Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 14 / Friday, January 23, 2009 / Notices 4237 

Total Respondents/Responses: 10,611. 

Frequency: Biennially, On Occasion. 

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 5,306. 

Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): 

$0. 

Total Burden Cost (operating/ 

maintenance): $4,536. 

Comments submitted in response to 

this notice will be summarized and/or 

included in the request for Office of 

Management and Budget approval of the 

information collection request; they will 

also become a matter of public record. 

Dated: January 15, 2009. 

Hazel Bell, 

Acting Chief, Branch of Management Review 

and Internal Control, Division of Financial 

Management, Office of Management, 

Administration and Planning, Employment 

Standards Administration. 

[FR Doc. E9–1391 Filed 1–22–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–27–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration 

[Docket No. OSHA–2007–0046] 

Calaveras Power Partners L.P., Matrix 

Service Inc., T. E. Ibberson Company, 

TIC—The Industrial Company, and 

Zachry Construction Corporation; 

Notice of Application for a Permanent 

Variance and Interim Order, Grant of 

an Interim Order, and Request for 

Comments 

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration (OSHA), Department of 

Labor. 

ACTION: Notice of an application for a 

permanent variance and interim order; 

grant of an interim order; and request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: Calaveras Power Partners 

L.P., Matrix Service Inc., T. E. Ibberson 

Company, TIC—The Industrial 

Company, and Zachry Construction 

Corporation (‘‘the applicants’’) applied 

for a permanent variance from the 

provisions of the OSHA standards that 

regulate boatswain’s chairs and hoist 

towers, specifically paragraph (o)(3) of 

29 CFR 1926.452 and paragraphs (c)(1) 

through (c)(4), (c)(8), (c)(13), (c)(14)(i), 

and (c)(16) of 29 CFR 1926.552. In 

addition, the applicants requested an 

interim order based on the alternative 

conditions specified by the variance 

application. These alternative 

conditions consist of the same 

conditions specified in recent variances 

granted by OSHA from these hoist-tower 

and boatswain’s-chair provisions, as 

well as several additional conditions 

that would provide employees with 

protection from shearing, fall, and 

struck-by hazards. Therefore, OSHA is 

granting the applicants’ request for an 

interim order. 

DATES: Comments and requests for a 

hearing must be submitted (postmarked, 

sent, or received) by February 23, 2009. 

The interim order specified by this 

notice becomes effective on January 23, 

2009. 

ADDRESSES: Electronic. Comments and 

requests for a hearing may be submitted 

electronically at http:// 

www.regulations.gov, which is the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal. Follow the 

instructions online for submitting 

comments. 

Facsimile. OSHA allows facsimile 

transmission of comments that are 10 

pages or fewer in length (including 

attachments), as well as hearing 

requests. Send these comments and 

requests to the OSHA Docket Office at 

(202) 693–1648; hard copies of these 

comments are not required. Instead of 

transmitting facsimile copies of 

attachments that supplement their 

comments (e.g., studies and journal 

articles), commenters may submit these 

attachments, in triplicate hard copy, to 

the OSHA Docket Office, Technical Data 

Center, Room N–2625, OSHA, U.S. 

Department of Labor, 200 Constitution 

Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20210. 

These attachments must clearly identify 

the sender’s name, date, subject, and 

docket number (i.e., OSHA–2007–0046) 

so that the Agency can attach them to 

the appropriate comments. 

Regular mail, express delivery, hand 

(courier) delivery, and messenger 

service. Submit three copies of 

comments and any additional material 

(e.g., studies and journal articles), as 

well as hearing requests, to the OSHA 

Docket Office, Docket No. OSHA–2007– 

0046, Technical Data Center, Room N– 

2625, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, 

200 Constitution Ave., NW., 

Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 

693–2350. Please contact the OSHA 

Docket Office at (202) 693–2350 for 

information about security procedures 

concerning the delivery of materials by 

express delivery, hand delivery, and 

messenger service. The hours of 

operation for the OSHA Docket Office 

and Department of Labor are 8:15 a.m. 

to 4:45 p.m., e.t. 

Instructions. All submissions must 

include the Agency name and the OSHA 

docket number (i.e., OSHA Docket No. 

OSHA–2007–0046). OSHA places 

comments and other materials, 

including any personal information, in 

the public docket without revision, and 

these materials may be available online 

at http://www.regulations.gov. 

Therefore, the Agency cautions 

commenters about submitting 

statements they do not want made 

available to the public, or submitting 

comments that contain personal 

information (either about themselves or 

others) such as Social Security numbers, 

birth dates, and medical data. 

Docket. To read or download 

submissions or other material in the 

docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov 

or to the OSHA Docket Office at the 

address above. All documents in the 

docket are listed in the http:// 

www.regulations.gov index; however, 

some information (e.g., copyrighted 

material) is not publicly available to 

read or download through this Web site. 

All submissions, including copyrighted 

material, are available for inspection 

and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

General information and press inquiries. 

For general information and press 

inquiries about this notice contact 

Jennifer Ashley, Director, OSHA Office 

of Communications, Room N–3647, U.S. 

Department of Labor, 200 Constitution 

Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20210; 

telephone: (202) 693–1999. 

Technical information. For technical 

information about this notice, contact 

MaryAnn Garrahan, Director, Office of 

Technical Programs and Coordination 

Activities, Room N–3655, OSHA, U.S. 

Department of Labor, 200 Constitution 

Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; 

telephone: (202) 693–2110; fax: (202) 

693–1644. 

Copies of this Federal Register notice. 

Electronic copies of this notice are 

available at http://www.regulations.gov. 

Electronic copies of this notice, as well 

as news releases and other relevant 

information, are available on OSHA’s 

Web page at http://www.osha.gov. 

Additional information about this 

variance application also is available 

from the OSHA Region VI Office at: U.S. 

Department of Labor, OSHA, 525 Griffin 

St., Room 602, Dallas, TX 75202; 

telephone: (972) 850–4145; fax: (972) 

850–4149. 

I. Notice of Application 

Calaveras Power Partners L.P., Matrix 

Service Inc., T. E. Ibberson Company, 

TIC—The Industrial Company, and 

Zachry Construction Corporation 

(hereafter, ‘‘the applicants’’) submitted 

applications for a permanent variance 

under Section 6(d) of the Occupational 

Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 

655) and 29 CFR 1905.11 (‘‘Variances 

and other relief under section 6(d)’’) (see 

Exs. OSHA–2007–0046–0002 through 

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4238 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 14 / Friday, January 23, 2009 / Notices 

1The principle addresses for the applicants are as 

follows: Calaveras Power Partners L.P., 527 

Logwood, San Antonio, TX 78221; Matrix Service 

Inc., 3810 Bakerview Spur, Bellingham, WA 98226; 

T. E. Ibberson Company, 828 Fifth Street South, 

Hopkins, MN 55343–7750; TIC—The Industrial 

Company, 22001 North Park Drive, Suite 700, 

Kingwood, TX 77339; and Zachry Construction 

Corporation, 527 Logwood, San Antonio, TX 78221. 

2Zurn Industries, Inc. received two permanent 

variances from OSHA. The first variance, granted 

on May 14, 1985 (50 FR 20145), addressed the 

boatswain’s-chair provision (then in paragraph (l)(5) 

of § 1926.451), as well as the hoist-tower 

requirements of paragraphs (c)(1), (c)(2), (c)(3), and 

(c)(14)(i) of § 1926.552. The second variance, 

granted on June 12, 1987 (52 FR 22552), included 

these same paragraphs, as well as paragraphs (c)(4), 

(c)(8), (c)(13), and (c)(16) of § 1926.552. 

