1218-0095 SSA Concrete Masonry 9.3.2020

The Concrete & Masonry Construction Standard

29 CFR Part 1926, Subpart Q

1218-0095

9-30-20

SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR

THE INFORMATION COLLECTION REQUIREMENTS

OF THE CONCRETE AND MASONRY CONSTRUCTION

STANDARD (29 CFR PART 1926, SUBPART Q)¹

OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET

(OMB) Control Number 1218-0095 (August 2020)

This ICR is requesting the extension of a currently approved data collection.

A. JUSTIFICATION

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary. Identify any legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection. Attach a copy of the appropriate section of each statute and regulation mandating or authorizing the collection of information.

The main purpose of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) is to “assure so far as possible every working man and woman in the Nation safe and healthful working conditions and to preserve our human resources” (29 U.S.C. 651). To achieve this objective, the OSH Act specifically authorizes “the development and promulgation of occupational safety and health standards” (29 U.S.C. 651.) In addition, the OSH Act specifies that “[e]ach employer shall make, keep and preserve, and make available to the Secretary . . . such records . . . as the Secretary . . . may prescribe by regulation as necessary or appropriate for the enforcement of this Act . . . ” (29 U.S.C. 657).

Under the authority granted by the OSH Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration ( “OSHA” or “the Agency”) published 29 CFR part 1926, subpart Q (“Concrete and Masonry Construction”; hereafter, “Subpart”). The Subpart specifies requirements to protect workers who construct, erect, brace, maintain, remove, or perform similar tasks on concrete or masonry structures.

Section 1926.701(c)(2) requires signs and barriers to limit employee access to areas where post-tensioning operations will take place,

Sections 1926.702(a)(2) and (j)(1) require lockout/tagout measures to protect workers from injury associated with entering facilities, or operating or performing maintenance/repairs, on equipment or machinery),

Section 1926.702(j)(2) requires “[tags to] read Do Not Start or similar language to indicate that the equipment is not to be operated.”

Section 1926.703(a)(2) requires that “…drawings or plans including all revisions, for the jack layout, formwork (including shoring equipment), working decks, and scaffolds shall be available at the jobsite.” Since these drawings or plans are created and are made available to the various contractors engaged during the project at the jobsite as matter of usual and customary business practice, OSHA is not requesting clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995) (PRA) for the associated burden.

Section 1926.705(a) mandates that

Lift-slab operations [ ] be designed and planned by a registered professional engineer who has experience in lift-slab construction. Such plans and designs shall be implemented by the employer and shall include detailed instructions and sketches indicating the prescribed method of erections. These plans and designs shall also include provisions for ensuring laterals stability of the building/ structure during construction.

The Standard is silent as to where the plans, designs, instructions and sketches must be kept. As a matter of usual and customary business practice they are maintained at the construction jobsite in order to be available to the various contractors engaged during the project. Therefore, OSHA is not requesting clearance under the PRA for the burden associated with preparing plans, designs, instructions and sketches and having them available at the jobsite.

Section 1926.705(b) requires that jacks used for lift-slab operations be marked to indicate their rated capacity. The Jack Manufacturers rate the equipment as a usual and customary practice; therefore, OSHA is not requesting clearance under the PRA for the burden associated with the marking operation.

2. Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used. Except for a new collection, indicate the actual use the Agency has made of the information received from the current collection.

The warning signs and barriers required by paragraph 1926.701(c)(2) reduce exposure for non-essential workers to the hazards of post-tensioning operations. The principal hazards originate with failure of wire strands or metal rod tendons under tens of thousands of pounds tension. When strands or tendons fail and contract, they strike with catastrophic force against structures, materials, tools and workers causing damage, serious injury or death. The requirements to lock-out and tag-out bulk-storage ejection systems and other hazardous equipment (e.g., compressors, mixers, screens or pumps used for concrete and masonry construction) as specified by §§1926.702(a)(2), (j)(1), and (j)(2) prevent equipment from being unexpectedly operated and warn workers that others are on/in the equipment or facility performing tasks (e.g., cleaning, inspecting, maintaining, repairing), where unexpected operation could cause serious injury or death.

