Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2012/11/09/2012-27210/revising-the-exemption-for-digger-derricks-in-the-cranes-and-derricks-in-construction-standard
Timestamp: 2017-02-19 23:41:36
Document Index: 492166674

Matched Legal Cases: ['§\u20091926', '§\u20091910', '§\u20091926', '§\u20091910', '§\u20091910', '§\u20091910', '§\u20091926', '§\u20091910', '§\u20091910', '§\u20091926', '§\u20091926', '§\u20091910', '§\u20091926', '§\u20091910', '§\u20091926', '§\u20091910', '§\u20091926', '§\u20091910', '§\u20091910', '§\u20091926', '§\u20091926', '§\u20091926', '§\u20091926']

:: Revising the Exemption for Digger Derricks in the Cranes and Derricks in Construction Standard
A Rule by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on 11/09/2012
67270-67276
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2012-27210
When the activities are exempt from subpart CC of 29 CFR 1926, they must still comply with all other applicable construction standards, such as 29 CFR 1926, subpart O (Motor Vehicles, Mechanized Equipment, and Marine Operations), and subpart V.[1] On October 6, 2010, Edison Electrical Institute petitioned for review of the Cranes and Derricks in Construction standard in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. During subsequent discussions with OSHA, EEI provided new information to OSHA regarding the use of digger derricks in the electric-utility industry and the resulting impact on the utilities' operations under the current digger-derrick exemption in subpart CC. According to EEI, the exemption from subpart CC covers roughly 95 percent of work conducted by digger derricks in the electric-utility industry (see OSHA-2012-0025-0004 for EEI Dec. 7, 2010, letter, page 2). The majority of the work under the remaining five percent is work that is closely related to the exempted work. Id. For example, when electric utilities use digger derricks to perform construction work involving pole installations, the same digger-derrick crew that performs the pole work typically installs pad-mount transformers on the ground as part of the same power system as the poles. While the pole work is exempt under 29 CFR 1926.1400(c)(4), the placement of the pad-mount transformer on the ground is not.
Furthermore, in comparison to currently exempted pole work, OSHA believes most (if not all) of the remaining five percent of work is at least as safe. Weight measurements provided by EEI demonstrate that transformers placed on a pad on the ground are roughly the same weight as, or in some cases lighter than, the weight of the transformers lifted onto the poles, or the poles themselves (see OSHA-2012-0025-0003 for EEI handout, “Typical Weights” chart).[2] In addition, electric utilities typically place distribution transformers in a right of way along front property lines, close to a roadway, or along rear property lines, irrespective of whether the transformers are pole- or pad-mounted. In those cases, the lifting radius of a digger derrick placing a transformer on a pad is similar to the lifting radius of a digger derrick placing a transformer on a pole. Consequently, the lifting forces on a digger derrick should be approximately the same regardless of whether the transformer is pole- or pad-mounted (see, e.g., OSHA-2012-0025-0003). Finally, the approximate height of the transformer relative to the employee installing the transformer is the same for the two types of transformers. An employee installing a pad-mounted transformer is on the ground, near the pad, whereas an employee installing a pole-mounted transformer is either on the pole, or in an aerial lift, near the mounting point for the transformer. In either case, the transformer would be around the same height as the employee.
When the Agency promulgated the final Cranes and Derricks in Construction rule, OSHA's primary concern about extending the digger-derrick exemption beyond pole work was that such an extension would provide employers with an incentive to use digger derricks on construction sites to perform construction tasks normally handled by cranes—tasks that are beyond the original design capabilities of a digger derrick. In discussing this concern, OSHA stated, “[T]he general lifting work done at those other worksites would be subject to this standard if done by other types of lifting equipment, and the same standards should apply as apply to that equipment * * *.” (75 FR 47925). OSHA acknowledges that revising the exemption would extend the digger-derrick exemption to include some work at substations. However, EEI indicated that the employers in the electric-utility industry limit such uses to assembly or arrangement of substation components, and that these employers use other types of cranes instead of digger derricks to perform lifting and installation work at substations (see OSHA-2012-0025-0005 for Jan. 2011 EEI letter). If OSHA finds that, should this direct final rule become a final rule, employers are using digger derricks increasingly for other tasks, the Agency may revisit this issue and adjust the exemption accordingly. The Agency also recognizes that, because the exemption only applies to work subject to the electrical-power and telecommunications standards, employers cannot use digger derricks within this exemption to perform unrelated tasks such as the construction of a building or the foundation or structural components of a substation before the installation of electric power-transmission or power-distribution equipment. A digger derrick used for this type of construction will still be subject to the requirements in 29 CFR 1926, subpart CC, and operators will have to be certified in accordance with § 1926.1427.