–0006).1 The applicants seek a 

permanent variance from 29 CFR 

1926.452(o)(3), which provides the 

tackle requirements for boatswain’s 

chairs. The applicants also request a 

variance from paragraphs (c)(1) through 

(c)(4), (c)(8), (c)(13), (c)(14)(i), and 

(c)(16) of 29 CFR 1926.552 that regulate 

hoist towers. These latter paragraphs 

specify the following requirements: 

• (c)(1)—Construction requirements 

for hoist towers outside a structure; 

• (c)(2)—Construction requirements 

for hoist towers inside a structure; 

• (c)(3)—Anchoring a hoist tower to a 

structure; 

• (c)(4)—Hoistway doors or gates; 

• (c)(8)—Electrically interlocking 

entrance doors or gates that prevent 

hoist movement when the doors or gates 

are open; 

• (c)(13)—Emergency stop switch 

located in the car; 

• (c)(14)(i)—Using a minimum of two 

wire ropes for drum hoisting; and 

• (c)(16)—Material and component 

requirements for construction of 

personnel hoists. 

The applicants contend that the 

permanent variance would provide their 

employees with a place of employment 

that is at least as safe and healthful as 

they would obtain under the existing 

provisions. The places of employment 

affected by this variance application are 

the present and future projects where 

the applicants construct chimneys, all of 

which are located in the State of Texas. 

The applicants certify that they 

provided employee representatives of 

current employees who would be 

affected by the permanent variance with 

a copy of their variance requests. The 

applicants also certify that they notified 

their employees of the variance requests 

by posting a summary of the application 

and specifying where the employees can 

examine a copy of the application at a 

prominent location or locations where 

they normally post notices to their 

employees (or, instead of a summary, 

posting the application itself); and by 

other appropriate means. In addition, 

the applicants have informed employees 

and their representatives of their right to 

petition the Assistant Secretary of Labor 

for Occupational Safety and Health for 

a hearing on this variance application. 

II. Supplementary Information 

A. Overview 

The applicants construct, remodel, 

repair, maintain, inspect, and demolish 

tall chimneys made of reinforced 

concrete, brick, and steel. This work 

requires the applicants to transport 

employees and construction material to 

and from elevated work platforms and 

scaffolds located, respectively, inside 

and outside tapered chimneys. While 

tapering contributes to the stability of a 

chimney, it requires frequent relocation 

of, and adjustments to, the work 

platforms and scaffolds so that they will 

fit the decreasing circumference of the 

chimney as construction progresses 

upwards. 

To transport employees to various 

heights inside and outside a chimney, 

the applicants propose to use a hoist 

system that would lift and lower 

personnel-transport devices (i.e., 

personnel cages, personnel platforms, or 

boatswain’s chairs). The applicants also 

would attach material-transport devices 

such as hoppers, concrete buckets, or 

other containers to the hoist system to 

raise or lower construction material or 

equipment inside or outside a chimney. 

The applicants would use personnel 

cages, personnel platforms, or 

boatswain’s chairs solely to transport 

employees with the tools and materials 

necessary to do their work, and not to 

transport only materials or tools in the 

absence of employees. 

B. Previous Variances From 29 CFR 

1926.452(o)(3) and 1926.552(c) 

Since 1973, a number of chimneyconstruction companies demonstrated 

to OSHA that several of the hoist-tower 

requirements of 29 CFR 1926.552(c) 

present chimney-access problems that 

pose a serious danger to their 

employees. These companies received 

permanent variances from these 

personnel-hoist and boatswain’s-chair 

requirements, and they used essentially 

the same alternate apparatus and 

procedures that the applicants are now 

proposing to use in this variance 

application. The Agency published the 

permanent variances for these 

companies at 38 FR 8545 (April 3, 

1973), 44 FR 51352 (August 31, 1979), 

50 FR 20145 (May 14, 1985), 50 FR 

40627 (October 4, 1985), 52 FR 22552 

(June 12, 1987), 68 FR 52961 (September 

8, 2003), 70 FR 72659 (December 6, 

2005), and 71 FR 10557 (March 1, 

2006).2

In 1980, the Agency evaluated the 

alternative conditions specified in the 

permanent variances that it had granted 

to chimney-construction companies as 

of that date. In doing so, OSHA 

observed hoisting operations conducted 

by these companies at various 

construction sites. These evaluations 

found that, while the alternative 

conditions generally were safe, 

compliance with the conditions among 

the companies was uneven (see Exs. 

OSHA–2007–0046–0007 and –0008). 

Additionally, the National Chimney 

Construction Safety and Health 

Advisory Committee, an industryaffiliated organization, conducted 

evaluations of the hoist systems that 

provided useful information regarding 

the safety and efficacy of the alternative 

conditions (see Ex. OSHA–2007–0046– 

0009). 

The permanent variance granted by 

OSHA to American Boiler and Chimney 

Co. and Oak Park Chimney Corp. (see 68 

FR 52961, September 8, 2003) updated 

the permanent variances granted by the 

Agency in the 1970s and 1980s by 

clarifying the alternative conditions and 

citing the most recent consensus 

standards and other references. On the 

basis of this experience and knowledge, 

the Agency finds that the applicants’ 

request for a permanent variance is 

consistent with the permanent variances 

that OSHA granted previously to other 

employers in the chimney-construction 

industry. Therefore, the Agency believes 

that the conditions specified in this 

variance application will provide the 

applicants’ employees with at least the 

same level of safety they would receive 

from 29 CFR 1926.452(o)(3) and 

paragraphs (c)(1) through (c)(4), (c)(8), 

(c)(13), (c)(14)(i), and (c)(16) of 29 CFR 

1926.552. 

C. Requested Variance From 29 CFR 

1926.452(o)(3) 

The applicants state that it is 

necessary, on occasion, to use a 

boatswain’s chair to transport 

employees to and from a bracket 

scaffold on the outside of an existing 

tapered chimney during flue installation 

or repair work, or to and from an 

elevated scaffold located inside a 

chimney that has a tapering diameter. 

Paragraph (o)(3) of 29 CFR 1926.452, 

which regulates the tackle used to rig a 

boatswain’s chair, states that this tackle 

must ‘‘consist of correct size ball 

bearings or bushed blocks containing 

safety hooks and properly ‘eye-spliced’ 

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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 14 / Friday, January 23, 2009 / Notices 4239 

minimum five-eighth (5/8) inch (1.6 cm) 

diameter first-grade manila rope [or 

equivalent rope].’’ 

The primary purpose of this 

paragraph is to allow an employee to 

safely control the ascent, descent, and 

stopping locations of the boatswain’s 

chair. However, the applicants note that 

the required tackle is difficult or 

impossible to operate on some chimneys 

that are over 200 feet tall because of 

space limitations. Therefore, as an 

alternative to complying with the tackle 

requirements specified by 29 CFR 

1926.452(o)(3), the applicants propose 

to use the hoisting system described in 

Section II.E (‘‘Proposed Alternative to 

29 CFR 1926.452(o)(3) and 29 CFR 

1926.552(c)’’) of this notice, both inside 

and outside a chimney, to raise or lower 

employees in a personnel cage to work 

locations. The applicants would use a 

personnel cage for this purpose to the 

extent that adequate space is available; 

they would use a personnel platform 

whenever a personnel cage is infeasible 

because of limited space. However, 

when limited space also makes a 

personnel platform infeasible, the 

applicants then would use a boatswain’s 

chair to lift employees to work 

locations. The applicants would limit 

use of the boatswain’s chair to 

elevations above the highest work 

location that the personnel cage and 

personnel platform can reach; under 

these conditions, the applicants would 

attach the boatswain’s chair directly to 

the hoisting cable only when the 

structural arrangement precludes the 

safe use of the block and tackle required 

by 29 CFR 1926.452(o)(3). 

