[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 39 (Friday, February 27, 2004)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 9384-9385]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-4390]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. ICR-1218-0143(2004)]


Standard on Presence Sensing Device Initiation (PSDI) (29 CFR 
1910.217(h)); 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 solicits comments concerning its proposal to extend OMB 
approval of the information-collection requirements contained in the 
Standard on Presence Sensing Device Initiation (PSDI) (29 CF 
1910.217(h)). This standard regulates the use of presence-sensing 
devices (``PSDs'') in mechanical power-press safety systems; a PSD 
(e.g., a photoelectric field or curtain) automatically stops the stroke 
of a mechanical power press when the device detects an operator 
entering a danger zone near the press. Accordingly, the standard 
protects employees from seriouos crush injuries, amputations, and/or 
death.

DATES: Comments must be submitted by the following dates:
    Hard Copy: Your comments must be submitted (postmarked or received) 
by April 27, 2004.
    Facsimile and electronic transmission: Your comments must be 
received by April 27, 2004.

ADDRESSES: 

I. Submission of Comments

    Regular mail, express delivery, hand delivery, and messenger 
service: Submit your comments and attachments to the OSHA Docket 
Office, Docket No. ICR 1218-0143(2004), Room N-2625, U.S. Department of 
Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210. OSHA Docket 
Office and Department of Labor hours of operation are 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 
p.m., e.s.t.
    Facsimile: If your comments, including any attachments, are 10 
pages or fewer, you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 
693-1648. You must include the docket number of this document, Docket 
Number ICR 1218-0143(2004), in your comments.
    Electronic: You may submit comments, but not attachments, through 
the Internet at http://ecomments.osha.gov/.

II. Obtaining Copies of the Supporting Statement for the Information 
Collection

    The Supporting Statement for the Information Collection Request is 
available for downloading from OSHA's Web site at http://www.osha.gov. 
The Supporting Statement is available for inspection and copying in the 
OSHA Docket Office at the address listed above. A copy of the 
Supporting Statement can be obtained by contacting Theda Kenney at 
(202) 693-2222.

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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Submission of Comments on This Notice and Internet Access to 
Comments and Submissions

    You may submit comments in response to this document by (1) hard 
copy, (2) fax transmission (facsimile), or (3) electronically through 
the OSHA webpage. Please note you cannot attach materials such as 
studies or journal articles to electronic comments. When you have 
additional materials, you must submit three copies of them to the OSHA 
Docket Office at the address above. The additional materials must 
clearly identify your electronic comments by name, date, subject and 
docket number so we can attach them to your comments. Because of 
security-related problems, a significant delay may occur in the receipt 
of comments by regular mail. Please contact the OSHA Docket Office at 
(202) 693-2350 for information about security procedures concerning the 
delivery of materials by express delivery, hand delivery and messenger 
service.

II. 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 minimized, collection instruments 
are understandable, and OSHA's estimate of the information-collection 
burden is correct. The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the 
Act) authorizes information collection by employers as necessary or 
appropriate for enforcement of the Act or for developing information 
regarding the causes and prevention of occupational injuries, 
illnesses, and accidents (29 U.S.C. 657).
    A number of paragraphs in OSHA's Standard on Presence Sensing 
Device Initiation (PSDI) (29 CFR 1910.217(h)) (the ``Standard'') 
contain paperwork requirements. These requirements include: Certifying 
brake-monitor adjustments, alternatives to photo-electric presence 
sensing devices (PSDs), safety-system design and installation, and 
employee training; annual recertification of safety systems; 
establishing and maintaining the original certification and validation 
records, as well as the most recent recertification and revalidation 
records; affixing labels to test rods and to

[[Page 9385]]

certified and recertified presses; and notifying an OSHA-recognized 
third-party validation organization when a safety system component 
fails, the employer modifies the safety system, or a point-of-operation 
injury occurs. In addition, Appendix A of Sec.  1910.217 provides 
detailed information and procedures required to meet the certification/
validation provisions, as well as the design requirements, contained in 
the Standard. Accordingly, Appendix A supplements and explains the 
certification/validation provisions of the PSDI Standard, and does not 
specify new or additional paperwork requirements for employers. 
Appendix C of Sec.  1910.217 describes the requirements and procedures 
for obtaining OSHA recognition as a third-party validation 
organization; therefore, the paperwork requirements specified by this 
appendix do not impose burden hours or cost directly on employers who 
use PSDs.
    By complying with these paperwork requirements, employers ensure 
that PSDI-equipped mechanical power presses are in safe working order, 
thereby preventing severe injury and death to press operators and other 
employees who work near this equipment. In addition, these records 
provide the most efficient means for an OSHA compliance officer to 
determine that an employer performed the requirements and that the 
equipment is safe.
    To date no third-party organization is available to validate 
employer and manufacturer certifications that their PSDI equipment and 
practices meet the requirements of the Standard. Therefore, the Agency 
cannot attribute burden hours and cost to the paperwork requirements of 
the Standard.
    The Agency is currently conducting a Lookback Review on PSDI 
pursuant to Section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act and section 5 
of Executive Order 12866 on Regulatory Planning and Review (67 FR 
55181, Docket No. S225A). The purpose of this review is to determine, 
while protecting worker safety, whether there are ways to modify this 
standard to make implementation more practical, to reduce regulatory 
burden on small business and to improve its effectiveness. The Lookback 
Review process is scheduled to be completed in March 2004.

III. Special Issues for Comment

    OSHA has a particular interest in comments on the following issues:
     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;
     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 is proposing to extend the information collection requirements 
in the Standard on Presence Sensing Device Initiation (PSDI) (29 CFR 
1910.217(h)). The Agency will summarize the comments submitted in 
response to this notice, and will include this summary in the request 
to OMB to extend the approval of the information-collection 
requirements contained in the Standard.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently-approved information-
collection requirement.
    Title: Standard on Presence Sensing Device Initiation (PSDI) (29 
CFR 1910.217(h)).
    OMB Number: 1218-0143.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; not-for-profit 
institutions; Federal government; State, local, or tribal governments.
    Number of Respondents: 0.
    Frequency of Recordkeeping: On occasion; annually; other 
(initially).
    Average Time per Response: 0.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 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 February 24, 2004.
John L. Henshaw,
Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 04-4390 Filed 2-26-04; 8:45 am]
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