recognition in all 
areas where it has been recognized; and
    DTL will always cooperate with OSHA to assure compliance with the 
spirit as well as the letter of its recognition and 29 CFR 1910.7.

    Signed at Washington, D.C. this 22nd day of April, 1998.
Charles N. Jeffress,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-11107 Filed 4-24-98; 8:45 am]
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