[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 56 (Monday, March 24, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14260-14261]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-6943]


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

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. ICR-1218-0215(2003)]


Standards on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Shipyard 
Employment (29 CFR part 1915, subpart I); 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.

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

SUMMARY: OSHA solicits comments concerning its proposal to decrease the 
existing burden-hour estimates, and to extend the Office of Management 
and Budget's (OMB) approval of the information-collection requirements 
contained in its Standards on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for 
Shipyard Employment (29 CFR part 1915, subpart I).\1\ The Standards 
require

[[Page 14261]]

employers to provide and ensure that each affected employee uses the 
appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) for the eyes, face, 
head, extremities, torso, and respiratory system, including protective 
clothing, protective shields, protective barriers, personal fall-
protection equipment, and life-saving equipment that meets the 
applicable provisions of this subpart whenever employees are exposed to 
hazards that require the use of PPE.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Based on its assessment of the paperwork requirements 
contained in these Standards, the Agency estimates that the total 
burden hours decreased compared to its previous burden-hour 
estimate. Under this notice, OSHA is not proposing to revise the 
Standards' paperwork requirements, only to decrease the burden-hour 
estimates imposed by the existing paperwork requirements.

DATES: Comments must be submitted by the following dates:
    Hard Copy: Your comments must be submitted (postmarked or received) 
by May 23, 2003.
    Facsimile and electronic transmission: Your comments must be sent 
by May 23, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to the Docket Office, Docket No. 
ICR-1218-0215(2003), 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 Standards 
and Guidance, 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 collections of information specified by the 
Standards on Personal Protective Equipment for Shipyard Employment 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:

I. Background

    The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to reduce 
paperwork and respondent (i.e., employer) burden, conducts a 
preclearance consultation program to provide the public with an 
opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing information-
collection requirements in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This program ensures that 
information is in the desired format, reporting burden (time and costs) 
is minimized, collection instruments are understandable, and OSHA's 
estimate of the information-collection burden is correct.
    The collections of information in the standard are necessary for 
implementation of the requirements of the Standards. The Standards 
specify several paperwork requirements. The following sections describe 
the information-collection requirements, and who will use the 
information.
    (A) Hazard Assessment And Equipment Selection (1915.152(b)). 
Paragraph 1915.152(b) requires the employer to assess work activities 
to determine whether there are hazards present, or likely to be 
present, which necessitate the employee's use of PPE. If such hazards 
are present, or likely to be present, the employer must: (1) Select the 
type of PPE that will protect the affected employee from the hazards 
identified in the occupational-hazard assessment; (2) communicate 
selection decisions to affected employees; (3) select PPE that properly 
fits each affected employee; and (4) verify that the required 
occupational hazard assessment has been performed through a document 
that contains the following information: Occupation, the date(s) of the 
hazard assessment, and the name of the person performing the hazard 
assessment.
    (B) Verification That Hazard Assessment Has Been Performed 
(1915.152(d)(4)). Paragraph 1915.152(e)(4) requires that the employer 
verify that each affected employee has received the PPE training 
through a document that contains the following information: Name of 
each employee trained, the date(s) of training, and the type of 
training the employee received.

II. Special Issues for Comment

    OSHA has a particular interest in comments on the following issues:
    [sbull] Whether the proposed information-collection requirements 
are necessary for the proper performance of the Agency's functions to 
protect workers, including whether the information is useful;
    [sbull] 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;
    [sbull] The quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
collected; and
    [sbull] 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 decrease the existing burden-hour estimates, and 
to extend OMB's approval of the collection-of-information requirements 
specified in the Standards on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for 
Shipyard Employment (29 CFR part 1915, subpart I). The net reduction of 
213 hours results from a 292-hour increase to account for the 165 newly 
identified firms to conduct an initial hazard assessment, and a 
reduction of 505 hours to reflect that employers do not spend 2 minutes 
per employee disclosing training verification records to OSHA; rather 
employers spend 2 minutes per inspection disclosing the necessary 
training verification records.
    The Agency will summarize the comments submitted in response to 
this notice, and will include this summary in its request to OMB to 
extend the approval of these information-collection requirements.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved information-
collection requirement.
    Title: Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Shipyard Employment 
(29 CFR part 1915, subpart I).
    OMB Number: 1218-0215.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; not-for-profit 
institutions; Federal government; State, local or tribal Governments.
    Number of Respondents: 665.
    Frequency of Recordkeeping: On occasion.
    Average Time Per Response: Varies from one minute (.02 hour) to 
maintain training documentation to 6 hours to perform a hazard 
assessment.
    Total Annual Hours Requested: 2,042.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $0.

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. 5-2002 (67 FR 65008).

    Signed at Washington, DC, on March 18, 2003.
John L. Henshaw.
Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 03-6943 Filed 3-21-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-26-M