[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 128 (Thursday, July 3, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 39880-39881]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-16871]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

29 CFR Part 1926

[Docket No. S-030]
RIN 1218-AC01


Safety Standards for Cranes and Derricks

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), U.S. 
Department of Labor.

ACTION: Notice of first meeting of Negotiated Rulemaking Committee.

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SUMMARY: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 
announces the first meeting of the Crane and Derrick Negotiated 
Rulemaking Advisory Committee (C-DAC). Members will be sworn in; the 
committee will be charged with its duties and will address certain 
procedural matters and substantive issues. The meeting will be open to 
the public.

DATES: The meeting will be on July 30, 31, and August 1, 2003. It will 
begin each day at 8:30 a.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at The U.S. Department of Labor, 
200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210 in conference room 
N3437 A, B and C.
    Written comments to the committee may be submitted in any of three 
ways: by mail, by fax, or by email. Please include ``Docket No. S-030'' 
on all submissions.
    By mail, the address is: OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. S-030, U.S. 
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room N-2625, 
Washington, DC 20210, telephone (202) 693-2350. Note that receipt of 
comments submitted by mail may be delayed by several weeks.
    By fax, written comments that are 10 pages or fewer may be 
transmitted to the OSHA Docket Office at telephone number (202) 693-
1648.
    Electronically, comments may be submitted through OSHA's Webpage at 
http://ecomments.osha.gov. Please note that you may not attach 
materials such as studies or journal articles to your electronic 
comments. If you wish to include such materials, you must submit three 
copies to the OSHA Docket Office at the address listed above. When 
submitting such materials to the OSHA Docket Office, clearly identify 
your electronic comments by name, date, subject, and Docket Number, so 
that we can attach the materials to your electronic comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Buchet, Office of Construction 
Standards and Guidance, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 
U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-3468, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20210; Telephone: (202) 693-2345.

Table of Contents

I. Background
II. Agenda
III. Anticipated Key Issues for Negotiation
IV. Public Participation
V. Supplementary Information
V. Authority

I. Background

    On July 16, 2002, OSHA published a notice of intent to establish a 
negotiated rulemaking committee (Volume 67 of the Federal Register, 
page 46612). The notice requested nominations for membership on the C-
DAC and comments on the appropriateness of using negotiated rulemaking 
to develop a proposed rule for cranes and derricks used in 
construction. In addition, the notice described the negotiated 
rulemaking process and identified some key issues anticipated to be 
addressed in the negotiation.
    Fifty-five nominations for membership on the Committee and several 
comments were received during the comment period. There was broad 
support for using negotiated rulemaking to update the standard and OSHA 
decided to go forward with the negotiated rulemaking process. On June 
12, 2003 the Department of Labor published a notice establishing the 
Committee (Volume 68 of the Federal Register, page 35172).

II. Agenda

    Following registration, assembly and a welcome by the Agency, the 
Facilitator will offer a brief overview of negotiated rulemaking and 
then address the matters that must be resolved by the Committee at its 
first meeting, including adoption of ground rules. These are the 
procedural rules that the Committee will use for conducting the 
meetings. In addition there will be discussion of a tentative list of 
C-DAC workgroups.
    The Facilitator will initiate discussions on identifying the 
substantive issues to be addressed by C-DAC. OSHA requests that 
committee members and all interested parties bring their calendars to 
facilitate the development of a tentative schedule of committee and 
workgroup meetings.

III. Anticipated Key Issues for Negotiation

    OSHA anticipates that key issues to be addressed as part of these 
negotiations will include:
    1. The identification/description of what constitutes ``cranes and 
derricks'' for purposes of determining the equipment that will be 
covered by the proposed rule.
    2. Qualifications of individuals who operate, maintain, repair, 
assemble, and disassemble cranes and derricks.
    3. Work zone control.
    4. Crane operations near electric power lines.
    5. Qualifications of signal-persons and communication systems and 
requirements.
    6. Load capacity and control procedures.
    7. Wire rope criteria.
    8. Crane inspection/certification records.
    9. Rigging procedures.
    10. Requirements for fail-safe, warning, and other safety-related 
devices/technologies.
    11. Verification criteria for the structural adequacy of crane 
components.
    12. Stability testing requirements.
    13. Blind pick procedures.

IV. Public Participation

    All interested parties are invited to attend this public meeting at 
the time and place indicated above. No advanced

[[Page 39881]]

registration is required. Seating will be available to the public on a 
first-come, first-served basis. Individuals with disabilities wishing 
to attend should contact Luz DelaCruz by Telephone at 202-693-2020 or 
by Fax at 202-693-1689 to obtain appropriate accommodations no later 
than Tuesday, July 22, 2003. The C-DAC meeting is expected to last two 
and a half days.
    In addition, members of the general public may request an 
opportunity to make oral presentations to the Committee. The 
Facilitator has the authority to decide to what extent oral 
presentations by members of the public may be permitted at the meeting. 
Oral presentations will be limited to statements of fact and views, and 
shall not include any questioning of the committee members or other 
participants. Questions, answers and a less formal exchange is 
encouraged in the workgroup sessions.
    The procedural requirements in Part 1912 of Title 29 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations will apply generally to C-DAC meetings. The 
reporting requirements of Sec.  1912.33 have been changed pursuant to 
Sec.  1912.42 to help meet the special needs of negotiated rulemaking 
committees. Specifically, Sec.  1912.33 requires that verbatim 
transcripts be kept of all advisory committee meetings. Producing a 
coherent transcript requires a certain degree of formality. The 
Assistant Secretary therefore has determined pursuant to Sec.  1912.42 
that such formality might interfere with the free exchange of 
information and ideas during the negotiations, and that the OSH Act 
would be better served by simply requiring detailed minutes of the 
proceedings without a formal transcript.
    Minutes of the meetings and materials prepared for the Committee 
will be available for public inspection at the OSHA Docket Office, N-
2625, 200 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20210; Telephone (202) 
693-2350.
    The Facilitator, Susan Podziba, can be reached at Susan Podziba and 
Associates, 21 Orchard Road, Brookline, MA 02445; Telephone (617) 738-
5320, Fax (617) 738-6911.

VI. Authority

    This document was prepared under the direction of John L. Henshaw, 
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. 
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 
20210, pursuant to section 3 of the Negotiated Rulemaking Act of 1990, 
(5 U.S.C. 561 et seq.), the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 
Appendix 2), the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 
651 et seq.), and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 5-2002 (67 FR 65008).

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 27 day of June, 2003.
John L. Henshaw,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 03-16871 Filed 7-2-03; 8:45 am]
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