D. Requested Variance From 29 CFR 

1926.552(c) 

Paragraph (c) of 29 CFR 1926.552 

specifies the requirements for enclosed 

hoisting systems used to transport 

personnel from one elevation to another. 

This paragraph ensures that employers 

transport employees safely to and from 

elevated work platforms by mechanical 

means during the construction, 

alteration, repair, maintenance, or 

demolition of structures such as 

chimneys. However, this standard does 

not provide specific safety requirements 

for hoisting personnel to and from 

elevated work platforms and scaffolds in 

tapered chimneys; the tapered design 

requires frequent relocation of, and 

adjustment to, the work platforms and 

scaffolds. The space in a tapered 

chimney is not large enough or 

configured so that it can accommodate 

an enclosed hoist tower. Moreover, 

using an enclosed hoist tower for 

outside operations exposes employees 

to additional fall hazards because extra 

bridging and bracing must be installed 

to support a walkway between the hoist 

tower and the tapered chimney. 

Paragraph (c)(1) of 29 CFR 1926.552 

requires employers to enclose hoist 

towers located outside a chimney on the 

side or sides used for entrance to, and 

exit from, the chimney; these enclosures 

must extend the full height of the hoist 

tower. The applicants assert that it is 

impractical and hazardous to locate a 

hoist tower outside tapered chimneys 

because it becomes increasingly 

difficult, as a chimney rises, to erect, 

guy, and brace a hoist tower; under 

these conditions, access from the hoist 

tower to the chimney or to the movable 

scaffolds used in constructing the 

chimney exposes employees to a serious 

fall hazard. Additionally, the applicants 

note that the requirement to extend the 

enclosures 10 feet above the outside 

scaffolds often exposes the employees 

involved in building these extensions to 

dangerous wind conditions. 

Paragraph (c)(2) of 29 CFR 1926.552 

requires that employers enclose all four 

sides of a hoist tower even when the 

tower is located inside a chimney; the 

enclosure must extend the full height of 

the tower. The applicants contend that 

it is hazardous for employees to erect 

and brace a hoist tower inside a 

chimney, especially tapered chimneys, 

because these structures have limited 

space and cannot accommodate hoist 

towers; space limitations result from 

chimney design (e.g., tapering), as well 

as reinforced steel projecting into the 

chimney from formwork that is near the 

work location. 

As an alternative to complying with 

the hoist-tower requirements of 29 CFR 

1926.552(c)(1) and (c)(2), the applicants 

propose to use the hoist system 

described below in Section II.E 

(‘‘Proposed Alternative to 29 CFR 

1926.452(o)(3) and 29 CFR 

1926.552(c)’’) of this notice to transport 

employees to and from work locations 

inside and outside chimneys. Use of the 

proposed hoist system would eliminate 

the need for the applicants to comply 

with other provisions of 29 CFR 

1926.552(c) that specify requirements 

for hoist towers. Therefore, the 

applicants also are requesting a 

permanent variance from the following 

related provisions: 

• (c)(3)—Anchoring the hoist tower to 

a structure; 

• (c)(4)—Hoistway doors or gates; 

• (c)(8)—Electrically interlocking 

entrance doors or gates that prevent 

hoist movement when the doors or gates 

are open; 

• (c)(13)—Emergency stop switch 

located in the car; 

• (c)(14)(i)—Using a minimum of two 

wire ropes for drum-type hoisting; and 

• (c)(16)—Material and component 

requirements for construction of 

personnel hoists. 

The applicants assert that the 

proposed hoisting system would protect 

its employees at least as effectively as 

the hoist-tower requirements of 29 CFR 

1926.552(c). 

E. Proposed Alternative to 29 CFR 

1926.452(o)(3) and 29 CFR 1926.552(c) 

To power the hoist system, the 

applicants would use a hoist engine, 

located and controlled outside the 

chimney. The system also would consist 

of a wire rope that: Spools off the hoist 

drum into the interior of the chimney; 

passes to a footblock that redirects the 

rope from the horizontal to the vertical 

planes; goes from the footblock through 

the overhead sheaves above the elevated 

platform; and finally drops to the 

bottom landing of the chimney where it 

connects to a personnel- or materialtransport device. The cathead, which is 

a superstructure at the top of the hoist 

system, supports the overhead sheaves. 

The overhead sheaves (and the vertical 

span of the hoist system) move upward 

with the hoist system as chimney 

construction progresses. Two guide 

cables, suspended from the cathead, 

eliminate swaying and rotation of the 

load. If the hoist rope breaks, safety 

clamps activate and grip the guide 

cables to prevent the load from falling. 

The applicants would use a headache 

ball, located on the hoist rope directly 

above the load, to counterbalance the 

rope’s weight between the cathead 

sheaves and the footblock. 

The applicants would implement 

additional conditions to improve 

employee safety, including: 

(1) Attaching the wire rope to the 

personnel cage using a keyed-screwpin 

shackle or positive-locking link; 

(2) Adding limit switches to the hoist 

system to prevent overtravel by the 

personnel- or material-transport devices; 

(3) Providing the safety factors and 

other precautions required for personnel 

hoists specified by the pertinent 

provisions of 29 CFR 1926.552(c), 

including canopies and shields to 

protect employees located in a 

personnel cage from material that may 

fall during hoisting and other overhead 

activities; 

(4) Providing falling-object protection 

for scaffold platforms as specified by 29 

CFR 1926.451(h)(1); 

(5) Conducting tests and inspections 

of the hoist system as required by 29 

CFR 1926.20(b)(2) and 1926.552(c)(15); 

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(6) Establishing an accidentprevention program that conforms to 29 

CFR 1926.20(b)(3); 

(7) Equipping employees who use a 

personnel cage, personnel platform, or 

boatswain’s chair with, and ensuring 

that they use, personal fall-arrest 

systems meeting the requirements of 29 

CFR 1926.502(d); 

(8) Ensuring that employees using a 

personnel cage secure their personal 

fall-arrest system to an attachment point 

located inside the cage, and that 

employees using personnel platforms or 

boatswain’s chairs secure their personal 

fall-arrest systems to a vertical lifeline; 

(9) When using vertical lifelines, 

securing the lifelines to the top of the 

chimney and weighting the lifelines 

properly or suitably affixing the lifelines 

to the bottom of the chimney, and 

ensuring that employees remain 

attached to their lifeline during the 

entire period of vertical transit; 

(10) Providing instruction to each 

employee who uses a personnel 

platform or boatswain’s chair regarding 

the shearing hazards posed by the hoist 

system (e.g., work platforms, scaffolds), 

and the need to keep their limbs or 

other body parts clear of these hazards 

during hoisting operations; 

(11) Providing the instruction on 

shearing hazards before an employee 

uses one of these personnel-transport 

devices at the worksite; and 

periodically, and as necessary, 

thereafter, including whenever the 

employee demonstrates a lack of 

knowledge about the hazard and how to 

avoid it, a modification occurs to an 

existing shearing hazard, or a new 

shearing hazard develops at the 

worksite; 

(12) Attaching a readily visible 

warning to each personnel platform and 

boatswain’s chair notifying employees 

in a language they understand of 

potential shearing hazards during 

hoisting operations. For warnings 

located on personnel platforms, using 

the following (or equivalent) wording: 

‘‘Warning—To avoid serious injury, 

keep your hands, arms, feet, legs, and 

other parts of your body inside this 

platform while it is in motion.’’ For 

boatswain’s chairs, the warning would 

use the following (or equivalent) 

wording: ‘‘Warning—To avoid serious 

injury, do not extend your hands, arms, 

feet, legs, or other parts of your body 

from the side or to the front of this chair 

while it is in motion; and 

(13) Establishing a clearly designated 

safety zone around the hoist system’s 

bottom landing and prohibiting any 

employee from entering the safety zone 

except to access a personnel cage, 

personnel platform, boatswain’s chair, 

or material-transport device, and then 

only when the personnel- and materialtransport device is at the bottom landing 

and not in operation. 

