[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 45 (Friday, March 7, 2014)][Notices][Pages 13078-13079]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-04982]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
[Docket No. OSHA-2013-0011]
Interlake Stamping Corp. (Also Doing Business as Interlake
Industries, Inc.); Revocation of an Experimental Variance and Interim
Order
AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In this notice, the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration ("OSHA" or the "Agency") revokes an experimental
variance and interim order granted by OSHA in 1976 and 1978,
respectively, to Interlake Stamping Corp., ("Interlake" or the
"applicant") from several provisions of the OSHA standard that
regulates mechanical power presses at 29 CFR 1910.217. In April 2011,
Interlake submitted an application request for a permanent variance
from these provisions, but later withdrew the application, stating that
it would be too costly to comply with the conditions of the variance.
Therefore, OSHA is revoking Interlake's experimental variance and the
interim order.
DATES: The revocation becomes effective on March 7, 2014.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Information regarding this notice is
available from the following sources:
Press inquiries: Contact Frank Meilinger, Director, OSHA Office of
Communications, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW.,
Room N-3647, Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-1999; email:
Meilinger.francis2@dol.gov.
General and technical information: Contact David Johnson, 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, 200 Constitution
Avenue NW., Room N-3655, Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-
2110; email: johnson.david.w@dol.gov. OSHA's Web page includes
information about the Variance Program (see http://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/variances/index.html).
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION:
I. Background
A. Previous Experimental Variance
On August 31, 1976, OSHA granted Interlake Stamping Corp., 4732
East 355th Street, Willoughby, OH 44094, an experimental variance from
the provisions of OSHA standards that regulate mechanical power presses
at 29 CFR 1910.217 (41 FR 36702). Below is a description of the history
of this experimental variance:
(1) On May 20, 1974, OSHA published a notice in the Federal
Register announcing that Interlake submitted an application pursuant to
Section 6(d) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the
Act; 29 U.S.C. 655) and 29 CFR 1905.11 for a permanent variance from
several provisions of OSHA's mechanical power-presses standard (39 FR
17806); these provisions were 29 CFR 1910.217(c)(3)(iii)(c), which
prohibited the use of presence-sensing-device-initiation (PSDI)
systems, and 29 CFR 1910.217(d)(1), which regulated conduct of
mechanical power-press operations. According to the May 20, 1974,
Federal Register notice, Interlake proposed the following alternate
means of compliance in its variance application:
The applicant states that he has purchased a 22-ton Bliss OBI
mechanical power press equipped with an air friction clutch and an
Erwin Sick electronic light curtain. The press is equipped with
special controls and a highly reliable brake monitoring system. The
applicant further proposes to use the electronic light curtain as
both a protective device and as a means of cycling the press. The
applicant states that electronic light curtain devices are used as a
tripping means in Europe and a large body of standards governing
their design and use in this manner has been accumulated . . . .
(2) On June 3, 1974, OSHA published a notice in the Federal
Register extending for 30 days the comment period on Interlake's
application for a permanent variance (39 FR 19543).
(3) On February 3, 1976, OSHA published a Federal Register notice
announcing that Interlake was abandoning its application for a
permanent variance and, instead, was applying for an experimental
variance pursuant to Section 6(b)(6)(c) of the Act (41 FR 4994).
Interlake took this action because OSHA revised the requirements in 29
CFR 1910.217(d)(1) on May 20, 1974 (39 FR 41841), which obviated the
applicant's need for a variance from that provision. Concurrently, OSHA
renumbered 29 CFR 1910.217(c)(3)(iii)(c) as 29 CFR
1910.217(c)(3)(iii)(b). The new application, therefore, sought an
experimental variance from 29 CFR 1910.217(c)(3)(iii)(b). According to
the February 3, 1976, Federal Register notice, Interlake was seeking to
conduct an experiment designed to demonstrate that it can use the
presence-sensing-point-of-operation device on a mechanical power press
as a tripping mechanism, in addition to its function as a safety
device, while maintaining employee safety at or above the level
provided by the standard. Interlake also claimed that the experiment
would validate Swedish and German data showing that employers use this
tripping mechanism virtually free of accidents.
(4) On August 31, 1976, OSHA published a notice in the Federal
Register granting Interlake an experimental variance for a one-year
period, August 31, 1976, to August 30, 1977 (41 FR 36702).
(5) On September 9, 1977, OSHA published a Federal Register notice
extending the experimental variance for a six-month period, September
1, 1977, to February 28, 1978, to allow Interlake to collect additional
information on a number of factors, including the effects of the
experimental conditions on worker safety and productivity (42 FR
45389).
(6) On March 17, 1978, OSHA published a notice in the Federal
Register extending the experimental variance for a two-year period,
March 1, 1977, to February 28, 1979 (43 FR 11275). This extension
allowed Interlake to continue collecting information on the effects of
the experimental conditions on worker safety and productivity, but also
allowed the Agency to collect information for a possible new standard
regulating PSDI systems, including information on the need for a
certification program and the level of interest in the regulated
community for using PSDI systems. In this notice,
OSHA also granted Interlake an interim order to preserve the continuity
of the experimental conditions pending a final decision on the
variance.
