Support statement for Sling Carriers

Information Collection Request (ICR)

Safety Standard for Sling Carriers

Supporting Statement

1. Justification

1. Information to be collected and circumstances that make the collection of information necessary

Section 104(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA), Public Law 110-314, 122 Stat. 3016 (August 14, 2008), requires the Consumer Product Safety Commission (“Commission” or “CPSC”) to promulgate consumer product safety standards for durable infant or toddler products. These standards are to be “substantially the same as” applicable voluntary standards or more stringent than the voluntary standard if the Commission concludes that more stringent requirements would further reduce the risk of injury associated with the product. As directed by this statutory requirement, the Commission is proposing a safety standard for sling carriers incorporating by reference, with one modification, the voluntary standard for sling carriers issued by ASTM International, ASTM F2907-14a.

Sections 8.1 and 9.1 of ASTM F2907-14a contain requirements for marking, labeling, and instructional literature that are disclosure requirements, thus falling within the definition of “collections of information” at 5 C.F.R. § 1320.3(c). Section 8.1 of ASTM F2907-14a requires that all sling carriers display:

• Each product and the shipping container must have a permanent label or marking that identifies the name of the manufacturer, importer, distributor, or seller and the principle place of business (city, state, and mailing address, including zip code or telephone number)

• Model number, stock number, catalog, item number, or other symbol that identifies the specific sling carrier

• A permanent code mark or other product identification shall be provided on the carrier and its retail package. The code will identify the date (month and year at minimum) of manufacture.

• Minimum and maximum recommended child’s weight for the carrier

Section 9.1 of ASTM F2907-14a requires all firms supplying sling carriers to provide easy-to-read and understandable instructions regarding assembly, adjustment, restraint system (if applicable), maintenance, cleaning, storage and use.

2. Use and sharing of collected information

The information required in sections 8.1 and 9.1 of ASTM F2907-14 is intended to address safety issues that might arise with the product. The information required in section 8.1 of ASTM F2907-14a is intended to help the CPSC and the consumer identify the firm and the product, should a safety issue arise. The instructional literature required by section 9.1 ASTM F2907-14a is meant to prevent safety problems by providing assembly, maintenance, and use information to consumers.

3. Use of information technology (IT) in information collection

Information technology will not be used in these requirements. In the proposed rule, manufacturers are required to provide labeling, marking, and instructional literature according to ASTM F2907-14a. This disclosure is provided with the purchase of the product.

4. Efforts to identify duplication

Information being disclosed is manufacturer and product specific. To the extent that firms do not already comply with the voluntary standard, information provided by these requirements is not available through any other agency, organization, or individual.

5. Impact on small businesses

The costs of marking, labeling, and instructional literature associated with the standard for sling carriers may impact some small firms. However, the statute requiring this action does not contain an exemption for small firms.

As described in section 12 below, there are 47 firms known currently to be supplying sling carriers in the United States. Based on U.S. Small Business Administration guidelines, 31 are small domestic firms.

In regard to the burden associated with sections 8.1 and 9.1 of ASTM F2907-14a, for those already in compliance with the voluntary standard, there should be little to no modification of the labels, markings, and instructional literature necessary. For those firms not currently in compliance with the voluntary standard, it may be necessary to develop new labeling, marking, and instructional literature, which does not typically impose a large time requirement.

6. Consequences to federal program or policy activities if collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently

Without the marking, labeling, and instructional literature requirements, the level of noncompliance and consumer misuse could increase significantly, resulting in an increase in the number of product-related deaths and injuries.

The lack of marking and labeling could complicate CPSC efforts to locate and recall noncomplying products and result in an increase in the number of product-related deaths and injuries.

7. Special circumstances requiring respondents to report information more often than quarterly or to prepare responses in fewer than 30 days

There are no special circumstances that will require respondents to produce labels or instructional material more often than quarterly or in fewer than 30 days.

