[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 88 (Monday, May 7, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23049-23051]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-11389]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. ICR-1218-0121(2001)]


Powered Platforms for Building Maintenance (29 CFR 1910.66); 
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: Notice of an opportunity for public comment.

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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits public comment concerning its request to 
decrease and extend the information-collection requirements specified 
in the standard on Powered Platforms for Building Maintenance (29 CFR 
1910.66).

DATES: Submit written comments on or before July 6, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to the Docket Office, Docket No. 
ICR-1218-0121(2001), OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-2625, 200 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-
2350. Commenters may transmit written comments of 10 pages or less by 
facsimile to: (202) 693-1648.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Theda Kenney, Directorate of Safety 
Standards Programs, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-3609, 200 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-
2222. A copy of the Agency's Information-Collection Request (ICR) 
supporting the need for the information collections specified by the 
standard on Powered Platforms for Building Maintenance is available for 
inspection and copying in the Docket Office, or by requesting a copy 
from Theda Kenney at (202) 693-2222 or Todd Owen at (202) 693-2444. For 
electronic copies of the ICR, contact OSHA on the Internet at http://www.osha.gov/comp-links.html, and select ``Information Collection 
Requests.''

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 (PRA-95) (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 correct.
    Paragraph (e)(9) of the Sec. 1910.66 (hereafter, the ``Standard'') 
requires that employers develop and implement a written emergency-
action plan for each type of powered-platform operation. The plan must 
explain the emergency procedures that employees are to follow if they 
encounter a disruption of the power supply, equipment failure, and 
other emergency. Prior to operating a powered platform, employers must 
notify employees how they can inform themselves about alarm systems and 
emergency-escape routes, and emergency procedures that pertain to the 
building on which they will be working. Employers are to review with 
each employee those parts of the emergency-action plan that the 
employee must know to ensure their protection during an emergency; 
these reviews must occur when the employee receives an initial 
assignment involving a powered-platform operation and after the 
employer revises the emergency-action plan.
    According to paragraph (f)(5)(i)(C), employers must affix a load-
rating plate to a conspicuous location and on each suspended unit that 
states the unit's

[[Page 23050]]

