On May 17, ABC, as a steering committee member of the Construction Industry Safety Coalition, submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration voicing compliance and cost concerns on the proposed rule on Powered Industrial Trucks Design Standard Update. While CISC members are not manufacturers of powered industrial trucks, certain types of PITs are frequently used on construction worksites and, thus, CISC members are interested in this proposal.

While the coalition commends OSHA’s efforts to keep its regulations up to date, the comments raise certain limited concerns regarding the approach taken by OSHA in this proposed rule. As addressed in the comment letter, “CISC is concerned with OSHA’s decision to delegate its rulemaking authority to a third-party committee’s standards by reference. Although OSHA has done this in the past, there are issues that arise when delegating rulemaking authority which should be considered before the Agency proceeds. Incorporating a third-party committee’s standards by reference perpetuates existing barriers to access. For small employers in particular, the requirements of the incorporated standards are not separately stated in the proposed rule and otherwise are not readily accessible.”

Further, the comments point out that “OSHA’s proposed alternative methods of compliance will create confusion and impose unintended and unpredicted compliance costs on construction employers.”

Finally, CISC is concerned that “OSHA has failed to account for costs that the construction industry will undoubtedly face if the proposed rule is adopted.”

Continue to monitor Newsline for updates on the OSHA proposal.