OMB0017 Rugs justification10-29-2018

Information Collection Request (ICR)
Standard for the Surface Flammability of Carpets and Rugs
Supporting Statement for Paperwork Reduction Act Submission
A. Justification
1.
Information to be collected and circumstances that make the collection of
information necessary
The Standard for the Surface Flammability of Carpets and Rugs (FF 1–70), 16 CFR part
1630, and the Standard for the Surface Flammability of Small Carpets and Rugs (FF 270), 16 CFR part 1631, were issued under section 4 of the Flammable Fabrics Act (FFA)
(15 U.S.C. 1193) in 1970. The standards cover any type of finished product made in
whole or in part of fabric or related material and intended for use as a floor covering in
homes, offices, or other places of assembly or accommodation. The standards establish
an acceptable level of flammability performance.
In addition to the standards, certain enforcement rules (16 CFR § 1630.31 and 16
CFR §§ 1631.31–32) have been issued under section 5 of the FFA (15 U.S.C. 1194) to
address reasonable and representative tests and the recordkeeping requirement. These
rules specify the frequency of testing necessary to support the issuance of a guaranty of
compliance under the Act and the types of records that must be maintained to document
this activity.
2.

Use and sharing of collected information and impact on privacy

The required recordkeeping is used to ensure compliance with provisions of the
regulations that relate to the issuance of a guaranty of compliance. The records are
retained by the responsible firm and made available to a designated officer or employee
of the Commission, upon request. Such requests are generally made during an inspection
to ensure compliance with the regulation.
3.

Use of information technology (IT) in information collection

At the option of the firm, any technology, including electronic recordkeeping, to compile
and maintain business records may be used to comply with the regulation. Information is
not normally submitted to the CPSC, unless specifically requested during compliancerelated activities.
4.

Efforts to identify duplication

The recordkeeping requirements were reviewed for potential duplication by the issuing
agency, by members of the affected industry, and other interested parties during the
proceedings to promulgate the regulations. No duplication was identified.
5.

Impact on small businesses
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Not applicable.
6.
Consequences to Federal program or policy activities if collection is not
conducted or is conducted less frequently
In the past, the Commission has looked for ways to reduce the burden of the information
collection without reducing the protection to consumers. In 1989, in accordance with
section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 610), the Commission
reviewed all of the standards issued under the FFA, including the carpet and rug
standards. The Commission concluded that no further action was warranted under the
provisions of the RFA. A copy of the report accompanied the renewal request submitted
in 1989.

7.
Special circumstances requiring respondents to report information more often
than quarterly or to prepare responses in fewer than 30 days
Respondents generally will not have to report information more often than quarterly or to
prepare responses in fewer than 30 days. However, if during the course of an
investigation, CPSC staff requires information to assess compliance, a firm may be asked
to respond more quickly and to provide information more frequently.
8.

Agency Federal Register Notice and related information

A Federal Register notice was published on August 29, 2018 with comments due
October 16, 2018. No substantive comments were received.
9.

Decision to provide payment or gift

Not applicable.
10.

Assurance of confidentiality

Any information required to be maintained by the standards and enforcement rules that
the manufacturer or importer claims to be confidential is subject to procedures for
withholding confidential information from public disclosure set forth at 16 CFR part
1015, subpart B.
11.

Questions of a sensitive nature

There are no questions of a sensitive nature.
12.

Estimate of hour burden to respondents

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The Commission estimates that out of 215 domestic manafacturers, approximately half or
108 manufacturers, are subject to the information collection requirements of the
enforcement rules because the firms have elected to issue a guaranty of compliance with
the FFA. Additionally, of the appproximately 6,000 firms that import carpets and rugs,
we estimate that about 1,500 have elected to issue guaranties of compliance. This sums
to 1,608 firms that are subject to FFA’s testing and record keeping requirements. Staff
estimates that the average firm issuing a continuing guarantee under the FFA is required
to conduct at most 200 tests per year, though the actual number of tests required by a
given firm may vary from one to 200, depending upon the number of carpet styles and
the annual production volume. For purposes of estimating burden, we have used the
midpoint, 100 tests per year. The time required to conduct each test is estimated to be 2.5
hours, including the time required to establish and maintain the test records. We estimate
the total annualized cost/burden to respondents could be as high as 160,800 tests per year
(1,608 firms x 100 tests), at 2.5 hours per test, or 402,000 hours.
The total annualized costs to all respondents for the hour burden for collection of
information is estimated to be as high as $27,830,460, using a mean hourly employer
cost-per-hour-worked of $69.23 (Bureau of Labor Statistics: Total compensation rates for
management, professional, and related occupations in private goods-producing industries,
March 2018) (402,000 hours x $69.23).
13.

Estimate of other total annual cost burden to respondents

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 and collection requirements to the Federal
government is approximately $45,222. This sum includes 4 staff months (688) hours)
expended for examination of th e information in records required to be maintained by the
enforcement rules. This estimate uses an average wage rate of $65.73 per hour (the
equivalent of a GS-12 Step 5 employee) with an additional 32.4 percent for benefits, or
$65.73 per hour x 688 hours (BLS, Percentage of total compensation comprised by
benefits for all civilian management, professional, and related employees, March 2018).
15.

Program changes or adjustments

Burden estimates were updated to include importers of Carpets and Rugs, which were not
included in the previous estimate. An estimated 1,500 importers issue guaranties of
compliance and so are subject to the record keeping requirements. This update reflects
that increase in burden.
16.

Plans for tabulation and publication

Not applicable.
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17.

Rationale for not displaying the expiration date for OMB approval

Not applicable.
18.

Exception to the certifications statement

Not applicable.
B. Statistical Methods
The reporting requirements do not employ statistical methods.

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