OSHA revised the requirements for 

using personal fall-protection systems 

specified in previous variances 

addressing these hoist systems (see 

Conditions 7 and 8, above). This 

revision adds a requirement that the 

applicants provide employees using 

personnel cages with personal fallprotection systems, and ensure that the 

employees use these systems, in 

accordance with 29 CFR 1926.502(d). 

OSHA believes this revision will protect 

employees from falling out of a cage in 

the event the door of the cage opens 

inadvertently during lifting operations. 

The last four of these conditions 

(Conditions 10–13) also are new, having 

never been part of previous variance 

applications covering these hoist 

systems. OSHA believes that these 

additional conditions are necessary to 

protect employees from shearing, fall, 

and struck-by hazards associated with 

using hoist systems in chimney 

construction. Accordingly, conditions 

10–12 address shearing hazards that 

employees may encounter while a 

personnel platform or boatswain’s chair 

is transporting them to or from an 

elevated jobsite. During transport, the 

personnel-transport device will pass 

near structures, including work 

platforms and scaffolds, that could 

crush or inflict other serious injury on 

a hand, arm, foot, leg, or other body part 

that extends beyond the confines of the 

device. To prevent these injuries, OSHA 

believes that employees who use these 

devices must be able to recognize 

shearing hazards at the worksite, and 

how to avoid them. Additionally, 

attaching a readily visible warning of 

the hazards to personnel platforms and 

boatswain’s chairs would supplement 

and reinforce the hazard training by 

reminding employees of the hazard and 

how to avoid it. 

The last condition (Condition 13) 

requires the applicants to establish a 

safety zone around the bottom landing 

where employees access personnel- and 

material-transport devices. The 

applicants must ensure that employees 

enter the safety zone only to access a 

transport device that is in the area 

circumscribed by the safety zone, and 

only when the hoist system is not in 

operation. This condition will prevent a 

transport device that is descending from 

an elevated jobsite from striking an 

employee who is in or near the bottomlanding area and is not aware of the 

descending device. During descent, it 

also is difficult for employees in or on 

these devices to detect an employee 

beneath them. Therefore, it is necessary 

for the applicants to establish a safety 

zone and ensure that employees only 

enter the safety zone when a transport 

device is at the bottom landing and not 

in operation (i.e., the drive components 

of the hoist system are disengaged and 

the braking mechanism is properly 

applied). 

This variance application also 

specifies a condition that requires the 

applicants to notify (1) the nearest 

OSHA Area Office at least 15 days 

before commencing chimneyconstruction operations covered by the 

variance, and (2) OSHA national 

headquarters as soon as an applicant 

knows that it will cease doing business 

or transfers the activities covered by the 

variance to another company. These 

administrative requirements will enable 

OSHA to more easily enforce, and 

determine the status of, the variance 

than is presently the case. Currently, 

OSHA has little or no information about 

chimney-construction activities 

conducted under a variance, making it 

difficult for it to assess compliance with 

the conditions specified under the 

variance. Additionally, OSHA finds that 

construction companies cease 

operations or transfer chimneyconstruction assets to successor 

companies without informing OSHA 

that the variance is no longer needed or 

requesting that the Agency reassign the 

variance to the successor company. 

OSHA believes that these notification 

requirements would improve 

administrative oversight of the variance 

program, thereby enhancing employee 

safety and reducing its administrative 

burden. 

III. Grant of Interim Order 

In addition to requesting a permanent 

variance, the applicants also requested 

an interim order that would remain in 

effect until the Agency makes a decision 

on their application for a permanent 

variance. During this period, the 

applicants must comply fully with the 

conditions of the interim order as an 

alternative to complying with the tackle 

requirements provided for boatswain’s 

chairs by 29 CFR 1926.452(o)(3) and the 

requirements for hoist towers specified 

by paragraphs (c)(1) through (c)(4), 

(c)(8), (c)(13), (c)(14)(i), and (c)(16) of 29 

CFR 1926.552. 

Based on its previous experience with 

permanent variances from these 

provisions granted to other companies, 

OSHA believes that an interim order is 

justified in this case. As noted above in 

Section II.B (‘‘Previous Variances from 

29 CFR 1926.452(o)(3) and 

1926.552(c)’’), the Agency has granted a 

number of permanent variances from 

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3 In these conditions, the verb ‘‘must’’ applies to 

the interim order, while the verb ‘‘would’’ pertains 

to the application for a permanent variance. 

4These States and territories are referred to as 

‘‘State-plan States and Territories.’’ The 22 Stateplan States and territories having authority over 

both public- and private-sector employers and 

employees are: Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, 

Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, 

Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, 

Oregon, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, 

Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and 

Wyoming. Three State-plan States (i.e., Connecticut, 

New Jersey, and New York) and one territory (i.e., 

Virgin Islands) do not have authority over privatesector employees (i.e., they limit their occupational 

safety and health authority to public-sector 

employees only). 

these provisions since 1973. Over this 

period, the affected companies have 

effectively used the alternative 

conditions specified in the variances. 

The conditions of the interim order 

requested by the applicants 

substantially duplicate the conditions 

approved recently in the permanent 

variance granted to American Boiler and 

Chimney Co. and Oak Park Chimney 

Corp. (see 68 FR 52961), while adding 

conditions that would provide 

employees with protection from 

shearing, fall, and struck-by hazards. In 

granting a permanent variance to 

American Boiler and Chimney Co. and 

Oak Park Chimney Corp., the Agency 

stated, ‘‘[W]hen the employers comply 

with the conditions of the following 

order, their employees will be exposed 

to working conditions that are at least as 

safe and healthful as they would be if 

the employers complied with paragraph 

(o)(3) of 29 CFR 1926.452, and 

paragraphs (c)(1) through (c)(4), (c)(8), 

(c)(13), (c)(14)(i), and (c)(16) of 29 CFR 

1926.552.’’ (See 68 FR 52967.) 

Based on its determination that the 

alternative conditions proposed by 

American Boiler and Chimney Co. and 

Oak Park Chimney Corp will protect 

employees at least as effectively as the 

requirements of paragraph (o)(3) of 29 

CFR 1926.452 and paragraphs (c)(1) 

through (c)(4), (c)(8), (c)(13), (c)(14)(i), 

and (c)(16) of 29 CFR 1926.552, as well 

as the additional conditions specified in 

this variance application that will 

protect employees from shearing, fall, 

and struck-by hazards, OSHA has 

decided to grant an interim order to the 

applicants pursuant to the provisions of 

29 CFR 1905.11(c). Accordingly, in lieu 

of complying with paragraph (o)(3) of 29 

CFR 1926.452 and paragraphs (c)(1) 

through (c)(4), (c)(8), (c)(13), (c)(14)(i), 

and (c)(16) of 29 CFR 1926.552, the 

applicants will: (1) Provide notice of 

this grant of an interim order to the 

employees affected by the conditions of 

the interim order using the same means 

it used to inform these employees of 

their applications for a permanent 

variance; and (2) comply with the 

conditions listed below in section IV 

(‘‘Specific Conditions of the Interim 

Order and the Application for a 

Permanent Variance’’) of this 

application for the period between the 

date of this Federal Register notice and 

the date the Agency publishes its final 

decision on the application in the 

Federal Register; the interim order will 

remain in effect during this period 

unless OSHA modifies or revokes it in 

accordance with the requirements of 29 

CFR 1905.13. 

