[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 111 (Monday, June 11, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32159-32161]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-11154]


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

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and its 
implementing regulations, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) 
hereby announces that it is seeking approval of the following 
information collection activities. Before submitting these information 
collection requirements for clearance by the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB), FRA is soliciting public comment on specific aspects of 
the activities identified below.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than August 10, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments on any or all of the following 
proposed activities by mail to either: Mr. Robert Brogan, Office of 
Safety, Planning and Evaluation Division, RRS-21, Federal Railroad 
Administration, 1120 Vermont Ave., NW., Mail Stop 25, Washington, DC 
20590, or Ms. Gina Christodoulou, Office of Support Systems, RAD-43, 
Federal Railroad Administration, 1120 Vermont Ave., NW., Mail Stop 35, 
Washington, DC 20590. Commenters requesting FRA to acknowledge receipt 
of their respective comments must include a self-addressed stamped 
postcard stating, ``Comments on OMB control number 2130-New.'' 
Alternatively, comments may be transmitted via facsimile to (202) 493-
6230 or (202) 493-6170, or via e-mail to Mr. Brogan at 
[email protected], or

[[Page 32160]]

to Ms. Christodoulou at [email protected]. Please refer to the 
assigned OMB control number or collection title in any correspondence 
submitted. FRA will summarize comments received in response to this 
notice in a subsequent notice and include them in its information 
collection submission to OMB for approval.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert Brogan, Office of Planning 
and Evaluation Division, RRS-21, Federal Railroad Administration, 1120 
Vermont Ave., NW., Mail Stop 25, Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 
493-6292) or Ms. Gina Christodoulou, Office of Support Systems, RAD-43, 
Federal Railroad Administration, 1120 Vermont Ave., NW., Mail Stop 35, 
Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 493-6139). (These telephone 
numbers are not toll-free.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
Pub. L. No. 104-13, Sec.  2, 109 Stat. 163 (1995) (codified as revised 
at 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), and its implementing regulations, 5 CFR part 
1320, require Federal agencies to provide 60-days notice to the public 
for comment on information collection activities before seeking 
approval by OMB. 44 U.S.C. Sec.  3506(c)(2)(A); 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), 
1320.10(e)(1), 1320.12(a). Specifically, FRA invites interested 
respondents to comment on the following summary of proposed information 
collection activities regarding (i) whether the information collection 
activities are necessary for FRA to properly execute its functions, 
including whether the activities will have practical utility; (ii) the 
accuracy of FRA's estimates of the burden of the information collection 
activities, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions 
used to determine the estimates; (iii) ways for FRA to enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information being collected; and 
(iv) ways for FRA to minimize the burden of information collection 
activities on the public by automated, electronic, mechanical, or other 
technological collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology (e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses). See 
44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)(i)-(iv); 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1)(i)-(iv). FRA 
believes that soliciting public comment will promote its efforts to 
reduce the administrative and paperwork burdens associated with the 
collection of information mandated by Federal regulations. In summary, 
FRA reasons that comments received will advance three objectives: (i) 
Reduce reporting burdens; (ii) ensure that it organizes information 
collection requirements in a ``user friendly'' format to improve the 
use of such information; and (iii) accurately assess the resources 
expended to retrieve and produce information requested. See 44 U.S.C. 
3501.
    Below is a brief summary of proposed new information collection 
activities that FRA will submit for clearance by OMB as required under 
the PRA:
    Title: Collect Close Call Reports.
    OMB Control Number: 2130-New.
    Abstract: In the U.S. railroad industry, injury rates have been 
declining over the last 25 years. Indeed, the industry incident rate 
fell from a high of 12.1 incidents per 100 workers per year in 1978 to 
3.66 in 1996. As the number of incidents has decreased, the mix of 
causes has also changed toward a higher proportion of incidents that 
can be attributed to human and organizational factors. This combination 
of trends--decrease in overall rates but increasing proportion of human 
factors-related incidents--has left safety managers with a need to 
shift tactics in reducing injuries to even lower rates than they are 
now.
    In recognition of the need for new approaches to improving safety, 
FRA has instituted the Confidential Close Call Reporting System 
(C3RS). The operating assumption behind C3RS is 
that by assuring confidentiality, employees will report events which, 
if dealt with, will decrease the likelihood of accidents. 
C3RS, therefore, has both a confidential reporting 
component, and a problem analysis/solution component. C3RS 
is expected to affect safety in two ways. First, it will lead to 
problem solving concerning specific safety conditions. Second, it will 
engender an organizational culture and climate that supports greater 
awareness of safety and a greater cooperative willingness to improve 
safety.
    If C3RS works as intended, it could have an important 
impact on improving safety and safety culture in the railroad industry. 
While C3RS has been developed and implemented with the 
participation of FRA, railroad labor, and railroad management, there 
are legitimate questions about whether it is being implemented in the 
most beneficial way, and whether it will have its intended effect. 
Further, even if C3RS is successful, it will be necessary to 
know if it is successful enough to implement on a wide scale. To 
address these important questions, FRA is implementing a formative 
evaluation to guide program development, a summative evaluation to 
assess impact, and a sustainability evaluation to determine how 
C3RS can continue after the test period is over. The 
evaluation is needed to provide FRA with guidance as to how it can 
improve the program, and how it might be scaled up throughout the 
railroad industry.
    Program evaluation is an inherently data driven activity. Its basic 
tenet is that as change is implemented, data can be collected to track 
the course and consequences of the change. Because of the setting in 
which C3RS is being implemented, that data must come from 
the railroad employees (labor and management) who may be affected. 
Critical data include beliefs about safety and issues related to 
safety, and opinions/observations about the operation of 
C3RS.
    The proposed study is a five-year demonstration project to improve 
rail safety, and is designed to identify safety issues and propose 
corrective action based on voluntary reports of close calls submitted 
to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Because of the innovative 
nature of this program, FRA is implementing an evaluation to determine 
whether the program is succeeding, how it can be improved and, if 
successful, what is needed to spread the program throughout the 
railroad industry. Interviews to evaluate the close call reporting 
system will be conducted with two groups: (1) Key stakeholders to the 
process (e.g., FRA officials, industry labor, and carrier management 
within participating railroads); and (2) Employees in participating 
railroads who are eligible to submit close call reports to the 
Confidential Close Call Reporting System. Different questions will be 
addressed to each of these two groups. Interviews will be semi-
structured, with follow-up questions asked as appropriate depending on 
the respondent's initial answer.
    Form Number(s): FRA F 6180.126A; FRA F 6180.126B.
    Affected Public: Railroad Employees and Key Non-railroad 
Stakeholders.
    Respondent Universe: 300 Select Railroad Employees/Non-railroad 
Stakeholders.
    Frequency of Submission: On occasion.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 267 hours.
    Status: Regular Review.
    Pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 3507(a) and 5 CFR 1320.5(b), 
1320.8(b)(3)(vi), FRA informs all interested parties that it may not 
conduct or sponsor, and a respondent is not required to respond to, a 
collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB 
control number.

    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520.


[[Page 32161]]


    Issued in Washington, DC, on June 5, 2007.
D.J. Stadtler,
Director, Office of Budget, Federal Railroad Administration.
[FR Doc. E7-11154 Filed 6-8-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P