Construction contractors and workers use the drawings or plans including their revisions, required by §1926.703(a)(2) to be at the jobsite, for instructions on constructing, erecting, bracing, maintaining, and removing shores, form work, working decks, and scaffolds during cast-in-place concrete construction operations.

3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses, and the basis for the decision for adopting this means of collection. Also, describe any consideration of using information technology to reduce burden.

Employers may use any available technology to establish and maintain the documents specified by the Subpart. The Agency wrote the paperwork requirements in performance-oriented language, i.e., in terms of what data to collect, not how to record the data.

4. Describe efforts to identify duplication. Show specifically why any similar information already available cannot be used or modified for use for the purposes described in Item A.2 above.

The information collection requirements of the Subpart are specific to each employer involved and no other source or agency duplicates these requirements or can make the required information available to OSHA (i.e., the required information is available only from affected employers).

5. If the collection of information impacts small businesses or other small entities, describe any methods used to minimize burden.

The information collection requirements specified by the Subpart do not have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities.

6. Describe the consequence to Federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.

Employers need to comply with each paperwork requirement specified by the Subpart only once for each task at a jobsite (e.g., placing warning signs for a post-tensioning operation, tagging a piece of hazardous equipment for entry and repair, developing drawings or plans). Any reduction in frequency would eliminate the requirements entirely, thereby, jeopardizing the safety of workers who rely on signs and tags to warn them of hazards or who use drawing, plans, sketches, or designs to ensure the structural stability and integrity of the concrete structure being built.

7. Explain any special circumstances that would cause an information collection to be conducted in a manner:

· Requiring respondents to report information to the agency more often than quarterly;

· Requiring respondents to prepare a written response to a collection of information in fewer than 30 days after receipt of it;

· Requiring respondents to submit more than an original and two copies of any document;

· Requiring respondents to retain records, other than health, medical, government contract, grant-in-aid, or tax records for more than three years;

· In connection with a statistical survey, that is not designed to produce valid and reliable results that can be generalized to the universe of study;

· Requiring the use of a statistical data classification that has not been reviewed and approved by OMB;

· That includes a pledge of confidentiality that is not supported by authority established in statute or regulation, that is not supported by disclosure and data security policies that are consistent with the pledge, or which unnecessarily impedes sharing of data with other agencies for compatible confidential use; or

· Requiring respondents to submit proprietary trade secret, or other confidential information unless the agency can demonstrate that it has instituted procedures to protect the information's confidentiality to the extent permitted by law.

No special circumstances exist that require employers to collect information in the manner or using the procedures specified by this item.

8. If applicable, provide a copy and identify the date and page number of publication in the Federal Register of the agency's notice, required by 5 CFR 1320.8(d), soliciting comments on the information collection prior to submission to OMB. Summarize public comments received in response to that notice and describe actions taken by the agency in response to these comments. Specifically address comments received on cost and hour burden.

Describe efforts to consult with persons outside the agency to obtain their views on the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instructions and recordkeeping, disclosure, or reporting format (if any), and on the data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or reported.

Consultation with representatives of those from whom information is to be obtained or those who must compile records should occur at least once every 3 years, even if the collection of information activity is the same as in prior periods. There may be circumstances that may preclude consultation in a specific situation. These circumstances should be explained.

Pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c) (2)(A)), OSHA published a notice in the Federal Register on May 20, 2020, Docket No. OSHA-2010-0040 soliciting comments from the public and other interested parties on the information collection requirements contained in the Concrete and Masonry Construction Standard (29 CFR part 1926, subpart Q). The notice is part of a preclearance consultation program that provides interested parties with an opportunity to comment on OSHA’s request for an extension by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of a previous approval of the information collection requirements found in the above standard. The Agency did not receive any comments in response to this information collection request.

9. Explain any decision to provide any payment or gift to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees.

The Agency will not provide payments or gifts to the respondents.

10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for the assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.

The paperwork requirements specified by the Subpart do not involve confidential information.

11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private. This justification should include the reason why the agency considers the questions necessary, the specific uses to be made of the

information, the explanation to be given to persons from whom the information is requested, and any steps to be taken to obtain their consent.

The paperwork requirements specified by the Subpart do not involve sensitive information.