(7) On March 6, 1979, OSHA published a notice in the Federal
Register extending the experimental variance for an additional two-year
period, March 6, 1979, to March 5, 1981, to continue collecting safety
and productivity information, and to preserve the continuity of the
experimental conditions (44 FR 12288).
(8) On May 29, 1981, OSHA published a Federal Register notice
extending the experimental variance for an additional one-year period
from May 29, 1981, to May 28, 1982 (46 FR 29010). The main purpose of
this extension was to allow the Purdue Research Foundation, under
contract to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health,
to: (1) Observe and evaluate the self-tripping experiment at Interlake;
(2) research the design and application practices that could develop if
OSHA expanded the experiment to other sites or modified 29 CFR
1910.217(c)(3)(iii)(b); and (3) develop design and performance-criteria
approval procedures, and continuing research strategies.
(9) In 1988, OSHA added paragraph (h) to 29 CFR 1910.217 (53 FR
8353). Paragraph (h) allows employers to install and use PSDI systems,
but requires that OSHA-approved third parties validate the PSDI systems
at the time of installation and annually thereafter. To date, no third
party has requested OSHA's approval to validate PSDI systems. In the
interim, Interlake continued operating mechanical power presses using
PSDI systems under the interim order granted in 1978. However, on March
24, 2011, OSHA informed Interlake that it must submit an application
for a permanent variance if it wanted to continue this practice (Ex.
OSHA-2013-0011-002).
B. Interlake's Application for a Permanent Variance
On April 8, 2011, OSHA received Interlake's application seeking a
permanent variance from Appendices A and C of 29 CFR 1910.217 (see Ex.
OSHA-2013-0011-002). Appendix A sets forth requirements for
certification/validation of PSDI systems, and Appendix C specifies
requirements for OSHA recognition of third-party validation
organizations for PSDI systems. Interlake proposed to use PSDI systems
as tripping mechanisms under conditions similar to the conditions
specified by the experimental variance granted to Interlake by OSHA in
1976 (see previous discussion).
In its variance application, and in its responses to OSHA's follow-
up questions (Ex. OSHA-2013-0011-004), Interlake provided a detailed
description of its proposed alternate means of worker protection during
operation of the PSDI system, including a description of the power
presses and light curtains used; the equipment-guarding means and
worker training provided; and inspection, testing, and maintenance
procedures. Additionally, in its responses to OSHA's follow-up
questions, Interlake stated that it never had a worker injured while
using PSDI systems during the 36 years it operated the systems under
the conditions specified by the experimental variance.
On August 2, 2012, OSHA conducted a site-evaluation visit at
Interlake's Willoughby, Ohio, plant. The purpose of the visit was to
review and confirm the continued safe operation of the two mechanical
power presses equipped with PSDI systems. Based on the results of the
site-evaluation visit, OSHA, on March 13, 2013, proposed in a letter to
Interlake several additional conditions that the Agency believed
Interlake should include in its variance application (Ex. OSHA-2013-
0011-005). On April 30, 2013, Interlake responded to this proposal (Ex.
OSHA-2013-0011-006). OSHA reviewed Interlake's responses and modified
several of the proposed conditions. In a letter dated September 4,
2013, OSHA notified Interlake of the Agency's revisions to the proposed
conditions (Ex. OSHA-2013-0011-007). After reviewing these revisions,
Interlake notified OSHA on September 17, 2013, that it is withdrawing
its application for a permanent variance, stating:
[T]he management team at Interlake Stamping has decided not to
pursue the permanent variance for use of the Presence Sensing Device
Initiation (PSDI). We feel it would be too costly for us to comply
with all of the requirements mandated in the OSHA response going
forward, and would be more economical for us to discontinue its use
completely. We understand that the experimental variance that
Interlake was granted will no longer be in effect and we have
removed the connections completely disabling the PSDI system as of
this date. (Emphasis in original; Ex. OSHA-2013-0011-008.)
II. Revocation of Interlake's Experimental Variance
Based on its review of the record, and the applicant's request to
withdraw its application for a permanent variance, OSHA finds that
Interlake no longer needs the experimental variance. Therefore, under
the authority specified by 29 CFR 1905.13(a)(2), OSHA is revoking the
experimental variance granted to Interlake on August 31, 1976, and
extended through April 30, 1982. With this notice, OSHA also is
revoking the interim order granted to Interlake on March 17, 1978,
under which Interlake continued to comply with the conditions of the
experimental variance from May 1, 1982, to September 17, 2013.
Accordingly, Interlake must comply fully with the requirements of
29 CFR 1910.217(h) if it decides to use PSDI systems.
III. Authority and Signature
David Michaels, Ph.D., MPH, Assistant Secretary of Labor for
Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Labor, 200
Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC, authorized the preparation of
this notice. OSHA is issuing this notice under the authority specified
by 29 U.S.C. 655, Secretary of Labor's Order No. 1-2012 (76 FR 3912;
Jan. 25, 2012), and 29 CFR part 1905.
Signed at Washington, DC, on March 4, 2014.
David Michaels,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2014-04982 Filed 3-6-14; 8:45 am]
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