[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 124 (Thursday, June 27, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43346-43347]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-16263]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. ICR-1218-0229(2002)]


Standard on Mechanical Power Presses; Extension of the Office of 
Management and Budget's Approval of Information-Collection (Paperwork) 
Requirements

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION: Request for comment.

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SUMMARY: OSHA request comment concerning its proposed extension of the 
information-collection requirements contained in the Standard on 
Mechanical Power Presses (29 CFR 1910.217). The paperwork provisions of 
the Standard specify requirements for developing and maintaining 
records to certify that employers are inspecting presses as required by 
the Standard. The purpose of these requirements is to reduce employees' 
risk of death or serious injury by ensuring that employers maintain the 
mechanical power presses used by the employees in safe operating 
condition.

DATES: Submit written comments on or before August 26, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to the Docket Office, Docket No. 
ICR-1218-0229(2002), OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-2625, 200 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-
2350. Commenters may transmit written comments of 10 pages or less by 
facsimile to (202) 693-1648.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Background

    The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to reduce 
paperwork and respondent (i.e., employer) burden, conducts a 
preclearance consultation program to provide the public with an 
opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing information-
collection requirements in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (PRA-95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This program ensures that 
information is in the desired format, reporting burden (time and costs) 
is minimal, collection instruments are clearly understandable, and 
OSHA's estimate of the information-collection burden is correct.
    The Mechanical Power Presses Standard specifies two paperwork 
requirements. The following paragraphs describe who uses the 
information collected under each requirement, as well as how they use 
it. The purpose of these requirements is to reduce employees' risk of 
death or serious injury by ensuring that employers maintain the 
mechanical power presses used by the employees in safe operating 
condition. (Based on previous ICR approvals by OMB, OSHA determined 
that the training requirement in paragraph (f)(2) of the Standard is 
not a collection of information under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995.)
     Paragraph (e)(1)(i) requires employers to establish and 
follow a program of periodic and regular inspections of power presses 
to ensure that all their parts, auxiliary equipment, and safeguards are 
in safe operating condition and adjustment. Employers must maintain a 
certification record of inspections that includes the date of 
inspection, the signature of the person who performed the inspection, 
and the serial number, or other identifier, of the power press that was 
inspected.
     Paragraph (e)(1)(ii) requires employers to inspect and 
test each press no less than weekly to determine the condition of the 
clutch/brake mechanism, antirepeat feature, and single-stroke 
mechanism. Employers must perform and complete necessary maintenance or 
repair or both before the press is operated. In addition, employers 
must maintain a record of inspections, tests, and maintenance work. The 
record must include the date of the date of the inspection, test, or 
maintenance; the signature of the person who performed the inspection; 
and the serial number, or other identifier, of the press that was 
inspected, tested, or maintained.
    The certification records required in 29 CFR 1910.217(e)(1)(i) and 
(e)(1)(ii) are necessary to ensure compliance with the requirement to 
inspect mechanical power presses. The inspection of mechanical power 
presses is critical to ensuring that employers maintain the presses in 
safe operating condition for employees. These records also provide the 
most efficient means for the compliance officers to determine that an 
employer is complying with the Standard.

II. Special Issues for Comment

    OSHA has a particular interest in comments on the following issues:
     Whether the proposed information-collection are necessary 
for the proper performance of the Agency's functions, including whether 
the information is useful;
     The accuracy of OSHA's estimate of the burden (time and 
costs) of the information-collection requirements, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
     The quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
collected; and
     Ways to minimize the burden on employers who must comply; 
for example, by using automated or other technological information-
collection and -transmission techniques.

III. Proposed Actions

    OSHA proposes to extend the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) 
approval of the collection-of-information requirements specified in the 
Standard on Mechanical Power Presses (29 CFR 1910.217). OSHA will 
summarize the comments submitted in response to this notice, and will 
include this summary in its request to OMB to extend the approval of 
these information-collection requirements.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved information-
collection requirement.

[[Page 43347]]

    Title: Mechanical Power Presses (29 CFR 1910.217).
    OMB Number: 1218-0229.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; not-for-profit 
institutions; Federal government; State, local, or tribal governments.
    Number of Respondents: 191,750 (assuming one mechanical power press 
per employer).
    Frequency of Recordkeeping: On occasion.
    Average Time per Response: Varies from 5 minutes (.08 hour) to 20 
minutes (.33 hour).
    Total Annual Hours Requested: 1,372,930.

IV. Authority and Signature

    John L. Henshaw, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational 
Safety and Health, directed the preparation of this notice. The 
authority for this notice is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. 3506) and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 3-2000 (65 FR 50017).

Signed at Washington, DC, on June 21st, 2002.
John L. Henshaw,
Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 02-16263 Filed 6-26-02; 8:45 am]
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