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pdfInformation Collection Request (ICR)
Safety Standard for Stationary Activity Centers
Supporting Statement
A.
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. The Commission is proposing a safety standard for stationary activity centers
incorporating by reference the voluntary standard for stationary activity centers issued by ASTM
International, ASTM F2012-18ε1, with no modifications.
Sections 8 and 9 of ASTM F2012-18ε1 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 F2012-18ε1 requires that the name and either the place of business
(city, state, and mailing address, including zip code) or the telephone number of the
manufacturer, distributor, or seller appear on each stationary activity center and its retail
package. Section 8.1 of ASTM F2012-18ε1 also requires a code mark or other means on each
product and retail package that indicates the date (month and year as a minimum) of
manufacture.
Section 9.1 of ASTM F2012-18ε1 requires easy-to-read and understandable instructions to
be supplied with stationary activity centers. The instructions should deal with assembly,
maintenance, cleaning, and use, where applicable.
2.
Use and sharing of collected information
The information required in sections 8 and 9 of ASTM F2012-18ε1 is intended to address
safety issues that might arise with the product. The information required in section 8 of ASTM
F2012-18ε1 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 of ASTM F201218ε1 is meant to prevent safety problems by providing assembly, maintenance, cleaning, 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 F2012-18ε1. 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 stationary activity centers are expected to impact small firms. However, the statute requiring
this action does not contain an exemption for small firms.
As described in section 12 below, there are 11 U.S. manufacturers known currently to be
marketing stationary activity centers in the United States. Based on U.S. Small Business
Administration guidelines, 7 are small. There were no small importers of stationary activity
centers identified.
In regard to the burden associated with sections 8 and 9 of ASTM F2012-18ε1, for those
firms already in compliance with the voluntary standard (6 small manufacturers of stationary
activity centers), there should be minimal changes to their labels, markings, and instructional
literature required, as no modifications were made by the Commission, although it is possible
that changes might be required as the standard is updated. For those small firms not currently in
compliance with the voluntary standard (1 firm), it may be necessary to develop new labeling
and marking, 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 June 19, 2018 (83 FR 118) discussed the information
collection burden and invited public comment on the CPSC’s estimates. The public comment
period closed on September 4, 2018. No comments related to the information collection burden
were received.
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 marking, labeling, 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 of ASTM F2012-18ε1 requires that the name and either the place of business
(city, state, and mailing address, including zip code) or the telephone number of the
manufacturer, distributor, or seller appear on each stationary activity center and its retail
package. Section 8.1 of ASTM F2012-18ε1 also requires a code mark or other means on each
product and retail package that indicates the date (month and year as a minimum) of
manufacture.
11 known entities supply stationary activity centers to the U.S. market and may need to
modify their existing labels to comply with ASTM F2012-18ε1. CPSC estimates that the time
required to make these modifications is about 1 hour per model. Based on an evaluation of
supplier product lines, each entity supplies an average of four models of stationary activity
centers.
Therefore, the estimated burden associated with labels is 1 hour per model × 11 entities ×
4 models per entity = 44 hours. CPSC estimates the hourly compensation for the time required to
create and update labels is $34.50 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ‘‘Employer Costs for
Employee Compensation,’’ Dec. 2018, 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 associated with the proposed labeling requirements is $1,518 ($34.50 per
hour × 44 hours = $1,518). No operating, maintenance, or capital costs are associated with the
collection.
Section 9.1 of ASTM F2012-18ε1 requires instructions to be supplied with stationary
activity centers. Stationary activity centers generally require use and assembly instructions. As
such, products sold without use and assembly instructions would not compete successfully with
those that supply this information. Under OMB’s regulations, the time, effort, and financial
resources necessary to comply with a collection of information incurred by parties in the “normal
course of their activities” are excluded from a burden estimate when an agency demonstrates that
the disclosure activities required are “usual and customary.” 5 CFR 1320.3(b)(2). CPSC is
unaware of stationary activity centers that generally require use or assembly instructions but lack
such instructions. Therefore, CPSC estimates that no burden hours are associated with section
9.1 of ASTM F2012-18ε1 because any burden associated with supplying instructions with
stationary activity centers would be “usual and customary,” and thus, excluded from “burden”
estimates under OMB’s regulations. Based on this analysis, the proposed standard for stationary
activity centers would impose a burden to industry of 44 hours at a cost of $1,518 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
further 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 $3,986, 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 wage rate for a mid-level salaried GS-12 employee in the Washington,
DC metropolitan area (effective as of April 2019) is $94,520 (GS-12, step 5). This represents
68.4 percent of total compensation (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Employer Costs for
Employee Compensation,” Dec. 2018, Table 1, percentage of wages and salaries for all civilian
management, professional, and related employees: http://www.bls.gov/ncs/). Adding an
additional 31.6 percent for benefits brings average annual compensation for a mid-level salaried
GS-12 employee to $138,187 or $66.44 per hour. Assuming that approximately 60 hours will be
required annually, this results in an annual cost of $3,986.
15.
Program changes or adjustments
This is a new information request.
16.
Plans for tabulation and publication
Not applicable.
17.
Rationale for not displaying the expiration date for OMB approval
Not applicable.
B.
Collection of Information Employing Statistical Methods
Not applicable.
File Type | application/pdf |
Author | CUSB |
File Modified | 2019-07-16 |
File Created | 2019-07-16 |