IV. Specific Conditions of the Interim 

Order and the Application for a 

Permanent Variance 

The following conditions apply to the 

interim order being granted by OSHA to 

Calaveras Power Partners L.P., Matrix 

Service Inc., T. E. Ibberson Company, 

TIC—The Industrial Company, and 

Zachry Construction Corporation as part 

of their applications for a permanent 

variance described in this Federal 

Register notice. In addition, these 

conditions specify the alternatives to the 

requirements of paragraph (o)(3) of 29 

CFR 1926.452 and paragraphs (c)(1) 

through (c)(4), (c)(8), (c)(13), (c)(14)(i), 

and (c)(16) of 29 CFR 1926.552 that the 

applicants are proposing in their 

application for a permanent variance. 

These conditions include: 3

1. Scope 

(a) The interim order/permanent 

variance applies/would apply only to 

tapered chimneys when the applicants 

use a hoist system during inside or 

outside chimney construction to raise or 

lower their employees between the 

bottom landing of a chimney and an 

elevated work location on the inside or 

outside surface of the chimney. 

(b) When using a hoist system as 

specified in this permanent variance, 

the applicants must/would: 

(i) Use the personnel cages, personnel 

platforms, or boatswain’s chairs raised 

and lowered by the hoist system solely 

to transport employees with the tools 

and materials necessary to do their 

work; and 

(ii) Attach a hopper or concrete 

bucket to the hoist system to raise and 

lower all other materials and tools 

inside or outside a chimney. 

(c) Except for the requirements 

specified by 29 CFR 1926.452(o)(3) and 

1926.552(c)(1) through (c)(4), (c)(8), 

(c)(13), (c)(14)(i), and (c)(16), the 

applicants must/would comply fully 

with all other applicable provisions of 

29 CFR parts 1910 and 1926. 

(d) The interim order/permanent 

variance does not apply/would not 

apply in any State or territory having an 

occupational safety and health program 

approved by the Federal Occupational 

Safety and Health Administration under 

section 18 of the Occupational Safety 

and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 667).4

2. Replacing a Personnel Cage With a 

Personnel Platform or a Boatswain’s 

Chair 

(a) Personnel platform. When the 

applicants demonstrate that available 

space makes a personnel cage for 

transporting employees infeasible, they 

may replace the personnel cage with a 

personnel platform when they limit use 

of the personnel platform to elevations 

above the last work location that the 

personnel cage can reach. 

(b) Boatswain’s chair. The applicants 

must/would: 

(i) Before using a boatswain’s chair, 

demonstrate that available space makes 

it infeasible to use a personnel platform 

for transporting employees; 

(ii) Limit use of a boatswain’s chair to 

elevations above the last work location 

that the personnel platform can reach; 

and 

(iii) Use a boatswain’s chair in 

accordance with block-and-tackle 

requirements specified by 29 CFR 

1926.452(o)(3), unless they can 

demonstrate that the structural 

arrangement of the chimney precludes 

such use. 

3. Qualified Competent Person 

(a) The applicants must/would: 

(i) Provide a qualified competent 

person, as specified in paragraphs (f) 

and (m) of 29 CFR 1926.32, who is 

responsible for ensuring that the design, 

maintenance, and inspection of the 

hoist system comply with the 

conditions specified herein and with the 

appropriate requirements of 29 CFR part 

1926 (‘‘Safety and Health Regulations 

for Construction’’); and 

(ii) Ensure that the qualified 

competent person is present at ground 

level to assist in an emergency 

whenever the hoist system is raising or 

lowering employees. 

(b) The applicants must/would use a 

qualified competent person to design 

and maintain the cathead described 

under Condition 8 (‘‘Cathead and 

Sheave’’) below. 

4. Hoist Machine 

(a) Type of hoist. The applicants 

must/would designate the hoist 

machine as a portable personnel hoist. 

(b) Raising or lowering a transport. 

The applicants must/would ensure that: 

(i) The hoist machine includes a basemounted drum hoist designed to control 

line speed; and 

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5This provision adopts the definition of, and 

specifications for, fleet angle from Cranes and 

Derricks, H. I. Shapiro, et al. (eds.); New York: 

McGraw-Hill; 3rd ed., 1999, page 592. Accordingly, 

the fleet angle is ‘‘[t]he angle the rope leading onto 

a [winding] drum makes with the line 

perpendicular to the drum rotating axis when the 

lead rope is making a wrap against the flange.’’ 

(ii) Whenever they raise or lower a 

personnel or material hoist (e.g., a 

personnel cage, personnel platform, 

boatswain’s chair, hopper, concrete 

bucket) using the hoist system: 

(A) The drive components are 

engaged continuously when an empty or 

occupied transport is being lowered 

(i.e., no ‘‘freewheeling’’); 

(B) The drive system is 

interconnected, on a continuous basis, 

through a torque converter, mechanical 

coupling, or an equivalent coupling 

(e.g., electronic controller, fluid 

clutches, hydraulic drives); 

(C) The braking mechanism is applied 

automatically when the transmission is 

in the neutral position and a forwardreverse coupling or shifting 

transmission is being used; and 

(D) No belts are used between the 

power source and the winding drum. 

(c) Power source. The applicants 

must/would power the hoist machine by 

an air, electric, hydraulic, or internalcombustion drive mechanism. 

(d) Constant-pressure control switch. 

The applicants must/would: 

(i) Equip the hoist machine with a 

hand-or foot-operated constant-pressure 

control switch (i.e., a ‘‘deadman control 

switch’’) that stops the hoist 

immediately upon release; and 

(ii) Protect the control switch to 

prevent it from activating if the hoist 

machine is struck by a falling or moving 

object. 

(e) Line-speed indicator. The 

applicants must/would: 

(i) Equip the hoist machine with an 

operating line-speed indicator 

maintained in proper working order; 

and 

(ii) Ensure that the line-speed 

indicator is in clear view of the hoist 

operator during hoisting operations. 

(f) Braking systems. The applicants 

must/would equip the hoist machine 

with two (2) independent braking 

systems (i.e., one automatic and one 

manual) located on the winding side of 

the clutch or couplings, with each 

braking system being capable of 

stopping and holding 150 percent of the 

maximum rated load. 

(g) Slack-rope switch. The applicants 

must/would equip the hoist machine 

with a slack-rope switch to prevent 

rotation of the winding drum under 

slack-rope conditions. 

(h) Frame. The applicants must/ 

would ensure that the frame of the hoist 

machine is a self-supporting, rigid, 

welded-steel structure, and that holding 

brackets for anchor lines and legs for 

anchor bolts are integral components of 

the frame. 

(i) Stability. The applicants must/ 

would secure hoist machines in position 

to prevent movement, shifting, or 

dislodgement. 

(j) Location. The applicants must/ 

would: 

(i) Locate the hoist machine far 

enough from the footblock to obtain the 

correct fleet angle for proper spooling of 

the cable on the drum; and 

(ii) Ensure that the fleet angle remains 

between one-half degree (1⁄2°) and one 

and one-half degrees (11⁄2°) for smooth 

drums, and between one-half degree 

(1⁄2°) and two degrees (2°) for grooved 

drums, with the lead sheave centered on 

the drum.5

(k) Drum and flange diameter. The 

applicants must/would: 

(i) Provide a winding drum for the 

hoist that is at least 30 times the 

diameter of the rope used for hoisting; 

and 

(ii) Ensure that the winding drum has 

a flange diameter that is at least one and 

one-half (11⁄2) times the winding-drum 

diameter. 

