Federal Register, Volume 79 Issue 204 (Wednesday, October 22, 2014)

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 204 (Wednesday, October 22, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63172-63174]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-25146]

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. OSHA-2011-0063]

Slings; 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 its proposal to
extend OMB approval of the information collection requirements
contained in the Standard on Slings (29 CFR 1910.184). The collection
of information (paperwork) provisions of the Standard specify affixing
identification tags or markings on slings, developing and maintaining
inspection records, and retaining proof-testing certificates.

DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by
December 22, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Electronically: You may submit comments and attachments
electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal
eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online for submitting
comments.
Facsimile: If your comments, including attachments, are not longer

[[Page 63173]]

than 10 pages you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-
1648.
Mail, hand delivery, express mail, messenger, or courier service:
When using this method, you must submit a copy of your comments and
attachments to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. OSHA-2011-0063,
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of
Labor, Room N-2625, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210.
Deliveries (hand, express mail, messenger, and courier service) are
accepted during the Department of Labor's and Docket Office's normal
business hours, 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., e.t.
Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and the
OSHA docket office number (OSHA-2011-0063) for the Information
Collection Request (ICR). All comments, including any personal
information you provide, are placed in the public docket without
change, and may be made available online at http://www.regulations.gov.
For further information on submitting comments see the ``Public
Participation'' heading in the section of this notice titled
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the
docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov or the OSHA Docket Office at
the address above. All documents in the docket (including this Federal
Register notice) are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index;
however, some information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly
available to read or download from the Web site. All submissions,
including copyrighted material, are available for inspection and
copying at the OSHA Docket Office. You may also contact Theda Kenney at
the address below to obtain a copy of the ICR.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Theda Kenney or Todd Owen, 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. 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 accord 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 minimal, collection instruments are clearly understood, and OSHA's
estimate of the information collection burden is accurate. The
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the OSH Act) (29 U.S.C. 651
et seq.) 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). 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 efforts in obtaining
information (29 U.S.C. 657).
The Slings Standard (29 CFR 1910.184) specifies several collection
of information (paperwork) requirements, depending on the type of sling
(paragraph (e) of the Standard covers alloy steel chain slings;
paragraph (f) covers wire rope slings; paragraph (g) covers metal mesh
slings; paragraph (h) covers natural and synthetic fiber-rope slings;
and paragraph (i) covers synthetic web slings).
The purpose of each of these requirements is to prevent workers
from using defective or deteriorated slings, thereby reducing their
risk of death or serious injury caused by sling failure during material
handling. The information on the identification tags, markings, and
codings assist the employer in determining whether the sling can be
used for the lifting task. The sling inspections enable early detection
of faulty slings. The inspection and repair records provide employers
with information about when the last inspection was done and about the
type of repairs made. This information provides some assurance about
the condition of the slings. These records also provide the most
efficient means for an OSHA compliance officer to determine that an
employer is complying with the Standard. Proof-testing certificates
give employers, workers, and OSHA compliance officers assurance that
the slings are safe to use. The certificates also provide the
compliance officers with an efficient means to assess employer
compliance with the Standard.

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,
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 increase the existing burden hour estimate for
the collection of information requirements specified by the Standard
from 20,001 hours to 24,181, a total increase of 4,180 hours. This
increase in burden hours is a result of an adjustment in the number of
slings (from 1,116,667 to 1,350,000).
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Title: Slings (29 CFR 1910.184).
OMB Control Number: 1218-0223.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profits; Not-for-profit
organizations; Federal Government; State, Local, or Tribal Government.
Number of Respondents: 1,350,000.
Frequency of Response: On occasion.
Total Responses: 297,676.
Average Time per Responses: Varies from 1 minute (.02 hour) to
maintain a certificate to 30 minutes (.50 hour) for a manufacturing
worker to acquire information from a manufacturer for a new tag, make a
new tag, and affix it to a sling.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 24,181.
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 http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal
eRulemaking Portal; (2) by facsimile (fax); or (3) by hard copy. All
comments, attachments, and other material must identify the Agency name
and the OSHA docket number (Docket No. OSHA-2011-0063) for the ICR. You
may supplement electronic submissions by uploading document files
electronically. If you wish to mail additional materials in reference
to an electronic or facsimile submission, you must submit them to the
OSHA Docket Office (see the section of this notice titled
``ADDRESSES''). The additional materials must clearly identify your

[[Page 63174]]

electronic comments by your name, date, and the docket number so the
Agency can attach them to your comments.
Because of security procedures, the use of regular mail may cause a
significant delay in the receipt of comments. For information about
security procedures concerning the delivery of materials by hand,
express delivery, messenger, or courier service, please contact the
OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350, (TTY (877) 889-5627).
Comments and submissions are posted without change at http://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA cautions commenters about
submitting personal information such as social security numbers and
date of birth. Although all submissions are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index, some information (e.g., copyrighted
material) is not publicly available to read or download from this Web
site. All submissions, including copyrighted material, are available
for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. Information on
using the http://www.regulations.gov Web site to submit comments and
access the docket is available at the Web site's ``User Tips'' link.
Contact the OSHA Docket Office for information about materials not
available from the Web site, and for assistance in using the Internet
to locate docket submissions.

V. Authority and Signature

David Michaels, Ph.D., MPH, 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. 1-2012
(77 FR 3912).

Signed at Washington, DC, on October 17, 2014.
David Michaels,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2014-25146 Filed 10-21-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-26-P