60 Day_FRN (VPP)

Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 80 / Wednesday, April 24, 2024 / Notices
of ITSNA’s recognition to testing and
certification of products for

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demonstration of conformance to the
test standards listed below in Table 1.

TABLE 1—APPROPRIATE TEST STANDARDS FOR INCLUSION IN ITSNA’S NRTL SCOPE OF RECOGNITION
Test standard
UL
UL
UL
UL

1973
2271
2524
2743

Test standard title

..........................................
..........................................
..........................................
..........................................

Batteries for Use in Stationary, Vehicle Auxiliary Power and Light Electric Rail (LER) Applications.
Batteries for Use in Light Electric Vehicle (LEV) Applications.
In-Building 2-Way Emergency Radio Communication Enhancement Systems.
Portable Power Packs.

The American National Standards
Institute (ANSI) may approve the test
standards listed above as American
National Standards. However, for
convenience, we may use the
designation of the standards-developing
organization for the standard as opposed
to the ANSI designation. Under the
NRTL Program’s policy (see OSHA
Instruction CPL 01–00–004, Chapter 2,
Section VIII), any NRTL recognized for
a particular test standard may use either
the proprietary version of the test
standard or the ANSI version of that
standard. Contact ANSI to determine
whether a test standard is currently
ANSI-approved.
A. Conditions
In addition to those conditions
already required by 29 CFR 1910.7,
ITSNA must abide by the following
conditions of the recognition:
1. ITSNA must inform OSHA as soon
as possible, in writing, of any change of
ownership, facilities, or key personnel,
and of any major change in its
operations as a NRTL, and provide
details of the change(s);
2. ITSNA must meet all the terms of
its recognition and comply with all
OSHA policies pertaining to this
recognition; and
3. ITSNA must continue to meet the
requirements for recognition, including
all previously published conditions on
ITSNA’s scope of recognition, in all
areas for which it has recognition.
Pursuant to the authority in 29 CFR
1910.7, OSHA hereby expands the scope
of recognition of ITSNA as a NRTL,
subject to the limitations and conditions
specified above.

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III. Authority and Signature
James S. Frederick, Deputy Assistant
Secretary of Labor for Occupational
Safety and Health, authorized the
preparation of this notice. Accordingly,
the agency is issuing this notice
pursuant to 29 U.S.C. 657(g)(2),
Secretary of Labor’s Order No. 8–2020
(85 FR 58393, Sept. 18, 2020), and 29
CFR 1910.7.

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Signed at Washington, DC, on April 17,
2024.
James S. Frederick,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for
Occupational Safety and Health.

SUMMARY:

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–2011–0056) 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:

Comments must be submitted
(postmarked, sent, or received) by June
24, 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)

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

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BILLING CODE 4510–26–P

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration
[Docket No. OSHA–2011–0056]

Voluntary Protection Programs;
Extension of the Office of Management
and Budget’s (OMB) Approval of
Information Collection (Paperwork)
Requirements
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA), Labor.
ACTION: Request for public comments.
AGENCY:

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 Voluntary Protection
Program.

DATES:

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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 80 / Wednesday, April 24, 2024 / Notices

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 Voluntary Protection
Program (VPP) 1 established the efficacy
of cooperative action among
government, industry, and labor to
address employee safety and health
issues and to expand employee
protection. To qualify, employers must
meet OSHA’s safety and health
management criteria which focus on
comprehensive management programs
and active employee involvement to
prevent or control worksite safety and
health hazards. Employers who qualify
generally view OSHA standards as a
minimum level of safety and health
performance, and set their own more
stringent standards, wherever necessary,
to improve employee protection.
Prospective VPP worksites must submit
an application that includes:
• General applicant information (e.g.,
site, corporate, and collective bargaining
contact information).
• Injury and illness rate performance
information (i.e., number of employees
and/or applicable contractors on-site,
type of work performed and products
produced, North American Industry
Classification System (NAICS), and
Recordable Injury and Illness Case
Incidence Rate information.
• Safety and health management
program information (i.e., description of
the applicant’s safety and health
management programs including how
the programs successfully addresses
management leadership and employee
involvement, worksite analysis, hazard
prevention and control, and safety and
health training OSHA uses this
information to determine whether an
applicant is ready for a VPP on-site
evaluation and as a verification tool
during VPP on-site evaluations. Without
this information, OSHA would be
unable to determine which sites are
ready for VPP status.
Each current VPP applicant is also
required to submit an annual evaluation
which addresses how that applicant is
continuing the adherence to
programmatic requirements. In 2008,
OSHA modified procedures for VPP
applicants, OSHA on-site evaluation,
and Annual participant self-evaluation
for applicants/participants subject to
OSHA’s Process Safety Management
(PSM) Standard. Applicants that
perform works that use or produce
1 Source: Adopted by OSHA on July 2,1982 (47
FR 29025).

