The collection of information is
mandatory, and is associated with FRA's rule 49 CFR part 228.
Entities required to respond include Class I, Class II, and Class
III railroads as well as 40 signal employee contractors. The
collection of information includes occasional reporting and
recordkeeping requirements. Covered employers are required to keep
Hours of Duty records of their employees, and must produce them
upon request to FRA representatives. The Hours of Service Act
specifies the maximum hours and conditions of proper rest for
employees engaged in one or more critical categories of work. FRA
uses the information collected to both monitor compliance with and
to enforce these safety regulations. This revised rule is part of
FRA’s broader initiative to reduce the paperwork burden of its
regulations on small railroads/contractors while still supporting
compliance with the Federal Hours of Service laws and regulations.
Current regulations require employees covered by those laws or
regulations (covered service employees) to create and retain Hours
of Service records by hand (paper) or certify the record using a
compliant computerized system with program logic (electronic
system). This rule and associated information collection provides a
simplified method of computerized recordkeeping (an automated
system) for eligible smaller railroads (and eligible contractors
and subcontractors) to reduce burden. Reporting and recordkeeping
Information is collected on occasion, monthly, and annually.
Besides Hours of Duty data, railroads must also provide reports of
excess service to FRA and employee training information.
The burden for this collection
of information has decreased by 93,515 hours from the last approved
submission. The change in burden is to due seven (7) program
changes and one (1) adjustment. The program changes are listed in
the table provided in the answer to question number 15 of the
attached Supporting Justification. Program changes then decreased
the burden by 93,505 hours and increased the number of responses by
108,728. There was also one adjustment listed in the table provided
in the answer to question number 15 of the attached Supporting
Justification. This adjustment decreased the burden by 10 hours and
decreased the number of responses by one (1). The current OMB
inventory for this information collection shows a total burden of
3,514,805 hours, while the present submission reflects a total
burden of 3,421,290 hours. Hence, there is a burden decrease of
93,515 hours. The cost to respondents has increased by $562,500
from the previously approved submission. The increase in cost is
due to program changes. FRA estimates that hardware, software, and
training costs associated with the proposed rule’s automated
recordkeeping provisions will increase the burden by $430,000 per
year. Additionally, the cost to respondents will increase by
$158,500 due to program changes resulting from the new requirements
under new Subpart F that reflect programming costs for railroads to
modify computer software for the bio-mathematical models of fatigue
that they will use for work schedule analyses. Further, the
increase in cost reflects training and support costs for employees
from the railroad who will be performing the work schedule
analysis. The total revised cost to respondents amounts to
$588,500. The previously approved cost to respondents came to
$26,000. Hence, the change in cost to respondents resulting from
this final rule is $562,500.
$124,645
No
No
No
No
No
No
Uncollected
Rick Huggins 202
493-0635
No
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
Form FRA F 6180.3 Hours of Service Regulations
drfHrsServAutomatedRcdFNLRE.doc
Hours of Service Final Rule 8-29-18.pdf
Hours of Service Regulations