[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 38 (Wednesday, February 26, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11117-11118]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-03881]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. OSHA-2006-0040]


SGS North America, Inc.: Application for Expansion of Recognition

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In this notice, OSHA announces the application of SGS North 
America, Inc., for expansion of the scope of recognition as a 
Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) and presents the 
agency's preliminary finding to grant the application.

DATES: Submit comments, information, and documents in response to this 
notice, or requests for an extension of time to make a submission, on 
or before March 12, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments by any of the following methods:
    Electronically: You may submit comments and attachments 
electronically at: https://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online for submitting 
comments.
    Facsimile: If your comments, including attachments, are not longer 
than 10 pages, you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-
1648.
    Mail, hand delivery, express mail, messenger, or courier service: 
When using this method, you must submit a copy of your comments and 
attachments to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. OSHA-2006-0040, 
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of 
Labor, Room N-3653, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20210. 
Deliveries, (hand, express mail, messenger, and courier service) are 
accepted during the Docket Office's normal business hours, 10:00 a.m. 
to 3:00 p.m., ET.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and OSHA 
docket number (OSHA-2006-0040). All comments, including any personal 
information you provide, are placed in the public docket without 
change, and may be made available online at https://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, the agency cautions commenters about 
submitting statements they do not want made available to the public, or 
submitting comments that contain personal information (either about 
themselves or others) such as Social Security numbers, birth dates, and 
medical data.
    Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the 
docket, go to https://www.regulations.gov or the OSHA Docket Office at 
the above address. All documents in the docket (including this Federal 
Register notice) are listed in the https://www.regulations.gov index; 
however, some information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly 
available to read or download through the website. All submissions, 
including copyrighted material, are available for inspection at the 
OSHA Docket Office. Contact the OSHA Docket Office for assistance in 
locating docket submissions.
    Extension of comment period: Submit requests for an extension of 
the comment period on or before March 12, 2020 to the Office of 
Technical Programs and Coordination Activities, Directorate of 
Technical Support and Emergency Management, Occupational Safety and 
Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution 
Avenue NW, Room N-3653, Washington, DC 20210, or by fax to (202) 693-
1644.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Information regarding this notice is 
available from the following sources:
    Press inquiries: Contact Mr. Frank Meilinger, Director, OSHA Office 
of Communications, U.S. Department of Labor, telephone: (202) 693-1999; 
email: meilinger.francis2@dol.gov.
    General and technical information: Contact Mr. Kevin Robinson, 
Director, Office of Technical Programs and Coordination Activities, 
Directorate of Technical Support and Emergency Management, Occupational 
Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, phone: 
(202) 693-2110 or email: robinson.kevin@dol.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Notice of the Application for Expansion

    OSHA is providing notice that SGS North America, Inc. (SGS), is 
applying for expansion of current recognition as a NRTL. SGS requests 
the addition of one recognized testing and certification site to the 
NRTL scope of recognition.
    OSHA recognition of a NRTL signifies that the organization meets 
the requirements specified in 29 CFR 1910.7. Recognition is an 
acknowledgment that the organization can perform independent safety 
testing and certification of the specific products covered within the 
scope of recognition. Each NRTL's scope of recognition includes (1) the 
type of products the NRTL may test, with each type specified by the 
applicable test standard and (2) the recognized site(s) that has/have 
the technical capability to perform the product-testing and product-
certification activities for test standards within the NRTL's scope. 
Recognition is not a delegation or grant of government authority; 
however, recognition enables employers to use products approved by the 
NRTL to meet OSHA standards that require product testing and 
certification.
    The agency processes applications by a NRTL for initial recognition 
and for an expansion or renewal of this recognition, following 
requirements in Appendix A to 29 CFR 1910.7. This appendix requires 
that the agency publish two notices in the Federal Register in 
processing an application. In the first notice, OSHA announces the 
application and provides the preliminary finding. In the second notice, 
the agency provides the final decision on the application. These 
notices set forth the NRTL's scope of recognition or modifications of 
that scope. OSHA maintains an informational web page for each NRTL, 
including SGS, which details the NRTL's scope of recognition. These 
pages are available from the OSHA website at http://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/index.html.
    SGS currently has nine facilities (sites) recognized by OSHA for 
product testing and certification, with headquarters located at: SGS 
North America, Inc., 620 Old Peachtree Road, Suwanee, Georgia 30024. A 
complete list of SGS sites recognized by OSHA is available at https://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/sgs.html.

II. General Background on the Application

    SGS submitted an application, dated October 16, 2017 (OSHA-2006-
0040-0052) to expand recognition to include the addition of one 
recognized testing and certification site located at: SGS Consumer and 
Retail France, 135, Rue Rene Descartes- CS 30584, 13857 Aix en Provence 
Cedex 3, France. OSHA staff performed an on-site review of SGS France's 
testing facilities on July 23-24, 2018, in which the assessors found 
some nonconformances with the requirements of 29 CFR 1910.7. SGS 
addressed these nonconformances satisfactorily, and OSHA has made a 
preliminary decision to approve the application.

[[Page 11118]]

III. Preliminary Finding on the Application

    SGS submitted an acceptable application for expansion of the scope 
of recognition. OSHA's review of the application files and detailed on-
site assessments indicate that SGS can meet the requirements prescribed 
by 29 CFR 1910.7 for expanding recognition to include the addition of 
one recognized testing and certification site. This preliminary finding 
does not constitute an interim or temporary approval of SGS's 
application.
    OSHA welcomes public comment as to whether SGS meets the 
requirements of 29 CFR 1910.7 for expansion of its recognition as a 
NRTL. Comments should consist of pertinent written documents and 
exhibits. Commenters needing more time to comment must submit a request 
in writing, stating the reasons for the request by the due date for 
comments. OSHA will limit any extension to 10 days unless the requester 
justifies a longer time period. OSHA may deny a request for an 
extension if it is not adequately justified. To obtain or review copies 
of the exhibits identified in this notice, as well as comments 
submitted to the docket, contact the Docket Office, Occupational Safety 
and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, listed in 
ADDRESSES. These materials also are available online at https://www.regulations.gov under Docket No. OSHA-2006-0040.
    OSHA staff will review all comments to the docket submitted in a 
timely manner. After addressing the issues raised by these comments, 
staff will make a recommendation to the Assistant Secretary for 
Occupational Safety and Health on whether to grant SGS's application 
for expansion of its scope of recognition. The Assistant Secretary will 
make the final decision on granting the application. In making this 
decision, the Assistant Secretary may undertake other proceedings 
prescribed in Appendix A to 29 CFR 1910.7. OSHA will publish a public 
notice of this final decision in the Federal Register.

IV. Authority and Signature

    Loren Sweatt, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for 
Occupational Safety and Health, authorized the preparation of this 
notice. Accordingly, the agency is issuing this notice pursuant to 29 
U.S.C. 657(g)(2), Secretary of Labor's Order No. 1-2012 (77 FR 3912, 
Jan. 25, 2012), and 29 CFR 1910.7.

    Signed at Washington, DC, on February 19, 2020.
Loren Sweatt,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety 
and Health.
[FR Doc. 2020-03881 Filed 2-25-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-26-P