Third, OSHA is replacing the reference to § 1910.269 with a reference to 29 CFR 1926, subpart V. The current exemption in § 1926.1400(c)(4) requires employers using digger derricks for work covered by subpart V to comply with the requirements in § 1910.269. However, in the 2010 final rule for Cranes and Derricks in Construction, OSHA also revised 29 CFR 1926.952(c)(2) of subpart V to require digger derricks used for the purposes exempted from subpart CC to comply with § 1910.269. Thus, although the revised exemption in this direct final rule specifies compliance with subpart V instead of § 1910.269, there is no substantive revision to digger derricks used for augering holes and handling associated materials. The primary purpose for this revision is to harmonize the § 1926.1400(c)(4) exemption with 29 CFR 1926.952(c)(2) to ensure that non-pole digger-derrick work covered by subpart V receives the same protections as pole work covered by subpart V.
As part of this harmonizing process, OSHA also is revising the corresponding provision in subpart V that requires compliance with § 1910.269 for all digger-derrick work exempted from subpart CC, including §§ 1910.269(p) (Mechanical equipment), 1910.269(a)(2) (Training), and 1910.269(l) (Working on or near exposed energized parts) (see new 29 CFR 1926.952(c)(2)). When OSHA promulgated subpart CC of 29 CFR 1926 in 2010, the Agency also revised § 1926.952(c)(2) in subpart V of its construction standards (75 FR 48135). The revision mirrored the terminology in the digger-derrick exemption in § 1926.1400(c)(4), and required employers using digger derricks so exempted to comply with § 1910.269 (Electric power generation, transmission, and distribution). In making this revision, the Agency noted that it added specific minimum clearance-distance requirements, which are applicable to subpart V work, to the cranes and derricks in construction rules at subpart CC, and explained that it revised § 1926.952(c) to require digger derricks to comply with § 1910.269 to provide “comparable safety requirements” (75 FR 47921).
As revised, paragraph § 1926.952(c)(2) requires employers using digger derricks for subpart V work and, thus, not subject to the requirements of subpart CC of 29 CFR 1926, to comply with the requirements in § 1910.269. OHSA also is clarifying that paragraph (c)(2) applies in addition to, not in place of, the general requirement in § 1926.952(c) that all equipment (including digger derricks) must comply with subpart O of 29 CFR 1926. As noted in the preamble to the subpart CC final rule, OSHA currently is developing a rule that will amend subpart V to avoid inconsistencies between subpart V of the construction standards and § 1910.269 (see 70 FR 34822 (June 15, 2005)). Pending completion of that rulemaking, digger derricks excluded from subpart CC of 29 CFR 1926 will be subject to the same requirements regardless of whether employers use them for work covered by subpart V or work covered by § 1910.269, and regardless of whether employers use them for pole work or other subpart V work.
In its FEA for the final rule, OSHA estimated that the total costs for NAICS 221110 would be $6.7 million ($4 million for operator certification), and the total costs for NAICS 221120 would be $18.7 million annually ($8.7 million for operator certification) (see FEA Table B-9 in the Aug. 9, 2010, FR notice). Fully exempting digger derricks from the scope of the standard also eliminates costs for other activities besides operator certification, such as inspections and power-line safety. In the original FEA, the two main cost components for an industry were the number of crane operators and the number of jobs involving cranes. The original FEA estimated that digger derricks represented 85 percent of operators, and 85 percent of jobs involving cranes. OSHA, therefore, estimates that digger derricks account for 85 percent of the costs attributed to NAICS 221110 and NAICS 221120. Applying this 85 percent factor to the total costs for the industries yields costs for digger derricks of $5.7 million per year in NAICS 221110 and $15.9 million per year in NAICS 221120, for a total of $21.6 million per year.[3] This direct final rule will eliminate nearly all of the estimated $21.6 million per year in costs associated with digger derricks. These estimated cost savings may be slightly overstated because OSHA noted in its FEA that the cost assumptions might not represent the most efficient way to meet the requirements of the rule. However, OSHA wanted to assure the regulated community that, even with somewhat overstated cost estimates, the rule would still be economically feasible.
When federal OSHA promulgates a new standard or more stringent amendment to an existing standard, the 27 states and U.S. territories with their own OSHA-approved occupational safety and health plans must amend their standards to reflect the new standard or amendment, or show OSHA why such action is unnecessary, e.g., because an existing state standard covering this area is at least as effective in protecting employees as the new federal standard or amendment (29 CFR 1953.5(a)). The state standard must be at least as effective in protecting employees as the final federal rule. State Plan States must issue the standard within six months of the promulgation date of the final federal rule. When OSHA promulgates a new standard or amendment that does not impose additional or more stringent requirements than an existing standard, State Plan States are not required to amend their standards, although OSHA may encourage them to do so. The 27 states and U.S. territories with OSHA-approved occupational safety and health plans 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. Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and the Virgin Islands have OSHA-approved State Plans that apply to state and local government employees only.
1. Revise the authority citation for subpart V to read as follows: Authority:
2. Amend § 1926.952 by revising paragraph (c)(2) to read as follows: § 1926.952 Mechanical equipment.
3. Revise the authority citation for subpart CC to read as follows: Authority:
4. Amend § 1926.1400 by revising paragraph (c)(4) to read as follows: § 1926.1400 Scope.