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highly hazardous chemical exceeding
specified limits covered under the PSM
standard must submit responses to the
PSM application supplement along with
their VPP application.
Once in the VPP, the participant is
required to submit an annual evaluation
detailing the continued adherence to
programmatic requirements. Applicants
covered under the PSM standard are
required to submit a PSM questionnaire
a supplemental document as part of
their annual submission. OSHA needs
this information to ensure that the
participant remains qualified to
participate in the VPP between the onsite evaluations. Without this
information, OSHA would be unable to
determine whether applicants are
maintaining excellent safety and health
management programs during this
interim period.
In 2009, with the publication of the
Federal Register Notice (FRN), VPP
revised the traditional focus on
individual fixed worksites (site-based)
by adding two new ways to participate:
mobile workforce and corporate. A
significant reorganization of the
program helps clarify the multiple
participation options now available.
Employees of VPP participants may
apply to participate in the Special
Government Employee (SGE) Program.
The SGE Program offers private and
public sector safety and health
professionals and other qualified
participants the opportunity to
exchange ideas, gain new perspectives,
and grow professionally while serving
as full-fledged team members on
OSHA’s VPP on-site evaluations. In that
capacity, SGEs may review company
documents, assist with worksite
walkthroughs, interview employees, and
assist in preparing VPP on-site
evaluation reports. Potential SGEs must
submit an application that includes:
• SGE Eligibility Information Sheet
(i.e., applicant’s name, professional
credentials, site/corporate contact
information, etc.);
• Current Resume;
• Optional Application for Federal
Employment OF–612; and
• Confidential Financial Disclosure
Report (OGE Form 450).
OSHA uses the SGE Eligibility
Information Sheet to ensure that the
potential SGE works at a VPP site and
meets the minimum eligibility
qualifications. The resume is required to
provide a detailed description of their
current duties and responsibilities as
they relate to safety and health and the
implementation of an effective safety
and health management program. The
OGE Form 450 is used to ensure that
SGEs do not participate in on-site

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evaluations at VPP sites where they
have a financial interest.
OSHA Challenge is designed to reach
and guide employers and companies in
all major industry groups who are
strongly committed to improving their
safety and health management programs
and possibly pursuing recognition in the
VPP. The Challenge Administrators
application is used to: (1) conduct a
preliminary analysis of the applicant’s
knowledge of safety and health
management programs; and (2) make a
determination regarding the applicant’s
qualifications to become a Challenge
Administrator. Once a Challenge
Administrator is approved, the
Administrator will review each
challenge candidate’s application/
annual submissions to ensure that all
necessary information is provided, prior
to forwarding to OSHA’s National Office
for acceptance and analysis.
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
Voluntary Protection Programs. The
agency is requesting an adjustment
decrease from 90,500 hours to 69,657
hours, a difference of 20,843 hours. This
decrease is due to the lack of Challenge
Participation, lack of training of new
SGE applicants and re-approval training
of existing SGE’s. The lingering effect of
the COVID–19 Pandemic effected all
OSHA Cooperative Programs.
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.

