[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 239 (Monday, December 14, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77349-77351]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-31344]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[60Day-16-16GK; Docket No. CDC-2015-0111]
Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and
Recommendations
AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS).
ACTION: Notice with comment period.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part
of its continuing efforts to reduce public burden and maximize the
utility of government information, invites the general public and other
Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or
continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995. This notice invites comment on a proposed
information collection request entitled ``Ingress/Egress and Work Boot
Outsole Wear Investigation at Surface Mining Facilities''. The goal of
this work is to investigate how ingress/egress systems on mobile
equipment and personal protective footwear (work boots) used by miners
may lead to slips, trips and falls by interviewing and surveying mine
workers and examining work boot outsole characteristics.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before February 12,
2016.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2015-
0111 by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Regulation.gov. Follow the instructions
for submitting comments.
Mail: Leroy A. Richardson, Information Collection Review Office,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE., MS-
D74, Atlanta, Georgia 30329.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name
and Docket Number. All relevant comments received will be posted
without change to Regulations.gov, including any personal information
provided. For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to Regulations.gov.
Please note: All public comment should be submitted through the
Federal eRulemaking portal (Regulations.gov) or by U.S. mail to the
address listed above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on the
proposed project or to obtain a copy of the information collection plan
and instruments, contact the Information Collection Review Office,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE., MS-
D74, Atlanta, Georgia 30329; phone: 404-639-7570; Email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Federal agencies must obtain approval from
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of
information they conduct or sponsor. In addition, the PRA also requires
Federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register
concerning each proposed collection of information, including each new
proposed collection, each proposed extension of existing collection of
information, and each reinstatement of previously approved information
collection before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To
comply with this requirement, we are publishing this notice of a
proposed data collection as described below.
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; (d) ways to
minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents,
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other
forms of information technology; and (e) estimates of capital or start-
up costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and purchase of services
to provide information. Burden means the total time, effort, or
financial resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain,
disclose or provide information to or for a Federal agency. This
includes the time needed to review instructions; to develop, acquire,
install and utilize technology and systems for the purpose of
collecting, validating and verifying information, processing and
maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information; to
train personnel and to be able to respond to a collection of
information, to search data sources, to complete and review the
collection of information; and to transmit or otherwise disclose the
information.
[[Page 77350]]
Proposed Project
Ingress/Egress and Work Boot Outsole Wear Investigation at Surface
Mines--New--National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
(NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Background and Brief Description
The mission of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health (NIOSH) is to promote safety & health at work for all people
through research and prevention. NIOSH, under PL 91-173 as amended by
PL 95-164 (Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977) has the
responsibility to conduct research to improve working conditions and to
prevent accidents and occupational diseases in the U.S. mining sector.
The goal of the proposed project is to investigate how ingress/egress
systems on mobile equipment, and personal protective footwear (boots)
used by miners may lead to slips, trips and falls at stone, sand and
gravel surface mining facilities. NIOSH is requesting a 3-year approval
for this data collection.
The project objective will be achieved through two studies. The
first study aims to: Identify elements of ingress/egress systems on
haulage trucks and front end loaders that pose a risk of slips, trips
and falls (STFs) and could lead to STF related injuries; to determine
worker behavior associated with STF incidents; and to learn how
purchasing/maintenance decisions are made for ingress/egress systems.
In the surface mining industry, it is still unclear which component of
the ingress/egress system poses the greatest risk for STF. Hence there
is a need to understand where, how and why STF incidents occur during
ingress/egress on mobile equipment.
NIOSH will conduct semi-structured interviews and focus groups with
mobile equipment operators, and interviews with mine management to
explore the issues identified above. Focus groups will be conducted in
a private setting with 4-6 participants using a predefined list of
questions to help guide the discussion. Semi-structured interviews will
be conducted either in person or over the telephone. Two separate
interview guides will be used for mobile equipment operators and mine
management to guide the discussion.
