[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 72 (Friday, April 12, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25902-25903]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07742]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. OSHA-2011-0064]


Forging Machines Standard; Extension of the Office of Management 
and Budget's (OMB) Approval of Information Collection (Paperwork) 
Requirements

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

ACTION: Request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits public comments concerning the proposal to 
extend the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the 
information collection requirements specified in the Forging Machines 
Standard.

DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by 
June 11, 2024.

ADDRESSES: 
    Electronically: You may submit comments and attachments 
electronically at https://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online for submitting 
comments.
    Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the 
docket, go to https://www.regulations.gov. Documents in the docket are 
listed in the https://www.regulations.gov index; however, some 
information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly available to 
read or download through the websites. All submissions, including 
copyrighted material, are available for inspection through the OSHA 
Docket Office. Contact the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350 (TTY 
(877) 889-5627) for assistance in locating docket submissions.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and OSHA 
docket number (OSHA-2011-0064) for the Information Collection Request 
(ICR). OSHA will place all comments, including any personal 
information, in the public docket, which may be made available online. 
Therefore, OSHA cautions interested parties about submitting personal 
information such as social security numbers and birthdates.
    For further information on submitting comments, see the ``Public 
Participation'' heading in the section of this notice titled 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Seleda Perryman, Directorate of 
Standards and Guidance, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor; telephone (202) 
693-2222.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Department of Labor, as part of the 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) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This program ensures that 
information is in the desired format, reporting burden (time and costs) 
is minimal, the collection instruments are clearly understood, and 
OSHA's estimate of the information collection burden is accurate. The 
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) (29 U.S.C. 651 et 
seq.) authorizes information collection by employers as necessary or 
appropriate for enforcement of the OSH Act or for developing 
information regarding the causes and prevention of occupational 
injuries, illnesses, and accidents (29 U.S.C. 657). The OSH Act also 
requires that OSHA obtain such information with minimum burden upon 
employers, especially those operating small businesses, and to reduce 
to the maximum extent feasible unnecessary duplication of effort in 
obtaining information (29 U.S.C. 657).
    The following sections describe who uses the information collected 
under each requirement, as well as how they use it. The purpose of 
these requirements is to reduce employees' risk of death or serious 
injury by ensuring that forging machines used by them are in safe 
operating condition, and that employees are able to clearly and 
properly identify manually operated valves and switches.

Inspection of Forging Machines, Guards, and Point-of-Operation 
Protection Devices (Paragraphs (a)(2)(i) and (a)(2)(ii))

    Paragraph (a)(2)(i) requires employers to establish periodic and 
regular maintenance safety checks, and to develop and maintain a 
certification record of each inspection. The certification record must 
include the date of inspection, the signature of the person who 
performed the inspection, and the serial number (or other identifier) 
of the forging machine inspected. Under paragraph (a)(2)(ii), employers 
are to schedule regular and frequent inspections of guards and point-
of-operation protection devices and prepare a certification record of 
each inspection that contains the date of the inspection, and the 
serial number (or other identifier) of the equipment inspected. These 
inspection certification records provide assurance to employers, 
employees, and OSHA compliance officers that forging machines, guards, 
and point-of-operation protection devices have been inspected, and will 
operate properly and safely, to prevent impact injury and death to 
employees during forging operations. These records also provide the 
most efficient means for the compliance officers to determine that an 
employer is complying with the Standard.

Identification of Manually Controlled Valves and Switches (Paragraphs 
(c), (h)(3), (i)(1) and (i)(2))

    These paragraphs require proper and clear identification of 
manually operated valves and switches on presses, up setter, bolt 
heading equipment, and rivet-making machines, respectively. Marking 
valves and

[[Page 25903]]

switches provide information to employees to ensure that they operate 
the forging machines correctly and safely. The agency determined that 
it is usual and customary for manufacturers to mark (for example, 
``On'' and ``Off,'' and ``Open'' and ``Close,'' etc.) all manually 
controlled valves and switches to meet the requirements of the American 
National Standards Institute's (ANSI) standards. Therefore, OSHA is 
taking no burden hours or cost for these paperwork requirements.

Disclosure of Records

    OSHA determined that employers disclosing information to OSHA 
during an inspection is outside the scope of the PRA because OSHA would 
only review records in the context of an open investigation of a 
particular employer to determine compliance with the Standard. See 5 
CFR 1320.4(a)(2).

II. 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, and 
transmission techniques.

III. Proposed Actions

    OSHA is requesting that OMB extend the approval of the information 
collection requirements contained in the Forging Machines Standard. The 
agency is requesting that the burden hours of 384,107 remains the same.
    OSHA 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.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Title: Forging Machines Standard.
    OMB Control Number: 1218-0228.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profits.
    Number of Respondents: 27,700.
    Number of Responses: 1,440,400.
    Frequency of Responses: On occasion.
    Average Time per Response: 16 minutes.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 384,107.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $0.

IV. Public Participation--Submission of Comments on This Notice and 
Internet Access to Comments and Submissions

    You may submit comments in response to this document as follows: 
(1) electronically at https://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal; or (2) by facsimile (fax), if your comments, 
including attachments, are not longer than 10 pages you may fax them to 
the OSHA Docket Office at 202-693-1648. All comments, attachments, and 
other material must identify the agency name and the OSHA docket number 
for the ICR (OSHA-2011-0064). You may supplement electronic submission 
by uploading document files electronically.
    Comments and submissions are posted without change at https://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA cautions commenters about 
submitting personal information such as social security numbers and 
dates of birth. Although all submissions are listed in the https://www.regulations.gov index, some information (e.g., copyrighted 
material) is not publicly available to read or download from this 
website. All submission, including copyrighted material, are available 
for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. Information on 
using the https://www.regulations.gov website to submit comments and 
access the docket is available at the website's ``User Tips'' link. 
Contact the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350, (TTY (877) 889-5627) 
for information about materials not available from the website, and for 
assistance in using the internet to locate docket submissions.

V. Authority and Signature

    James S. Frederick, Deputy 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 et seq.) and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 8-2020 
(85 FR 58393).

    Signed at Washington, DC, on April 8, 2024.
James S. Frederick,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2024-07742 Filed 4-11-24; 8:45 am]
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