OSHA’s Standards Improvement Project Final Rule
OSHA has published the final rule for Phase III of its Standards Improvement Project (SIP-III), the third in a
series of rulemaking actions to improve and streamline OSHA standards. SIP removes or revises individual
requirements within rules that are confusing, outdated, duplicative, or inconsistent. OSHA identified
several requirements for SIP-III (e.g., rigging, NIOSH records, and training certifications) for
improvement based on the Agency's review of its standards, suggestions and comments from the public,
or recommendations from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). OSHA believes that improving
these standards will help employers to better understand their obligations, promote safety and health for
employees, lead to increased compliance, and reduce compliance costs. OSHA estimates that these
changes will result in annualized savings for employers of over $45 million, and will reduce paperwork
burden by 1.85 million hours annually. The final rule becomes effective July 8, 2011.
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-06-08/html/2011-13517.htm
The following information on the final rule is from OSHA’s Cooperative Programs –
As part of our efforts to keep OSHA’s cooperative program participants informed of the agency’s
activities and resources, I wanted to let you know that OSHA has issued a final rule that streamlines
and simplifies various standards while reducing employer burdens. The rule will help keep OSHA standards
up-to-date and help employers comply with their regulatory obligations….
The new rule will result in several changes to OSHA's respiratory protection standard, including aligning air cylinder testing requirements for self-contained breathing apparatuses with U.S. Department of Transportation regulations, clarifying that aftermarket cylinders meet National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) quality assurance requirements, and clarifying that the provisions of Appendix D, which contains information for employees using respirators when not required under the standard, are mandatory if the employee chooses to use a respirator. Other changes made by the rule include:
· Updating the definition of the term “potable water” to be consistent with the current Environmental Protection Agency standards instead of the former and outdated Public Health Service Corps definition.
· Removing the outdated requirement that hand dryers use warm air because new technology allows employers to use hand-drying products that do not involve hot or warm air.
· Removing two medical record requirements from the commercial diving standard because that standard no longer requires medical examinations.
· Deleting a number of requirements for employers to transmit exposure and medical records to NIOSH, thus saving NIOSH significant costs to store and maintain the records.
· Updating and streamlining the slings standards by requiring that employers use only slings marked with manufacturers’ loading information.
For more information, please see:
· OSHA News Release: “US Labor Department’s OSHA announces final rule to reduce employer burdens by removing outdated requirements, streamlining and simplifying standards” (May 26, 2011): http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=19905
· Federal Register Notice: http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=FEDERAL_REGISTER&p_id=22094