(l) Spooling of the rope. The 

applicants must/would never spool the 

rope closer than two (2) inches (5.1 cm) 

from the outer edge of the windingdrum flange. 

(m) Electrical system. The applicants 

must/would ensure that all electrical 

equipment is weatherproof. 

(n) Limit switches. The applicants 

must/would equip the hoist system with 

limit switches and related equipment 

that automatically prevent overtravel of 

a personnel cage, personnel platform, 

boatswain’s chair, or material-transport 

device at the top of the supporting 

structure and at the bottom of the 

hoistway or lowest landing level. 

5. Methods of Operation 

(a) Employee qualifications and 

training. The applicants must/would: 

(i) Ensure that only trained and 

experienced employees, who are 

knowledgeable of hoist-system 

operations, control the hoist machine; 

and 

(ii) Provide instruction, periodically 

and as necessary, on how to operate the 

hoist system to each employee who uses 

a personnel cage, personnel platform, or 

boatswain’s chair for transportation. 

(b) Speed limitations. The applicants 

must/would not operate the hoist at a 

speed in excess of: 

(i) Two hundred fifty (250) feet (76.9 

m) per minute when a personnel cage is 

being used to transport employees; 

(ii) One hundred (100) feet (30.5 m) 

per minute when a personnel platform 

or boatswain’s chair is being used to 

transport employees; or 

(iii) A line speed that is consistent 

with the design limitations of the 

system when only material is being 

hoisted (i.e., using a dedicated materialtransport device such as a hopper or 

concrete bucket). 

(c) Communication. The applicants 

must/would: 

(i) Use an electronic voicecommunication system to maintain 

communication between the hoist 

operator and the employees located in 

or on a moving personnel cage, 

personnel platform, or boatswain’s 

chair; 

(ii) Stop hoisting if, for any reason, 

the communication system fails to 

operate effectively; and 

(iii) Resume hoisting only when the 

worksite superintendent determines that 

it is safe to do so. 

6. Hoist Rope 

(a) Grade. The applicants must/would 

use a wire rope for the hoist system (i.e., 

‘‘hoist rope’’) that consists of extraimproved plow steel, an equivalent 

grade of non-rotating rope, or a regular 

lay rope with a suitable swivel 

mechanism. 

(b) Safety factor. The applicants must/ 

would maintain a safety factor of at least 

eight (8) times the safe workload 

throughout the entire length of hoist 

rope. 

(c) Size. The applicants must/would 

use a hoist rope that is at least one-half 

(1⁄2) inch (1.3 cm) in diameter. 

(d) Inspection, removal, and 

replacement. The applicants must/ 

would: 

(i) Thoroughly inspect the hoist rope 

before the start of each job and on 

completing a new setup; 

(ii) Maintain the proper diameter-todiameter ratios between the hoist rope 

and the footblock and the sheave by 

inspecting the wire rope regularly (see 

Conditions 7(c) and 8(d), below); and 

(iii) Remove and replace the wire rope 

with new wire rope when any condition 

specified by 29 CFR 1926.552(a)(3) 

occurs. 

(e) Attachments. The applicants must/ 

would attach the rope to a personnel 

cage, personnel platform, or boatswain’s 

chair with a keyed-screwpin shackle or 

positive-locking link. 

(f) Wire-rope fastenings. When the 

applicants use clip fastenings (e.g., Ubolt wire-rope clips) with wire ropes, 

they must/would: 

(i) Use Table H–20 of 29 CFR 

1926.251 to determine the number and 

spacing of clips; 

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6To reduce impact hazards should employees 

lose their balance because of cage movement. 

(ii) Use at least three (3) drop-forged 

clips at each fastening; 

(iii) Install the clips with the ‘‘U’’ of 

the clips on the dead end of the rope; 

and 

(iv) Space the clips so that the 

distance between them is six (6) times 

the diameter of the rope. 

7. Footblock 

(a) Type of block. The applicants 

must/would use a footblock: 

(i) Consisting of construction-type 

blocks of solid single-piece bail with a 

safety factor that is at least four (4) times 

the safe workload, or an equivalent 

block with roller bearings; 

(ii) Designed for the applied loading, 

size, and type of wire rope used for 

hoisting; 

(iii) Designed with a guard that 

contains the wire rope within the 

sheave groove; 

(iv) Bolted rigidly to the base; and 

(v) Designed and installed so that it 

turns the moving wire rope to and from 

the horizontal or vertical direction as 

required by the direction of rope travel. 

(b) Directional change. The applicants 

must/would ensure that the angle of 

change in the hoist rope from the 

horizontal to the vertical direction at the 

footblock is approximately 90°. 

(c) Diameter. The applicants must/ 

would ensure that the line diameter of 

the footblock is at least 24 times the 

diameter of the hoist rope. 

8. Cathead and Sheave 

(a) Support. The applicants must/ 

would use a cathead (i.e., ‘‘overhead 

support’’) that consists of a wide-flange 

beam, or two (2) steel-channel sections 

securely bolted back-to-back to prevent 

spreading. 

(b) Installation. The applicants must/ 

would ensure that: 

(i) All sheaves revolve on shafts that 

rotate on bearings; and 

(ii) The bearings are mounted securely 

to maintain the proper bearing position 

at all times. 

(c) Rope guides. The applicants must/ 

would provide each sheave with 

appropriate rope guides to prevent the 

hoist rope from leaving the sheave 

grooves when the rope vibrates or 

swings abnormally. 

(d) Diameter. The applicants must/ 

would use a sheave with a diameter that 

is at least 24 times the diameter of the 

hoist rope. 

9. Guide Ropes 

(a) Number and construction. The 

applicants must/would affix two (2) 

guide ropes by swivels to the cathead. 

The applicants must/would ensure that 

the guide ropes: 

(i) Consist of steel safety cables not 

less than one-half (1⁄2) inch (1.3 cm) in 

diameter; and 

(ii) Be free of damage or defect at all 

times. 

(b) Guide rope fastening and 

alignment tension. The applicants must/ 

would fasten one end of each guide rope 

securely to the overhead support, with 

appropriate tension applied at the 

foundation. 

(c) Height. The applicants must/ 

would rig the guide ropes along the 

entire height of the hoist-machine 

structure. 

10. Personnel Cage 

(a) Construction. The applicants 

must/would ensure that the personnel 

cage is of steel-frame construction and 

capable of supporting a load that is four 

(4) times its maximum rated load 

capacity. The applicants also must/ 

would ensure that the personnel cage 

has: 

(i) A top and sides that are 

permanently enclosed (except for the 

entrance and exit); 

(ii) A floor securely fastened in place; 

(iii) Walls that consist of 14-gauge, 

one-half (1⁄2) inch (1.3 cm) expanded 

metal mesh, or an equivalent material; 

(iv) Walls that cover the full height of 

the personnel cage between the floor 

and the overhead covering; 

(v) A sloped roof constructed of oneeighth (1⁄8) inch (0.3 cm) aluminum, or 

an equivalent material; 

(vi) Safe handholds (e.g., rope grips– 

but not rails or hard protrusions) 6 that 

accommodate each occupant; and 

(v) Attachment points to which 

employees must/would secure their 

personal fall protection systems. 

(b) Overhead weight. The applicants 

must/would ensure that the personnel 

cage has an overhead weight (e.g., a 

headache ball of appropriate weight) to 

compensate for the weight of the hoist 

rope between the cathead and footblock. 

