[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 128 (Thursday, July 6, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 31252-31253]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-14122]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

29 CFR Part 1910

[Docket No. OSHA-2013-0002]
RIN 1218-AB80


Walking-Working Surfaces and Personal Protective Equipment (Fall 
Protection Systems) for General Industry; Approval of Collections of 
Information

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

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This technical amendment revises an OSHA regulation to reflect 
the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the collections 
of information contained in the general industry Walking-Working 
Surfaces and Personal Protective Equipment (Fall Protection Systems) 
standards.

DATES: Effective July 6, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Todd Owen, OSHA, Directorate of 
Standards and Guidance, Room N-3609, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-
2222.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 18, 2016, OSHA published a final 
rule revising and updating the general industry Walking-Working 
Surfaces and Personal Protective Equipment (Fall Protection Systems) 
standards (29 CFR 1910, subparts D and I) (81 FR 82494) to provide 
workers with greater protections from slip, trip and fall hazards. This 
technical amendment adds to Sec.  1910.8, which displays OSHA's 
approved general industry collections of information under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1985 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the OMB 
control number for the new collection requirements in the final rule.
    Final subpart D contains three new collections of information. 
First, final Sec.  1910.23(b)(10) requires that employers ensure any 
ladder with structural or

[[Page 31253]]

other defects be tagged immediately with ``Dangerous: Do Not Use'' or 
similar language and removed from service until ``repaired . . . or 
replaced.'' The information will alert employers and workers that the 
ladder is not safe and must not be used.
    Second, final Sec.  1910.27(b)(1)(i) requires, before any rope 
descent system is used, that the building owner inform the employer in 
writing that the building owner has identified, tested, certified, and 
maintained each anchorage so it is capable of supporting at least 5,000 
pounds (268 kg), in any direction for each employee attached. The 
information must be based on an annual inspection by a qualified person 
and certification of each anchorage by a qualified person, as 
necessary, and at least every 10 years. The information will assure 
employers and workers that the building owner has inspected, tested and 
certified the anchorage, which the employer may not own or have any 
control over, as safe to use. A related provision, final Sec.  
1910.27(b)(1)(ii), requires that the employer ensure no employee uses 
any anchorage before the employer has obtained written information from 
the building owner indicating that each anchorage meets the 
requirements of Sec.  1910.27(b)(1)(i). The employer must keep the 
information for the duration of the job. The information will assure 
employers and workers that the anchorages employers use, but may not 
own or have any control over, are safe to use.
    Third, final Sec.  1910.28(b)(1)(ii) specifies that when employers 
can demonstrate that it is not feasible or creates a greater hazard to 
use guardrail, safety net, or personal fall protection systems on 
residential roofs, they must develop and implement a written fall 
protection plan that meets the requirements of 29 CFR 1926.502(k) and 
training that meets the requirements of 29 CFR 1926.503(a) and (c). The 
information collection ensures that employers and workers will know 
what alternative measures will be used at a given worksite to provide 
an appropriate level of protection when conventional fall protection is 
not feasible.
    These requirements are contained in the Information Collection 
Request (ICR) approved by OMB under control number 1218-0199, which 
OSHA included in the final rule published in the Federal Register (81 
FR 82978-80). The collections of information in final subpart D are 
necessary to ensure workers are protected from death or injury from 
falls from elevated heights.
    Final subpart I expands the existing collections of information 
contained in the hazard assessment and verification requirements in 29 
CFR 1910.132 to include assessments for workers who use personal fall 
protection systems (29 CFR 1910.140). These requirements are contained 
in the Information Collection Request (ICR) approved by OMB under 
control number 1218-0205, which OSHA included in the final rule 
published in the Federal Register (81 FR 82978-80).
    Additional public comment on the information collections in the 
final rule is not necessary. The public already has had the opportunity 
to comment on the collections of information and OMB has approved them. 
This revision of Sec.  1910.8 is a purely technical step to increase 
public awareness of OMB's approval of the collections of information.

Authority and Signature

    Dorothy Dougherty, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for 
Occupational Safety and Health, directed the preparation of this notice 
under the authority of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3506 et seq.) and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 1-2012 (77 FR 3912).

    Signed at Washington, DC, on June 28, 2017.
Dorothy Dougherty,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Occupational Safety and 
Health Administration amends 29 CFR part 1910 as follows:

PART 1910--OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH STANDARDS

Subpart A--[Amended]

0
1. Revise the authority citation for subpart A to read as follows:

    Authority: 29 U.S.C. 653, 655, 657; Secretary of Labor's Order 
Numbers 12-71 (36 FR 8754), 8-76 (41 FR 25059), 9-83 (48 FR 
35736),1-90 (55 FR 9033), 6-96 (62 FR 111), 3-2000 (65 FR 50017), 5-
2002 (67 FR 65008), 5-2007 (72 FR 31159), 4-2010 (75 FR 55355), or 
1-2012 (77 FR 3912), as applicable.
    Sections 1910.6, 1910.7, 1910.8 and 1910.9 also issued under 29 
CFR 1911. Section 1910.7(f) also issued under 31 U.S.C. 9701; 29 
U.S.C. 9a; 5 U.S.C. 553; Public Law 106-113 (113 Stat. 1501A-222); 
Public Law 11-8 and 111-317; and OMB Circular A-25 (dated July 8, 
1993) (58 FR 38142, July 15, 1993).


0
2. Amend Sec.  1910.8 by adding to the table, in the proper numerical 
sequence, the entries for ``1910.27,'' and ``1910.28,'' to read as 
follows:


Sec.  1910.8  OMB control numbers under the Paperwork Reduction Act.

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                                                            OMB control
                     29 CFR citation                            No.
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1910.27.................................................       1218-0199
1910.28.................................................       1218-0199
 
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[FR Doc. 2017-14122 Filed 7-5-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-26-P