For the focus groups and semi-structured interviews, NIOSH will
collect basic demographic information including years of mining
experience, years of experience with haul trucks/front end loaders, and
models of haul trucks/front end loaders operated most often in the past
year. The semi-structured interviews and focus groups will be audio
recorded for further analysis of the discussion. The semi-structured
interviews will last no longer than 60 minutes and the focus groups
will last no longer than 90 minutes.
The second study aims to identify changes in tread (wear) on the
work boot outsoles and other outsole characteristics that will be used
in further analysis to develop guidelines for work boot replacement
based on measureable features of boot outsoles. This information will
also be used in further analysis to determine desirable and undesirable
features of work boots based on mine characteristics or job activities.
Most mining companies replace footwear at a pre-determined interval or
based on appearance and comfort (Chiou, Bhattacharya, & Succop, 1996)
with little knowledge of the actual condition of the boot outsole and
its influence on the likelihood of a STF incident. Although there have
been attempts to quantify shoe outsole wear in industrial work when the
shoe was ready for disposal (Chiou et al., 1996), there is a lack of
knowledge in the mining industry on how quickly the outsoles of work
boots wear, what sorts of wear occur, and how wear patterns influence
the likelihood of a STF.
For the longitudinal study, NIOSH will provide participants with a
pair of new work boots of their choice, in accordance with mine
requirements and policies. Afterwards, participants will complete a
preliminary survey and provide basic demographic information, details
of their current work boots, and details of STF incidents in the past 3
months. Participants will be requested to wear the supplied boots at
work and treat the boots as they would any pair of boots they would
wear at work.
NIOSH researchers will scan the boot outsoles longitudinally, at 2
to 3 month intervals for the length of the study. To better understand
wear patterns and risks, participants will complete an on-going survey
that records hours worked, locations commonly visited, and tasks
performed along with details of any near miss or STF event. These self-
reports will be collected via survey on a bi-weekly basis. Participants
will be offered multiple modalities to respond to the survey (in-
person, on paper, over the telephone, via email or using an online
survey) to increase response rates. When a participant feels their
boots need to be replaced (or when the end of the two-year tracking
period has been reached), they will complete a final survey assessing
why the boots were at the end of their life and will return their boots
to NIOSH researchers for further analysis.
For the cross-sectional study, participants' current work boots
will be scanned and participants will complete the preliminary survey
that includes basic demographic information, details of current work
boots, and details of STF events in the past three months.
The results of these research studies will have very different
applications, but one goal: Reducing the risks of STF accidents at
surface mining facilities. The results of the ingress/egress study will
help identify features of the ingress/egress system that may lead to
STF accidents so that they can be made safer by the manufacturers and
to allow mining companies to make better purchasing decisions and
encourage the acquisition of systems with better slip and fall
protection. The results of the boot outsole wear study will be used to
inform mine policy and practices by providing miners and mine managers
with the knowledge to determine when to replace footwear based on
measurable features of the boot outsoles.
The total estimated burden hours are 643. There is no cost to the
respondents other than their time.
Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Average burden
Type of respondents Form name Number of responses per per response Total burden
respondents respondent (in hours) (in hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mobile equipment Operators.... Mobile equipment 25 1 1.25 31
operators focus
group guide.
Mobile equipment operators.... Mobile equipment 10 1 45/60 8
operator
interview guide.
Mine Management............... Mine Management 15 1 45/60 11
Interview Guide.
Mine Worker................... Screening 50 1 6/60 5
Questionnaire.
[[Page 77351]]
Mine Worker................... Informed consent 50 1 12/60 10
form
(Longitudinal
boot outsole
study).
Mine Worker................... Preliminary 150 1 15/60 38
survey.
Mine Worker................... On-going survey. 50 52 12/60 520
Mine Worker................... Final Survey.... 50 1 6/60 5
Mine Worker................... Talent and 150 1 6/60 15
consent waiver.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Total..................... ................ .............. .............. .............. 643
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leroy A. Richardson,
Chief, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Scientific
Integrity, Office of the Associate Director for Science, Office of the
Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2015-31344 Filed 12-11-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P