In addition, the applicants must/would: 

(i) Ensure that the overhead weight is 

capable of preventing line run; and 

(ii) Use a means to restrain the 

movement of the overhead weight so 

that the weight does not interfere with 

safe personnel hoisting. 

(c) Gate. The applicants must/would 

ensure that the personnel cage has a gate 

that: 

(i) Guards the full height of the 

entrance opening; and 

(ii) Has a functioning mechanical lock 

that prevents accidental opening. 

(d) Operating procedures. The 

applicants must/would post the 

procedures for operating the personnel 

cage conspicuously at the hoist 

operator’s station. 

(e) Capacity. The applicants must/ 

would: 

(i) Hoist no more than four (4) 

occupants in the cage at any one time; 

and 

(ii) Ensure that the rated load capacity 

of the cage is at least 250 pounds (113.4 

kg) for each occupant so hoisted. 

(f) Employee notification. The 

applicants must/would post a sign in 

each personnel cage notifying 

employees of the following conditions: 

(i) The standard rated load, as 

determined by the initial static drop test 

specified by Condition 10(g) (‘‘Static 

drop tests’’), below; and 

(ii) The reduced rated load for the 

specific job. 

(g) Static drop tests. The applicants 

must/would: 

(i) Conduct static drop tests of each 

personnel cage that comply with the 

definition of ‘‘static drop test’’ specified 

by section 3 (‘‘Definitions’’) and the 

static drop-test procedures provided in 

Section 13 (‘‘Inspections and Tests’’) of 

American National Standards Institute 

(ANSI) standard A10.22–1990 (R1998) 

(‘‘American National Standard for RopeGuided and Non-Guided Worker’s 

Hoists—Safety Requirements’’); 

(ii) Perform the initial static drop test 

at 125 percent of the maximum rated 

load of the personnel cage, and 

subsequent drop tests at no less than 

100 percent of its maximum rated load; 

and 

(iii) Use a personnel cage for raising 

or lowering employees only when no 

damage occurred to the components of 

the cage as a result of the static drop 

tests. 

11. Safety Clamps 

(a) Fit to the guide ropes. The 

applicants must/would: 

(i) Fit appropriately designed and 

constructed safety clamps to the guide 

ropes; and 

(ii) Ensure that the safety clamps do 

not damage the guide ropes when in 

use. 

(b) Attach to the personnel cage. The 

applicants must/would attach safety 

clamps to each personnel cage for 

gripping the guide ropes. 

(c) Operation. The applicants must/ 

would ensure that the safety clamps 

attached to the personnel cage: 

(i) Operate on the ‘‘broken rope 

principle’’ defined in section 3 

(‘‘Definitions’’) of ANSI standard 

A10.22–1990 (R1998); 

(ii) Be capable of stopping and 

holding a personnel cage that is carrying 

100 percent of its maximum rated load 

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and traveling at its maximum allowable 

speed if the hoist rope breaks at the 

footblock; and 

(iii) Use a pre-determined and pre-set 

clamping force (i.e., the ‘‘spring 

compression force’’) for each hoist 

system. 

(d) Maintenance. The applicants 

must/would keep the safety-clamp 

assemblies clean and functional at all 

times. 

12. Overhead Protection 

(a) The applicants must/would install 

a canopy or shield over the top of the 

personnel cage that is made of steel 

plate at least three-sixteenth (3/16) of an 

inch (4.763 mm) thick, or material of 

equivalent strength and impact 

resistance, to protect employees (i.e., 

both inside and outside the chimney) 

from material and debris that may fall 

from above. 

(b) The applicants must/would ensure 

that the canopy or shield slopes to the 

outside of the personnel cage. 

13. Emergency-Escape Device 

(a) Location. For employees using a 

personnel cage, the applicants must/ 

would provide an emergency-escape 

device in at least one of the following 

locations: 

(i) In the personnel cage, provided 

that the device is long enough to reach 

the bottom landing from the highest 

possible escape point; or 

(ii) At the bottom landing, provided 

that a means is available in the 

personnel cage for the occupants to raise 

the device to the highest possible escape 

point. 

(b) Operating instructions. The 

applicants must/would ensure that 

written instructions for operating the 

emergency-escape device are attached to 

the device. 

(c) Training. The applicants must/ 

would instruct each employee who uses 

a personnel cage for transportation on 

how to operate the emergency-escape 

device: 

(i) Before the employee uses a 

personnel cage for transportation; and 

(ii) Periodically, and as necessary, 

thereafter. 

14. Personnel Platforms 

When the applicants elect to replace 

the personnel cage with a personnel 

platform in accordance with Condition 

2(a), above, they must/would: 

(a) Ensure that an enclosure 

surrounds the platform, and that this 

enclosure is at least 42 inches (106.7 

cm) above the floor of the platform; 

(b) Provide overhead protection when 

an overhead hazard is, or could be, 

present; and 

(c) Comply with the applicable 

scaffolding strength requirements 

specified by 29 CFR 1926.451(a)(1). 

15. Protecting Employees from Fall and 

Shearing Hazards 

(a) Fall hazards. The applicants must/ 

would: 

(i) Before employees use personnel 

cages, personnel platforms, or 

boatswain’s chairs, equip the employees 

with, and ensure that they use, personal 

fall-arrest systems that meet the 

requirements of 29 CFR 1926.502(d); 

(ii) Ensure that employees using 

personnel cages secure their fall-arrest 

systems to attachment points located 

inside the cage; 

(iii) Ensure that employees using 

personnel platforms and boatswain’s 

chairs secure their personal fall-arrest 

systems to a vertical lifeline; and 

(iv) When using vertical lifelines: 

(A) Secure the lifelines to the top of 

the chimney; 

(B) Weight the lifelines properly or 

suitably affix the lifelines to the bottom 

of the chimney; and 

(C) Ensure that employees remain 

attached to their lifeline during the 

entire period of vertical transit. 

(b) Shearing hazards. The applicants 

must/would: 

(i) Provide employees who use 

personnel platforms or boatswain’s 

chairs with instruction on the shearing 

hazards posed by the hoist system (e.g., 

work platforms, scaffolds), and the need 

to keep their limbs or other body parts 

clear of these hazards during hoisting 

operations; 

(ii) Provide the instruction on 

shearing hazards: 

(A) Before an employee uses a 

personnel cage, personnel platform, or 

boatswain’s chair at the worksite; and 

(B) Periodically, and as necessary, 

thereafter, including whenever an 

employee demonstrates a lack of 

knowledge about the hazard and how to 

avoid it, a modification occurs to an 

existing shearing hazard, or a new 

shearing hazard develops at the 

worksite; and 

(iii) Attach a readily visible warning 

to each personnel platform and 

boatswain’s chair notifying employees 

in a language they understand of 

potential shearing hazards they may 

encounter during hoisting operations, 

and that uses the following (or 

equivalent) wording: 

(A) For personnel platforms: 

‘‘Warning—To avoid serious injury, 

keep your hands, arms, feet, legs, and 

other parts of your body inside this 

platform while it is in motion’’; and 

(B) For boatswain’s chairs: 

‘‘Warning—To avoid serious injury, do 

not extend your hands, arms, feet, legs, 

or other parts your body from the side 

or to the front of this chair while it is 

in motion.’’ 

16. Safety Zone 

The applicants must/would: 

(a) Establish a clearly designated 

safety zone around the bottom landing 

of the hoist system; and 

(b) Prohibit any employee from 

entering the safety zone except to access 

a personnel-or material-transport 

device, and then only when the device 

is at the bottom landing and not in 

operation (i.e., when the drive 

components of the hoist machine are 

disengaged and the braking mechanism 

is properly applied). 