12. Provide estimates of the hour burden of the collection of information. The statement should:

· Indicate the number of respondents, frequency of response, annual hour burden, and an explanation of how the burden was estimated. Unless directed to do so, agencies should not conduct special surveys to obtain information on which to base hour burden estimates. Consultation with a sample (fewer than 10) of potential respondents is desirable. If the hour burden on respondents is expected to vary widely because of differences in activity, size, or complexity, show the range of estimated hour burden, and explain the reasons for the variance. Generally, estimates should not include burden hours for customary and usual business practices.

· If this request for approval covers more than one form, provide separate hour burden estimates for each form and aggregate the hour burdens in Item 13.

· Provide estimates of annualized cost to respondents for the hour burdens for collections of information, identifying and using appropriate wage-rate categories.

Posting signs, and using barriers (tapes with warning messages or other messages couched to prevent entry to specific areas of the jobsite §1926.701(c)(2)), except for workers essential to post-tensioning operations and using lockout and tags² to prevent unintended entry or operation of facilities/equipment (§1926.702(a)(2) and (j)(2)) are common practices on construction jobsites. Information taken from McGraw Hill’s FW Dodge reports and analyzed by the University of Tennessee indicated for calendar year 2019 that the number of active construction worksites (excluding single-family houses) was approximately 162,095. This figure was compiled from the 2019 non-single family housing residential construction starts (10,884) and non-single family housing construction starts (151,211) worksites. According to the U.S. Census Bureau News Joint Release (CB13-10), single-family housing starts in November 2019 were at a rate of 1,216,000.³ The Agency combines the number of non-single family housing residential worksites and the single-family housing starts. Therefore the total of all housing starts is (162,095 + 1,216, 000) = 1,378,095. OSHA estimates that at least 20 percent of all the worksites (1,378,095) will involve one instance of posting warnings or the use of locks and tags at jobs covered by this collection. This 20% (275,619) figure will be used as part of the calculation for the burden hours.

The Agency determined the wage rate from mean hourly wage earnings to represent the cost of employee time. For the relevant standard occupational classification category, OSHA used the wage rates reported in the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Employment Statistics (OES), December 2019 [date accessed: March 20, 2020]. (OES data is available at https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm. To access a wage rate, select the year, “Occupation Profiles,” and the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Code.)

To derive at the loaded hourly wage rate presented in the table below, the Agency used data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Occupational Employment Statistics (OES), as described in the paragraph above. Then, the Agency applied to the wage rate a fringe benefit markup based on Table 1 of the following BLS release: Employer Costs for Employee Compensation news release text, released 10:00 AM (EDT), March 18, 2020 (https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ecec.pdf). BLS reported that for private industry workers, fringe benefits accounted for 29.9 percent of total compensation and wages accounted for the remaining 70.1 percent. To calculate the loaded hourly wage for each occupation, the Agency divided the mean hourly wage rate by 1 minus the fringe benefits.

The hourly wage is:

Table 1 -- WAGE HOUR ESTIMATES
Occupational Title	Standard Occupation Code	Mean Hourly Wage Rate (A)	Fringe Benefits (B)4	Loaded Hourly Wage Rate (C) = (A)/((1-(B))
Painter, Construction, & Maintenance	47-2141	$20.70	0.299	$29.53

It typically takes 5 minutes (5/60 hour) to post or place the warning signs, locks, tags, etc.

Burden Hours: 1,378,095 x 20% (275, 619) x 5/60 hour = 22,968 hours

Cost: 22,968 hours x $29.53= $678,245

As described in Item 1, OSHA determined that requirements contained in §1926.703(a)(2) and §1926.705(b) of the paperwork requirements specified by the Subpart impose no burden hours or costs as specified by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

TABLE 2 – Estimated Annualized Respondent Hour and Cost Burden

Information Collection Requirement

Type of Respondent*

No. of

Respondents

No. of Responses per Respondent

Total No. of Responses

Avg.

Burden per Response (In Hrs.)

Total Burden Hours

(rounded)

Avg. Hourly Wage Rate

Total Burden Costs (rounded)

Warning signs and barriers

§1926.702(a)(2), (j)(1), and (j)(2)

Painter, construction, & maintenance worker

275,619

.1999999

1

5/60

275,619

5/60

5/60

22,968

$29.53

$678,245

13. Provide an estimate of the total annual cost burden to respondents or record keepers resulting from the collection of information. (Do not include the cost of any hour burden shown in Items 12 and 14).

