Support statement for Gates - NPR

Information Collection Request (ICR)
Safety Standard for Gates and Enclosures
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. “[G]ates and other enclosures for confining a child” were specifically
mentioned as a durable infant or toddler product in section 104(f)(2). The Commission is
proposing a safety standard for gates and enclosures incorporating by reference the voluntary
standard for gates and enclosures issued by ASTM International, ASTM F1004-19, with no
modifications.
Sections 8 and 9 of ASTM F1004-19 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 F1004–19 requires that the name, place of business (city, state, and
mailing address, including zip code), and telephone number of the manufacturer, distributor, or
seller appear on each gate/enclosure product and its retail packaging. Section 8.1 of ASTM
F1004–19 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 F1004–19 requires easy-to-read and understandable instructions to
be supplied with gates and enclosures. The instructions should include all warning statements, as
well as instructions on assembly, installation, operating, folding, maintenance, and cleaning, as
applicable.
This ICR will be incorporated into the ICR for Third Party Testing of Children’s Products
(OMB Control No. 3041–0159) the next time it is updated.
2.

Use and sharing of collected information

The information required in sections 8 and 9 of ASTM F1004–19 is intended to address
safety issues that might arise with the product. The information required in section 8 of ASTM
F1004–19 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 F1004–19
is meant to prevent safety problems by providing assembly, installation, operating, folding,
maintenance, and cleaning 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 F1004–19. 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 gates and enclosures is 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 113 firms known currently to be marketing
gates/enclosures in the United States. Based on U.S. Small Business Administration guidelines,
106 are small (8 small domestic importers and 98 small domestic manufacturers, 83 of which are
very small home-based manufacturers).
In regard to the burden associated with sections 8 and 9 of ASTM F1004–19, it is
expected that most of the 83 very small home-based manufacturers would need to create warning
labels and instructional literature for their products, as they are unlikely to have already
developed either. The time commitment necessary for these firms could be considerable, as
discussed in section 12. For the remaining small firms, even those whose warning labels and/or
instructional literature are not in compliance with the voluntary standard, this is unlikely to be
the case, as changes to existing labels, markings, and instructional literature do 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 Federal
Register notice for the proposed rule published on July 8, 2019 (84 FR 32346) discusses the
information collection burden and invites public comment on the CPSC’s estimates.
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 F1004–19 requires that the name, place of business (city, state, and
mailing address, including zip code), and telephone number of the manufacturer, distributor, or
seller appear on each gate/enclosure product and its retail packaging. Section 8.1 of ASTM
F1004–19 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.
One hundred and thirteen known entities supply gates and enclosures to the U.S. market
and may need to modify existing or create new labels to comply with ASTM F1004–19. CPSC
estimates that the time required to make modifications is about 1 hour per model, but the time
required to create a label from scratch is about 7 hours per model. Based on an evaluation of
supplier product lines, small home-based manufacturers each supply an average of two gates,
while other entities supply an average of eight models of gates/enclosures.
Therefore, the estimated burden associated with labels for small home-based
manufacturers is 7 hours per model × 83 entities × 2 models per entity = 1,162 hours, the
estimated burden associated with labels for other suppliers is 1 hour per model × 30 entities × 8
models per entity = 240 hours, and the total estimated burden associated with labels is 1,402

(1,162 + 240). 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 $48,369 ($34.50 per hour × 1,402
hours = $48,369). No operating, maintenance, or capital costs are associated with the collection.
Section 9.1 of ASTM F1004–19 requires instructions to be supplied with gates and
enclosures. 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). As with the warning labels,
the reporting burden of this requirement differs for home-based and non-home-based suppliers.
We are not aware of any non-home-based manufacturers or importers that generally require use
instructions but lack such instructions.
However, it is believed that many of the home-based gate manufacturers supplying on a
very small scale may provide either no instructions or only limited instructions with their
products as part of their “normal course of activities.” Based on information collected for the
infant slings rulemaking, CPSC staff tentatively estimates that each home-based entity supplying
homemade gates might require 50 hours to develop an instruction manual to accompany their
products. While the number of home-based suppliers of gates is likely to vary substantially over
time, it appears that at the present time there are approximately 83 home-based suppliers of gates
operating in the U.S. market. These firms typically supply two gates on average. Therefore, the
costs of designing an instruction manual for these firms could be as high as $286,350 (50 hours
per model x 83 entities x 2 models per entity = 8,300 hours x $34.50 per hour = $286,350). Not
all firms would incur these costs every year, but new firms that enter the market would and this
may be a highly fluctuating market. As already noted, the other 30 firms are estimated to have no
burden hours associated with section 9.1 of ASTM F1004-19, because any burden associated
with supplying instructions with gates/enclosures 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 gates and enclosures would impose a
burden to industry of 9,702 hours at a cost of $334,719 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.