17. Inspections, Tests, and Accident 

Prevention 

(a) The applicants must/would: 

(i) Conduct inspections of the hoist 

system as required by 29 CFR 

1926.20(b)(2); 

(ii) Ensure that a competent person 

conducts daily visual inspections of the 

hoist system; and 

(iii) Inspect and test the hoist system 

as specified by 29 CFR 1926.552(c)(15). 

(b) The applicants must/would 

comply with the accident-prevention 

requirements of 29 CFR 1926.20(b)(3). 

18. Welding 

(a) The applicants must/would ensure 

that only qualified welders weld 

components of the hoisting system. 

(b) The applicants must/would ensure 

that the qualified welders: 

(i) Are familiar with the weld grades, 

types, and materials specified in the 

design of the system; and 

(ii) Perform the welding tasks in 

accordance with 29 CFR part 1926, 

subpart J (‘‘Welding and Cutting’’). 

19. OSHA Notification 

(a) At least 15 calendar days prior to 

commencing any chimney-construction 

operation using the conditions specified 

herein, the applicants must/would 

notify the OSHA Area Office nearest to 

the worksite of the operation, including 

the location of the operation and the 

date the operation will commence. 

(b) Each applicant must/would inform 

OSHA national headquarters as soon as 

it has knowledge that it will: 

(i) Cease to do business; or 

(ii) Transfer the activities covered by 

this permanent variance to a successor 

company. 

V. Authority and Signature 

Thomas M. Stohler, Acting Assistant 

Secretary of Labor for Occupational 

Safety and Health, U.S. Department of 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 14 / Friday, January 23, 2009 / Notices 4245 

Labor, 200 Constitution Ave., NW., 

Washington, DC directed the 

preparation of this notice. This notice is 

issued under the authority specified by 

Section 6(d) of the Occupational Safety 

and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 655), 

Secretary of Labor’s Order No. 5–2007 

(72 FR 31160), and 29 CFR part 1905. 

Signed at Washington, DC, on January 15, 

2009. 

Thomas M. Stohler, 

Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for 

Occupational Safety and Health. 

[FR Doc. E9–1291 Filed 1–22–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–26–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration 

[Docket No. OSHA–2006–0048] 

NSF International; Expansion of 

Recognition 

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration (OSHA), Labor. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces the 

Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration’s final decision 

expanding the recognition of NSF 

International (NSF) as a Nationally 

Recognized Testing Laboratory under 29 

CFR 1910.7. 

DATES: The expansion of recognition 

becomes effective on January 23, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

MaryAnn Garrahan, Director, Office of 

Technical Programs and Coordination 

Activities, NRTL Program, Occupational 

Safety and Health Administration, U.S. 

Department of Labor, 200 Constitution 

Avenue, NW., Room N–3655, 

Washington, DC 20210, or phone (202) 

693–2110. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Notice of Final Decision 

The Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration (OSHA) hereby gives 

notice of the expansion of recognition of 

NSF International (NSF), as a Nationally 

Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL). 

NSF’s expansion covers the use of 

additional test standards. OSHA’s 

current scope of recognition for NSF 

may be found in the following 

informational Web page: http:// 

www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/nsf.html. 

OSHA recognition of an NRTL 

signifies that the organization has met 

the legal requirements in Section 1910.7 

of Title 29, Code of Federal Regulations 

(29 CFR 1910.7). Recognition is an 

acknowledgment that the organization 

can perform independent safety testing 

and certification of the specific products 

covered within its scope of recognition 

and is not a delegation or grant of 

government authority. As a result of 

recognition, employers may use 

products approved by the NRTL to meet 

OSHA standards that require testing and 

certification. 

The Agency processes applications by 

an NRTL for initial recognition, or for 

expansion or renewal of this 

recognition, following requirements in 

Appendix A to 29 CFR 1910.7. This 

appendix requires that the Agency 

publish two notices in the Federal 

Register in processing an application. In 

the first notice, OSHA announces the 

application and provides its preliminary 

finding and, in the second notice, the 

Agency provides its final decision on 

the application. These notices set forth 

the NRTL’s scope of recognition or 

modifications of that scope. We 

maintain an informational Web page for 

each NRTL that details its scope of 

recognition. These pages can be 

accessed from our Web site at http:// 

www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/ 

index.html. 

In an earlier action involving NSF, 

OSHA issued a Federal Register notice 

to grant NSF’s previous application, 

which was for an expansion of 

recognition (71 FR 70431, December 4, 

2006). 

NSF submitted another application, 

dated October 23, 2007 (see Exhibit 18– 

1, as cited in the preliminary notice), to 

expand its recognition to include one 

additional test standard. The NRTL 

Program staff determined that the 

standard was an ‘‘appropriate test 

standard’’ within the meaning of 29 CFR 

1910.7(c). In connection with this 

request, OSHA did not perform an onsite review of NSF’s NRTL testing 

facilities. However, NRTL Program 

assessment staff reviewed information 

pertinent to the request and 

recommended that NSF’s recognition be 

expanded to include the additional test 

standard listed below (see Exhibit 18–2, 

as cited in the preliminary notice). 

Therefore, OSHA is approving this one 

test standard for the expansion. 

Based on this review, OSHA 

published a preliminary notice 

announcing the expansion application 

in the Federal Register on August 29, 

2008 (73 FR 51008). Comments were 

requested by September 15, 2008, but no 

comments were received in response to 

this notice. OSHA is now proceeding 

with this final notice to grant NSF’s 

expansion application. 

You may obtain or review copies of 

all public documents pertaining to the 

NSF application by accessing http:// 

www.regulations.gov, which is the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal, or by 

contacting the Docket Office, 

Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., 

Room N–2625, Washington, DC 20210. 

Docket No. OSHA–2006–0048 contains 

all materials in the record concerning 

NSF’s recognition. 

The current address of the NSF 

facility (site) already recognized by 

OSHA is: NSF International, 789 

Dixboro Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105. 

Final Decision and Order 

NRTL Program staff has examined the 

application, the assessor’s 

recommendation, and other pertinent 

information. Based on this examination 

and the assessor’s recommendation, 

OSHA finds that NSF meets the 

requirements of 29 CFR 1910.7 for 

expansion of its recognition, subject to 

the limitation and conditions listed 

below. Pursuant to the authority in 29 

CFR 1910.7, OSHA hereby expands the 

recognition of NSF, subject to this 

limitation and these conditions. 

Limitation 

OSHA limits the expansion of NSF’s 

recognition to testing and certification 

of products for demonstration of 

conformance to the following test 

standard, OSHA determined is an 

appropriate test standard within the 

meaning of 29 CFR 1910.7(c): UL 1285 

Pipe and Couplings, Polyvinyl Chloride 

(PVC), for Underground Fire Service. 

The designation and title of this test 

standard was current at the time of the 

preparation of the preliminary notice. 

OSHA’s recognition of NSF, or any 

NRTL, for a particular test standard is 

limited to equipment or materials (i.e., 

products) for which OSHA standards 

require third-party testing and 

certification before use in the 

workplace. Consequently, if a test 

standard also covers any product(s) for 

which OSHA does not require such 

testing and certification, an NRTL’s 

scope of recognition does not include 

that product(s). 

The test standard listed above may be 

approved as an American National 

Standard by the American National 

Standards Institute (ANSI). However, for 

convenience, we use the designation of 

the standards-developing organization 

for the standard, as opposed to the ANSI 

designation. You may contact ANSI to 

find out whether a test standard is 

currently ANSI approved. 

Conditions 

NSF also must abide by the following 

conditions of the recognition, in 

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