[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 79 (Monday, April 25, 2016)][Notices][Pages 24133-24135]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-09488]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
[Docket No. OSHA-2010-0046]
QPS Evaluation Services Inc.: Grant of Renewal and Expansion of
Recognition
AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration's final decision granting renewal and expansion of
recognition of QPS Evaluation Services Inc., as a Nationally Recognized
Testing Laboratory (NRTL).
DATES: The renewal and expansion of recognition become effective on
April 25, 2016.
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, 200 Constitution Avenue
NW., Room N-3647, Washington, DC 20210; 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, 200
Constitution Avenue NW., Room N-3655, Washington, DC 20210; telephone:
(202) 693-2110; 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).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
OSHA recognition of an NRTL signifies that the organization meets
the requirements specified by 29 CFR 1910.7. Recognition is an
acknowledgment that the organization can perform independent safety
testing and certification of the specific products covered within its
scope of recognition and is not a delegation or grant of government
authority. Each NRTL's scope of recognition includes (1) the type of
products the NRTL may test, with each type specified by its applicable
test standard; and (2) the recognized site(s) that has/have the
technical capability to perform the product-testing and product-
certification activities for test standards within the NRTL's scope. As
a result of recognition, employers may use products properly approved
by the NRTL to meet OSHA standards that require testing and
certification. OSHA maintains an informational Web page for each NRTL
at http://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/index.html that details its scope
of recognition.
OSHA processes applications submitted by an NRTL for renewal and
expansion of recognition following requirements in Appendix A to 29 CFR
1910.7. OSHA conducts renewals in accordance with the procedures in 29
CFR 1910.7, Appendix A, Section II.C. OSHA processes applications for
modifying the scope of recognition in accordance with 29 CFR 1910.7,
Appendix A, Section II.B. An NRTL may submit an application to modify
its scope of recognition at any time within its recognition period. For
renewal, an NRTL must submit a renewal request to OSHA between nine
months and one year before the expiration date of its current
recognition. A renewal request includes an application for renewal and
any additional information demonstrating an NRTL's continued compliance
with the terms of its recognition and 29 CFR 1910.7. If OSHA has not
conducted an on-site assessment of the NRTL headquarters and any key
sites within the past 18 to 24 months, it will schedule the necessary
on-site assessment prior to the expiration date of the NRTL's
recognition.
Upon review of the submitted material and, as necessary, the
successful completion of the on-site assessment, OSHA announces its
preliminary decision to grant or deny renewal and expansion of an
NRTL's scope of recognition in the Federal Register and solicits
comments from the public. OSHA then publishes a final Federal Register
notice responding to any comments and announcing its final decision on
the renewal of the NRTL's recognition, as well as whether to expand the
NRTL's scope of recognition.
II. General Background on the Application for Renewal
QPS Evaluation Services Inc. (QPS), initially received OSHA
recognition as an NRTL on March 2, 2011 (76 FR 11518) for a five-year
period expiring on March 2, 2016. QPS submitted a timely request for
renewal, dated April 21, 2015 (OSHA-2010-0046-0007), and retained its
recognition pending OSHA's final decision in this renewal process. The
current address of QPS facilities recognized by OSHA and included as
part of the renewal request is: QPS Evaluation Services Inc., 81
Kelfield Street, Unit 8, Toronto, Ontario M9W 5A3, Canada.
OSHA evaluated QPS's application for renewal and made a preliminary
determination that QPS can continue to meet the requirements prescribed
by 29 CFR 1910.7 for recognition. OSHA conducted an on-site assessment
of QPS facilities on July 16-17, 2015 (Toronto, Canada) and found
nonconformances with the requirements of 29 CFR 1910.7. QPS addressed
these issues sufficiently to meet the applicable NRTL requirements.
III. General Information on the Applications for Expansion of
Recognition
QPS submitted applications, dated July 16, 2014, and June 9, 2015
(OSHA-2010-0046-0004), to expand its recognition to include a total of
seven additional test standards. OSHA staff performed a comparability
analysis and reviewed other pertinent information. OSHA performed an
on-site review in relation to these applications (as well as the
application for renewal) on July 16-17, 2015.
OSHA published the preliminary notice announcing QPS's renewal
request and scope expansion applications in the Federal Register on
November 27, 2015 (80 FR 74144). The Agency requested comments by
December 14, 2015, but received no comments in response to this notice.
OSHA now is proceeding with this final notice to grant QPS's request
for renewal and expansion of recognition.
To obtain or review copies of all public documents pertaining to
the QPS's applications, go to www.regulations.gov or contact the Docket
Office, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department
of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Room N-2625, Washington, DC
20210. Docket No. OSHA-2010-0046 contains all materials in the record
concerning QPS's recognition.
IV. Final Decision and Order
OSHA staff examined QPS's renewal and expansion applications, its
capability to meet the requirements of the test standards, and other
pertinent information. Based on its review of this evidence, OSHA finds
that QPS meets the requirements of 29 CFR 1910.7 for renewal and
expansion of its recognition, subject to the specified limitations and
conditions listed below. OSHA, therefore, is proceeding with this final
notice to grant QPS's renewal and scope of recognition requests. OSHA
limits the expansion of QPS's recognition to testing and certification
of products for demonstration of conformance to the test standards
listed in Table 1 below.
Table 1--List of Appropriate Test Standards for Inclusion in QPS's NRTL
Scope of Recognition
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Test standard Test standard title
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UL 48............................. Standard for Electric Signs.
UL 8750........................... Standard for Light Emitting Diode
(LED) Equipment for Use in Lighting
Products.
UL 73............................. Standard for Motor-Operated
Appliances.
UL 1310........................... Standard for Class 2 Power Units.
UL 1598........................... Luminaries.
UL 1741........................... Standard for Inverters, Converters,
Controllers and Interconnection
System Equipment for Use with
Distributed Energy Resources.
ANSI/ISA 12.12.01................. Nonincendive Electrical Equipment
for Use in Class I and II, Division
2 and Class III, Divisions 1 and 2
Hazardous (Classified) Locations.
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OSHA's recognition of any NRTL for a particular test standard is
limited to equipment or materials for which OSHA standards require
third-party testing and certification before using them in the
workplace. Consequently, if a test standard also covers any products
for which OSHA does not require such testing and certification, an
NRTL's scope of recognition does not include these products.
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 1-0.3, Appendix C,
paragraph XIV), 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.
OSHA limits the renewal of QPS's recognition to include the terms
and conditions of QPS's scope of recognition, inclusive of the
expansion of scope granted in this notice. The scope of recognition for
QPS is available in the Federal Register notice dated March 2, 2011 (79
FR 11518) or on OSHA's Web site at https://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/qps.html.
This renewal extends QPS's recognition for a period of five years
from April 25, 2016.
Conditions
In addition to those conditions already required by 29 CFR 1910.7,
QPS also must abide by the following conditions of recognition:
1. QPS 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 an NRTL, and provide details of the
change(s);
2. QPS must meet all the terms of its recognition and comply with
all OSHA policies pertaining to this recognition; and
3. QPS must continue to meet the requirements for recognition,
including all previously published conditions on QPS's scope of
recognition, in all areas for which it has recognition.
Authority and Signature
David Michaels, Ph.D., MPH, Assistant Secretary of Labor for
Occupational Safety and Health, 200 Constitution Avenue NW.,
Washington, DC 20210, 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. 1-2012 (77 FR 3912, January
25, 2012), and 29 CFR 1910.7.
Signed at Washington, DC, on April 19, 2016.
David Michaels,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2016-09488 Filed 4-22-16; 8:45 am]
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