8. Consultation outside the agency

The CPSC consulted several manufacturers to obtain their views on the information collection burden associated with the marking and label requirements. Additionally, the preamble to the proposed rule published on July 23, 2014 (79 FR 42724) discusses the information collection burden and invites public comment on the CPSC’s estimates. The public comment period will close on October 6, 2014.

9. Decision to provide payment or gift

There is no payment or gift provided to respondents.

10. Assurance of confidentiality

There is no assurance of confidentiality. The information in the mark, label, and instructional literature is not confidential.

11. Questions of a sensitive nature

There are no questions of a sensitive nature.

12. Estimate of hour burden to respondents

Section 8.1.1 of ASTM F2907–14a requires that the name and the place of business (city, state, mailing address, including zip code, or telephone number) and Web site, if applicable, of the manufacturer, distributor, or seller be marked clearly and legibly on each product and its retail package. Section 8.1.2 of ASTM F2907–14a requires a code mark or other means that identifies the date (month and year, as a minimum) of manufacture.

There are 47 known entities supplying sling carriers to the U.S. market. All 47 firms are assumed to use labels already on both their products and their packaging, but they might need to make some modifications to their existing labels. The estimated time required to make these modifications is about 1 hour per model. Each entity supplies an average of three different models of sling carriers; therefore, the estimated burden associated with labels is 1 hour per model x 47 entities x 3 models per entity = 141 hours. We estimate the hourly compensation for the time required to create and update labels is $27.71 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Employer Costs for Employee Compensation,” September 2013, Table 9, total compensation for all sales and office workers in goods-producing private industries: http://www.bls.gov/ncs/). Therefore, the estimated annual cost to industry associated with the labeling requirements is $3,907.11 ($27.71 per hour x 141 hours = $3,907.11). There are no operating, maintenance, or capital costs associated with the collection.

Section 9.1 of ASTM F2907-14a requires instructions to be supplied with the product. Section 9.1 of ASTM F2907–14a requires instructions to be supplied with the product. Sling carriers do not generally require assembly, but require instructions for proper use, fit, and adjustment on a caregiver’s body, as well as maintenance, cleaning, and storage. Under the OMB’s regulations (5 CFR 1320.3(b)(2)), the time, effort, and financial resources necessary to comply with a collection of information that would be incurred by persons in the “normal course of their activities” are excluded from a burden estimate, where an agency demonstrates that the disclosure activities required to comply are “usual and customary.” Therefore, because we are unaware of sling carriers that generally require installation or some assembly but lack any instructions to the user about such installation or assembly, we estimate tentatively that there are no burden hours associated with section 9.1 of ASTM F2907-14a because any burden associated with supplying instructions with sling carriers would be “usual and customary” and not within the definition of “burden” under the OMB’s regulations.

Based on this analysis, the proposed standard for sling carriers would impose a burden to industry of 141 hours at a cost of $3,907.11 annually.

13. Estimates of Other Total Annual Cost Burden to Respondents or Record Keepers

There are no costs to respondents beyond those presented in Section A.12. There are no operating, maintenance, or capital costs associated with the collection.

14. Estimate of annualized costs to the federal government

The estimated annual cost of the information collection requirements to the federal government is approximately $3,578, which includes 60 staff hours to examine and evaluate the information as needed for Compliance activities. This is based on a GS-12 level salaried employee. The average hourly wage rate for a mid-level salaried GS-12 employee in the Washington, DC metropolitan area (effective as of January 2014) is $41.07 (GS-12, step 5). This represents 69.1 percent of total compensation (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Employer Costs for Employee Compensation,” September 2013, Table 1, percentage of wages and salaries for all civilian management, professional, and related employees: http://www.bls.gov/ncs/). Adding an additional 30.9 percent for benefits brings average hourly compensation for a mid-level salaried GS-12 employee to $59.63. Assuming that approximately 60 hours will be required annually, this results in an annual cost of $3,578.

15. Program changes or adjustments

This is a new information collection request.

16. Plans for tabulation and publication

Not applicable.

17. Rationale for not displaying the expiration date for OMB approval

Not applicable.

2. Collection of Information Employing Statistical Methods

Not applicable.