weight and its rated load capacity. Paragraph (f)(5)(ii)(N) requires 
employers to mount each emergency electric-operating device in a 
secured compartment and label the device with instructions for its use. 
After installing a suspension wire rope, paragraphs (f)(7)(vi) and 
(f)(7)(vii) mandate that employers attach a corrosion-resistant tag 
with specified information to one of the wire-rope fastenings if the 
rope is to remain at one location. In addition, paragraph (f)(7)(viii) 
requires employers who resocket a wire rope to either stamp specified 
information on the original tag or put that information on a 
supplemental tag and attach it to the fastening.
    Paragraphs (g)(2)(i) and (g)(2)(ii) require that building owners, 
at least annually, have a competent person: Inspect the supporting 
structures of their buildings; inspect and, if necessary, test the 
components of the powered platforms, including control systems; 
inspect/test components subject to wear (e.g., wire ropes, bearings, 
gears, and governors); and certify these inspections and tests. Under 
paragraph (g)(2)(iii), building owners must maintain and, on request, 
disclose to OSHA a written certification record of these inspections/
tests; this record must include the date of the inspection/test, the 
signature of the competent person who performed it, and the number/
identifier of the building support structure and equipment inspected/
tested.
    Paragraph (g)(3)(i) mandates that building owners use a competent 
person to inspect and, if necessary, test each powered-platform 
facility according to the manufacture's recommendations every 30 days, 
or prior to use if the work cycle is less than 30 days. Under paragraph 
(g)(2)(iii), building owners must maintain and, on request, disclose to 
the Agency a written certification record of these inspections/tests; 
this record is to include the date of the inspection/test, the 
signature of the competent person who performed it, and the number/
identifier of the powered-platform facility inspected/tested.
    According to paragraph (g)(5)(iii), building owners must have 
suspension wire ropes thoroughly inspected for a number of specified 
conditions by a competent person once a month, or before placing the 
wire ropes into service if the ropes are inactive for 30 days or 
longer. Paragraph (g)(5)(v) requires building owners to maintain and, 
on request, disclose to OSHA a written certification record of these 
monthly inspections; this record must consist of the date of the 
inspection, the signature of the competent person who performed it, and 
the number/identifier of the wire rope inspected.
    Paragaraph (i)(1)(iv) requires employers to develop written work 
procedures for the operation, safe use, and inspection of powered 
platforms, and to provide these procedures to their employees for 
training purposes. In meeting these requirements, an employer may use 
pictorial methods and operating manuals supplied by the manufacturers 
of the system components. In addition, paragraph (i)(1)(ii) mandates 
that employers train employees in: Recognizing safety hazards 
associated with their work tasks and developing measures to prevent 
these hazards; general recognition and prevention of safety hazards 
associated with the operation of powered platforms, including the 
powered platforms they operate; the emergency-action plan and work 
procedures developed under paragraphs (e)(9) and (i)(1)(iv), 
respectively; and the inspection, maintenance, use, and performance of 
their personal fall-arrest system. On completion of this training, 
paragraph (i)(1)(v) specifies that employers must prepare a written 
certification that includes the identity of the employee trained, the 
signature of the employer or the trainer, and the date the employee 
completed the training. In addition, the employer must maintain an 
employee's training certificate for the duration of their employment 
and, on request, make it available to OSHA.
    Emergency-action plans allow employers and employees to anticipate, 
and effectively respond to, emergencies that may arise during powered-
platform operations. Affixing load-rating plates to suspended units, 
instructions to emergency electric-operating devices, and tags to wire-
rope fasteners prevent workplace accidents by providing information to 
employers and employees regarding the conditions under which they can 
safely operate these system components. Requiring building owners to 
establish and maintain written certification of inspections and testing 
conducted on the supporting structures of buildings, powered-platform 
systems, and suspension wire ropes provides employers and employees 
with assurance that they can operate safely from the buildings using 
equipment that is in safe operating condition. The training 
requirements increase employee safety by allowing them to develop the 
skills and knowledge necessary to effectively operate, use, and inspect 
powered platforms, recognize and prevent safety hazards associated with 
platform operation, respond appropriately under emergency conditions, 
and maintain and use their fall-protection arrest system. Training 
certification permits employers to review the training provided to 
their employees, thereby ensuring that the employees received the 
necessary training. In addition, the paperwork requirements specified 
by the Standard provide the most efficient means for an OSHA compliance 
officer to determine whether or not employers and building owners are 
providing the required notification, certification, and training.

II. Special Issues for Comment

    OSHA has a particular interest in comments on the following issues:
    <bullet> Whether the proposed information-collection requirements 
are necessary for the proper performance of the Agency's functions, 
including whether the information is useful;
    <bullet> 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;
    <bullet> The quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
collected; and
    <bullet> 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 proposing to decrease the existing burden-hour estimate, 
and to extend OMB approval, of the collection-of-information 
requirements specified in the Standard. In this regard, the Agency is 
proposing to decrease the current burden-hour estimate from 246,498 
hours to 119,497 hours, a total reduction of 127,001 hours. OSHA 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: Powered Platforms for Building Maintenance (29 CFR 1910.66).
    OMB Number: 1218-0121.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit, not-for-profit 
institutions; Federal government; State, local or tribal governments.
    Number of Respondents: 900.
    Frequency of Response: Annually; monthly; occasionally.
    Average Time per Response: Varies from 1 minute (0.02 hour) (to 
maintain a training record) to 10 hours (to inspect/test building-
support structures and the components of a powered platform).

[[Page 23051]]

    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 119,497 hours.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $0.

IV. Authority and Signature

    R. Davis Layne, Acting 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. 3-2000 (65 FR 
50017).

    Signed at Washington, DC on May 1st, 2001.
R. Davis Layne,
Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 01-11389 Filed 5-4-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-26-M