[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 240 (Thursday, December 13, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 64391-64392]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-30772]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

48 CFR Parts 1823, 1836 and 1852


Safety and Health; Notice

AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This rule proposes to amend the NASA FAR Supplement (NFS) by 
revising the prescription for the use of NASA Safety and Health 
solicitation provisions and contract clauses; removing references to 
the Service Contract Act (SCA) and Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act 
regulations; adding references to the Occupational Safety and Health 
Act (OSHA) and Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations; and 
clarifying when a Safety and Health Plan is to be included in a 
contract or solicitation. This proposed rule would also require the use 
of NASA's safety and health provisions instead of the FAR Accident 
Prevention clause, and allow for oral notification, with written 
confirmation to the contractor, of Safety and Health noncompliance that 
may pose a serious or imminent danger to safety and health.

DATES: Comments should be submitted to NASA at the address below on or 
before February 11, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties should submit written comments to Jeff 
Cullen, NASA Headquarters Office of Procurement, Contract Management 
Division (Code HK), Washington, DC 20546. Comments may also be 
submitted by e-mail to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff Cullen, (202) 358-1784, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

    Reductions in the number of incidents involving injury or death to 
personnel, and in lost or restricted workdays can result from an 
emphasis on safety and occupational health. These reductions enhance 
the probability of mission success by decreasing development time, 
cycle times, operational delays and costs. Since NASA contracts 
comprise approximately 80 percent of its budget, NASA recognizes that 
for it to achieve mission success, it is critically important that NASA 
contractors also emphasize safety and occupational health. Currently, 
NASA requires the inclusion of a NASA Safety and Health clause and 
submission of a contractor Safety and Health Plan for contracts that 
are greater than $1 million, involve construction, or have hazardous 
deliverable end items or operations. Exclusion of the clause has been 
allowed when the Contracting Officer determined that Walsh-Healey or 
Service Contract Act (if applicable) regulations constituted adequate 
safety and health protection. This proposed rule removes the dollar 
threshold from the Safety and Health clause prescription since safety 
and health requirements should be determined by the risks rather than 
cost of the contract requirements. Furthermore, to assure that 
contractors are held to the same standards for mishap prevention as the 
Government, the proposed guidance requires use of a Safety and Health 
clause and submission of a Safety and Health Plan when performance is 
on a Government facility or when assessed risk warrants inclusion. This 
proposed rule further revises the conditions that must be met for 
excluding the clause from contracts, reflecting the greater Government 
and industry use of Occupational Safety and Health Administration 
(OSHA) and Department of Transportation (DOT), rather than Walsh-Healey 
or Service Contract Act safety and health regulations, and includes new 
NFS guidance on use of the NASA Safety and Health clause instead of the 
FAR Accident Prevention clause. Finally, this proposed rule makes the 
requirements for the use of the NASA Safety and Health clause for 
subcontracts consistent with prime contract requirements.

B. Paperwork Reduction Act

    The Paperwork Reduction Act does not apply because the changes to 
the NFS do not impose any recordkeeping or information collection 
requirements, or collections of information from offerors, contractors, 
or members of the public which require the approval of the Office of 
Management and Budget under 41 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Parts 1823, 1836 and 1852

    Government procurement.

Tom Luedtke,
Associate Administrator for Procurement.

    Accordingly, 48 CFR Parts 1823, 1836 and 1852 are proposed to be 
amended as follows:
    1. The authority citation for 48 CFR Parts 1823, 1836 and 1852 
continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 2473(c)(1)

PART 1823--ENVIRONMENT, CONSERVATION, OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY, AND 
DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE

    2. Amend section 1823.7001 in the second sentence of paragraph (c) 
by removing ``clause'' and adding ``provision'' in its place; and 
revising paragraphs (a) and (b) to read as follows:


1823.7001  NASA solicitation provisions and contract clauses.

    (a) The clause at 1852.223-70, Safety and Health, shall be included 
in all solicitations and contracts when one or more of the following 
conditions exist:
    (1) The work will be conducted completely or partly on premises 
owned or controlled by the Government.
    (2) The work includes construction, alteration, or repair of 
facilities in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold.
    (3) The work, regardless of place of performance, involves hazards 
that could endanger the public, astronauts and pilots, the NASA 
workforce (including contractor employees working on NASA contracts), 
or high value equipment or property, and the hazards are not adequately 
addressed by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or 
Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations (if applicable).
    (4) When the assessed risk and consequences of a failure to 
properly manage and control the hazard(s) warrants use of the clause.
    (b) The clause prescribed in paragraph (a) of this section may be 
excluded, regardless of place of performance, when the contracting 
officer, with the approval of the installation official(s) responsible 
for matters of safety and occupational health, determines that the 
application of OSHA and DOT regulations constitutes adequate safety and 
occupational health protection.
* * * * *

[[Page 64392]]

PART 1836--CONSTRUCTION AND ARCHITECT-ENGINEER CONTRACTS

    3. Add section 1836.513 to read as follows:


1836.513  Accident prevention.

    The contracting officer must insert the clause at 1852.223-70, 
Safety and Health, in lieu of FAR clause 52.236-13, Accident 
Prevention, and its Alternate I.

