[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 65 (Thursday, April 6, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16856-16858]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-06870]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
[Docket No. OSHA-2016-0022]
Bay Area Compliance Laboratories Corp.: Grant of Recognition as a
Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory
AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In this notice, OSHA announces its final decision to grant
recognition to Bay Area Compliance Laboratories Corp. as a Nationally
Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) .
DATES: Recognition as a NRTL becomes effective on April 6, 2017.
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
Many of OSHA's workplace standards require that a NRTL test and
certify certain types of equipment as safe for use in the workplace.
NRTLs are independent laboratories that meet OSHA's requirements for
performing safety testing and certification of products used in the
workplace. To obtain and retain OSHA recognition, the NRTLs must meet
the requirements in the NRTL Program regulations at 29 CFR 1910.7. More
specifically, to be recognized by OSHA, an organization must: (1) Have
the appropriate capability to test, evaluate, and approve products to
assure their safe use in the workplace; (2) be completely independent
of employers subject to the tested equipment requirements, and
manufacturers and vendors of products for which OSHA requires
certification; (3) have internal programs that ensure proper control of
the testing and certification process; and (4) have effective reporting
and complaint handling procedures. Recognition is an acknowledgement by
OSHA that the NRTL has the capability to perform independent safety
testing and certification of the specific products covered within the
NRTL's scope of recognition, and is not a delegation or grant of
government authority. Recognition of a NRTL by OSHA also allows
employers to use products certified by that NRTL to meet those OSHA
standards that require product testing and certification.
The Agency processes applications for initial recognition following
requirements in Appendix A of 29 CFR 1910.7. This appendix requires
OSHA to publish two notices in the Federal Register in processing an
application. In the first notice, OSHA announces the application,
provides its preliminary finding, and solicits comments on its
preliminary findings. In the second notice, the Agency provides its
final decision on the application. These notices set forth the NRTL's
scope of recognition.
II. Notice of Final Decision
OSHA hereby gives notice of the Agency's decision to grant
recognition to Bay Area Compliance Laboratories Corp. (BACL), as a
NRTL. According to its application, BACL was incorporated in 1996 to
provide product compliance testing services to customers in the areas
of Product Safety, Electromagnetic Compatibility and
Telecommunications, testing for Emissions, Immunity, Radio, Radio
Frequency (RF) Exposure and Telecommunications. The non-profit, third-
party, non-governmental accreditation body A2LA accredited BACL for UL
60950-1, the standard for which BACL requests NRTL recognition. In its
application, BACL lists the current address of its headquarters as: Bay
Area Compliance Laboratories Corp., 1274 Anvilwood Avenue, Sunnyvale,
California 94089.
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 have the technical
capability to perform the product-testing and product-certification
activities for the applicable test standards within the NRTL's scope of
recognition. BACL applied for initial recognition as a NRTL on April
30, 2015, and revised its application on May 12, 2016. In its
application, BACL requested recognition for one test standard and one
site (OSHA-2016-0022-0003 and 0004). OSHA published the preliminary
notice announcing BACL's application for recognition in the Federal
Register on December 16, 2016 (81 FR 91201). The Agency requested
comments by January 17, 2017, but it received no comments in response
to this notice. OSHA now is proceeding with this final notice to grant
recognition to BACL as a NRTL.
To obtain or review copies of all public documents pertaining to
BACL's application, 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-2016-0022 contains all materials in the record
concerning BACL's recognition.
III. Final Decision and Order
OSHA staff performed a detailed analysis of BACL's application
packet and reviewed other pertinent information. OSHA staff also
performed a comprehensive on-site assessment of BACL's testing
facilities on May 9-11, 2016. Based on its review of this evidence,
OSHA finds that BACL meets the requirements of 29 CFR 1910.7 for
recognition as a NRTL, subject to the limitations and conditions listed
below. OSHA, therefore, is proceeding with this final notice to grant
recognition to BACL as a NRTL. The following sections set forth the
scope of recognition included in BACL's grant of recognition.
A. Standards Requested for Recognition
OSHA limits BACL's scope of recognition to testing and
certification of products for demonstration of conformance to the test
standard listed in Table 1 below.
Table 1--Appropriate Test Standard for Inclusion in BACL's NRTL Scope of
Recognition
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Test standard Test standard title
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UL 60950-1................................ Information Technology
Equipment-Safety-Part 1:
General Requirement.
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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.
B. Sites Requested for Recognition
OSHA limits BACL's scope of recognition to include the site at Bay
Area Compliance Laboratories Corp., 1274 Anvilwood Avenue, Sunnyvale,
California 94089. OSHA's recognition of this site limits BACL to
performing product testing and certifications only to the test
standards for which the site has the proper capability and programs,
and for the test standard in BACL's scope of recognition. This
limitation is consistent with the recognition that OSHA grants to other
NRTLs that operate multiple sites.
C. Conditions
In addition to those conditions already required by 29 CFR 1910.7,
BACL also must abide by the following conditions of the recognition:
1. BACL 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. BACL must meet all the terms of its recognition and comply with
all OSHA policies pertaining to this recognition; and
3. BACL must continue to meet the requirements for recognition,
including all previously published conditions on BACL's scope of
recognition, in all areas for which it has recognition.
Pursuant to the authority in 29 CFR 1910.7, OSHA hereby grants
recognition to BACL as an NRTL, subject to these limitations and
conditions specified above.
IV. Authority and Signature
Dorothy Dougherty, Deputy 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, Jan. 25,
2012), and 29 CFR 1910.7.
Signed at Washington, DC, on March 31, 2017.
Dorothy Dougherty,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2017-06870 Filed 4-5-17; 8:45 am]
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