· The cost estimate should be split into two components: (a) a total capital and start-up cost component (annualized over its expected useful life); and (b) a total operation and maintenance and purchase of service component. The estimates should take into account costs associated with generating, maintaining, and disclosing or providing the information. Include descriptions of methods used to estimate major cost factors including system and technology acquisition, expected useful life of capital equipment, the discount rate(s), and the time period over which costs will be incurred. Capital and start-up costs include, among other items,

preparations for collecting information such as purchasing computers and software; monitoring, sampling, drilling and testing equipment; and record storage facilities.

· If cost estimates are expected to vary widely, agencies should present ranges of cost burdens and explain the reasons for the variance. The cost of purchasing or contracting out information collection services should be a part of this cost burden estimate. In developing cost burden estimates, agencies may consult with a sample of respondent (fewer than 10), utilize the 60-day pre-OMB submission public comment process and use existing economic or regulatory impact analysis associated with the rulemaking containing the information collection, as appropriate.

· Generally, estimates should not include purchases of equipment or services, or portions thereof, made: (1) prior to October 1, 1995, (2) to achieve regulatory compliance with requirements not associated with the information collection, (3) for reasons other than to provide information or keep records for the government, or (4) as part of customary and usual business or private practices.

There are no additional costs to the respondents other than their time.

14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government. Also, provide a description of the method used to estimate cost, which should include quantification of hours, operational expenses (such as equipment, overhead, printing, and support staff), and any other expense that would not have been incurred

without this collection of information. Agencies also may aggregate cost estimates from Items 12, 13, and 14 in a single table.

There is no cost to the Federal government.

15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments.

The Agency is requesting an adjustment increase in burden hours of 10,197 hours (from 12,771 hours to 22,968 hours). There was a slight decrease of 11% in non-single-housing starts from 182,160 in 2018 to 162,095 in 2019. However, this was more than offset by a significant increase in housing starts. Therefore, there was a net increase adjustment of 58% in the number of construction worksites from 798,160 to 1,378,095. Although, there is a total of 1,378,095 construction worksites involving at least one instance of posting warnings or the use of Locks and tags at jobs covered by this covered by this collection, the Agency used only 275,619 which is 20% of the total worksites as the quantity for this collection. Also, the substantial increase of burden for this ICR can be attributed to the one instance of posting warnings or the use of locks and tags at jobs covered by this collection. .

16. For collections of information whose results will be published, outline plans for tabulation, and publication. Address any complex analytical techniques that will be used. Provide the time schedule for the entire project, including beginning and ending dates of the collection information, completion of report, publication dates, and other actions.

OSHA will not publish the information collected under the Subpart.

17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons that display would be appropriate.

OSHA lists current valid control numbers in §§1910.8, 1915.8, 1917.4, 1918.4, and 1926.5 and publishes the expiration date in the Federal Register notice announcing OMB approval of the information-collection requirement. (See 5 CFR 1320.3(f)(3)). OSHA believes that this is the most appropriate and accurate mechanism to inform interested parties of these expiration dates.

18. Explain each exception to the certification statement.

OSHA is not requesting an exception to the certification statement.

B. COLLECTION OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS

This Supporting Statement does not contain any collection of information requirements that employ statistical methods.

1 The purpose of this Supporting Statement is to analyze and describe the burden hours and costs associated with provisions of this subpart that contain paperwork requirements; this Supporting Statement does not provide information or guidance on how to comply with, or how to enforce, these provisions.

2OSHA is intentionally overestimating the paperwork burden by assuming that § 1926.702(j)(2) affects all worksites. OSHA made this assumption to simplify the formula, but the Agency notes that § 1926.702(j)(2) probably does not affect all worksites because OSHA believes most employers will use the language OSHA has provided (“Do not start”) rather than take the time to develop their own language. (See 5 CFR 1320.3(c)(2)).

https://www.census.gov/construction/nrc/pdf/newresconst_201912.pdf (US Census Housing starts)

3 Technically, this is a slight overestimate of total single-family housing starts, as it includes some multi-family housing starts.

4Source: Employer costs for Employee Compensation Supplementary Table 2. U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, December, 2019. https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes472141.htm

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