PART 1852--SOLICITATION PROVISIONS AND CONTRACT CLAUSES

    4. Amend the clause at section 1852.223-70 by revising the date of 
the clause; revising paragraphs (f)(1) and (g); redesignating 
paragraphs (h) and (i) as (i) and (j) respectively, and adding a new 
paragraph (h) to read as follows:


1852.223-70  Safety and Health.

* * * * *

SAFETY AND HEALTH

(XX/XX)

* * * * *
    (f) (1) The Contracting Officer may notify the Contractor in 
writing of any noncompliance with this clause and specify corrective 
actions to be taken. In situations where the Contracting Officer 
becomes aware of noncompliance that may pose a serious or imminent 
danger to safety and health of the public, astronauts and pilots, 
the NASA workforce (including contractor employees working on NASA 
contracts), or high value mission critical equipment or property, 
the Contracting Officer shall notify the Contractor orally, with 
written confirmation. The Contractor shall promptly take and report 
any necessary corrective action. The Government may pursue 
appropriate remedies in the event the Contractor fails to promptly 
take the necessary corrective action.
* * * * *
    (g) The Contractor (or subcontractor or supplier) shall insert 
the substance of this clause, including this paragraph (g) and any 
applicable Schedule provisions and clauses, with appropriate changes 
of designations of the parties, in all solicitations and 
subcontracts of every tier, when one or more of the following 
conditions exist:
    (1) The work will be conducted completely or partly on premises 
owned or controlled by the Government.
    (2) The work includes construction, alteration, or repair of 
facilities in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold.
    (3) The work, regardless of place of performance, involves 
hazards that could endanger the public, astronauts and pilots, the 
NASA workforce (including Contractor employees working on NASA 
contracts), or high value equipment or property, and the hazards are 
not adequately addressed by Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration (OSHA) or Department of Transportation (DOT) 
regulations (if applicable).
    (4) When the Contractor (or subcontractor or supplier) 
determines that the assessed risk and consequences of a failure to 
properly manage and control the hazard(s) warrants use of the 
clause.
    (h) The Contractor (or subcontractor or supplier) may exclude 
the provisions of paragraph (g) from its solicitation(s) and 
subcontract(s) of every tier when it determines that the clause is 
not necessary because the application of the OSHA and DOT (if 
applicable) regulations constitute adequate safety and occupational 
health protection. When a determination is made to exclude the 
provisions of paragraph (g) from a solicitation and subcontract, the 
Contractor must notify and provide the basis for the determination 
to the Contracting Officer. In subcontracts of every tier above the 
micro-purchase threshold for which paragraph (g) does not apply, the 
Contractor (or subcontractor or supplier) shall insert the substance 
of paragraphs (a), (b), (c), and (f) of this clause).
* * * * *
    5. Amend the clause at section 1852.223-72 by revising the date of 
the clause, and revising paragraph (d) to read as follows:


1852.223-72  Safety and Health (Short Form).

* * * * *

Safety and Health (Short Form)

(XX/XX)

* * * * *
    (d) The Contracting Officer may notify the Contractor in writing 
of any noncompliance with this clause and specify corrective actions 
to be taken. In situations where the Contracting Officer becomes 
aware of noncompliance that may pose a serious or imminent danger to 
safety and health of the public, astronauts and pilots, the NASA 
workforce (including contractor employees working on NASA 
contracts), or high value mission critical equipment or property, 
the Contracting Officer shall notify the Contractor orally, with 
written confirmation. The Contractor shall promptly take and report 
any necessary corrective action. The Government may pursue 
appropriate remedies in the event the Contractor fails to promptly 
take the necessary corrective action.
* * * * *
    6. Revise the clause at section 1852.223-73 and the introductory 
text of Alternate I to the clause to read as follows:


1852.223-73  Safety and Health Plan.

* * * * *

Safety and Health Plan

(XX/XX)

    (a) The offeror shall submit a detailed safety and occupational 
health plan as part of its proposal (see NPG 8715.3, NASA Safety 
Manual, Appendices). The plan shall include a detailed discussion of 
the policies, procedures, and techniques that will be used to ensure 
the safety and occupational health of Contractor employees and to 
ensure the safety of all working conditions throughout the 
performance of the contract.
    (b) When applicable, the plan shall address the policies, 
procedures, and techniques that will be used to ensure the safety 
and occupational health of the public, astronauts and pilots, the 
NASA workforce (including Contractor employees working on NASA 
contracts), and high-value equipment and property.
    (c) The plan shall similarly address subcontractor employee 
safety and occupational health for those proposed subcontracts that 
contain one or more of the following conditions:
    (1) The work will be conducted completely or partly on premises 
owned or controlled by the government.
    (2) The work includes construction, alteration, or repair of 
facilities in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold.
    (3) The work, regardless of place of performance, involves 
hazards that could endanger the public, astronauts and pilots, the 
NASA workforce (including Contractor employees working on NASA 
contracts), or high value equipment or property, and the hazards are 
not adequately addressed by Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration (OSHA) or Department of Transportation (DOT) 
regulations (if applicable).
    (4) When the assessed risk and consequences of a failure to 
properly manage and control the hazards warrants use of the clause.
    (d) This plan, as approved by the Contracting Officer, will be 
included in any resulting contract.

(End of provision).

Alternate I

(XX/XX)

    As prescribed in 1823.7001(c), delete the first sentence in 
paragraph (a) of the basic provision and substitute the following:
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 01-30772 Filed 12-12-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7510-01-P