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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 80 / Wednesday, April 24, 2024 / Notices
Title: Voluntary Protection Programs
(VPP).
OMB Control Number: 1218–0239.
Affected Public: Business or other forprofits.
Number of Respondents: 3,751.
Number of Responses: 3,295.
Frequency of Responses: Various.
Average Time per Response: Varies.
Estimated Total Burden Hours:
69,657.
Estimated Cost (Operation and
Maintenance): $0.

Signed at Washington, DC, on April 17,
2024.
James S. Frederick,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for
Occupational Safety and Health.

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

TUV Rheinland of North America, Inc.:
Grant of Expansion of Recognition

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–2011–0056. 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.
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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).

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[FR Doc. 2024–08690 Filed 4–23–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–26–P

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration
[Docket No. OSHA–2007–0042]

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

In this notice, OSHA
announces the final decision to expand
the scope of recognition for TUV
Rheinland of North America, Inc., as a
Nationally Recognized Testing
Laboratory (NRTL).
DATES: The expansion of the scope of
recognition becomes effective on April
24, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Information regarding this notice is
available from the following sources:
Press inquiries: Contact Mr. Frank
Meilinger, Director, OSHA Office of
Communications, U.S. Department of
Labor; telephone: (202) 693–1999;
email: meilinger.francis2@dol.gov.
General and technical information:
Contact Mr. Kevin Robinson, Director,
Office of Technical Programs and
Coordination Activities, Directorate of
Technical Support and Emergency
Management, Occupational Safety and
Health Administration, U.S. Department
of Labor; telephone: (202) 693–1911;
email: robinson.kevin@dol.gov. OSHA’s
web page includes information about
the NRTL Program (see http://
www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/
index.html).
SUMMARY:

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Notice of Final Decision
OSHA hereby gives notice of the
expansion of the scope of recognition of
TUV Rheinland of North America, Inc.
(TUVRNA), as a NRTL. TUVRNA’s
expansion covers the addition of two
test standards to the NRTL scope of
recognition.
OSHA recognition of a NRTL signifies
that the organization meets the
requirements specified in 29 CFR
1910.7. Recognition is an
acknowledgment that the organization
can perform independent safety testing

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and certification of the specific products
covered within the scope of recognition.
Each NRTL’s scope of recognition
includes (1) the type of products the
NRTL may test, with each type specified
by the applicable test standard and (2)
the recognized site(s) that has/have the
technical capability to perform the
product-testing and productcertification activities for test standards
within the NRTL’s scope. Recognition is
not a delegation or grant of government
authority; however, recognition enables
employers to use products approved by
the NRTL to meet OSHA standards that
require product testing and certification.
The agency processes applications by
NRTLs or applicant organizations for
initial recognition, as well as for
expansion or renewal of recognition,
following requirements in appendix A
to 29 CFR 1910.7. This appendix
requires that the agency publish two
notices in the Federal Register in
processing an application. In the first
notice, OSHA announces the
application and provides the
preliminary finding. In the second
notice, the agency provides the final
decision on the application. These
notices set forth the NRTL’s scope of
recognition or modifications of that
scope. OSHA maintains an
informational web page for each NRTL,
including TUVRNA, which details that
NRTL’s scope of recognition. These
pages are available from the OSHA
website at http://www.osha.gov/dts/
otpca/nrtl/index.html.
TUVRNA submitted an application,
dated June 7, 2023 (OSHA–2007–0042–
0072), to expand recognition to include
the addition of two test standards to the
NRTL scope of recognition. OSHA staff
performed a detailed analysis of the
application packet and reviewed other
pertinent information. OSHA did not
perform any on-site reviews in relation
to this application.
OSHA published the preliminary
notice announcing TUVRNA’s
expansion application in the Federal
Register on March 25, 2024 (89 FR
20705). The agency requested comments
by April 9, 2024, but it received no
comments in response to this notice.
OSHA now is proceeding with this final
notice to grant expansion of TUVRNA’s
scope of recognition.
To review copies of all public
documents pertaining to TUVRNA’s
application, go to www.regulations.gov
or contact the OSHA Docket Office.
Docket No. OSHA–2007–0042 contains
all materials in the record concerning
TUVRNA’s recognition.

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