Logging Operations

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

29 CFR Part 1910

[Docket No. S-048]

Logging Operations

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

ACTION: Final rule; partial stay of enforcement.

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SUMMARY: On October 12, 1994, the Occupational Safety and Health

Administration (OSHA) issued a new standard for logging operations (59

FR 51672). This notice stays enforcement of the following paragraphs of

Sec. 1910.266 until August 9, 1995: (d)(1)(v) insofar as it requires

foot protection to be chain-saw resistant; (d)(1)(vii) insofar as it

requires face protection; (d)(2)(iii) for first-aid kits that contain

all the items listed in Appendix A; (f)(2)(iv); (f)(2)(xi); (f)(3)(ii);

(f)(3)(vii); (f)(3)(viii); (f)(7)(ii) insofar as it requires that

parking brakes be able to stop the machine; (g)(1) and (g)(2) insofar

as they require inspection and maintenance of employee-owned vehicles;

and (h)(2)(vii) insofar as it precludes backcuts at the level of the

horizontal cut of the undercut when the Humboldt cutting method is

used.

DATES: Effective on February 9, 1995. The partial stay will expires on

August 9, 1995. The remaining requirements of Sec. 1910.266 are

unaffected by this document and will go into effect as scheduled on

February 9, 1995, or as otherwise provided in the Final Rule.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Anne Cyr, Office of Information

and Consumer Affairs, Occupational Safety and Health Administration,

Room N-3637, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW.,

Washington, DC 20210, (202) 219-8148.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 12, 1994, OSHA issued a final

rule governing worker safety in logging operations. Among other things,

this rule included requirements for: personal protective equipment;

first aid kits at logging work sites; machine stability and slope

limitations; discharge of hydraulic and pneumatic storage devices on

forestry machines; protective structures on machines; machine braking

systems; vehicle inspection and maintenance; and tree harvesting.

Several parties have raised questions about certain aspects of these

requirements. After considering their questions, the Agency has

determined that a six-month delay in the effective date of some of the

provisions is appropriate in order to allow time for it to clarify

language in the regulatory text so that it most adequately expresses

its intent with respect to some of these provisions, and to provide

additional information on other provisions.

Stay of Enforcement of Certain Provisions of Sec. 1910.266

Paragraph (d)(1)(v)--Foot protection. The final logging standard

requires [[Page 7448]] employees to wear foot protection, such as

heavy-duty logging boots, that among other things, protect against

``penetration by chain saws.'' Some interested persons have

misinterpreted this provision to require steel-toed boots, although the

preamble to the final rule explained that the rule does not require

steel-toed boots.

OSHA has decided to grant a six-month delay in the effective date

of the portion of this provision that requires that foot protection be

chain-saw resistant. (The remaining requirements of the foot protection

provision will go into effect as scheduled on February 9.) This delay

will enable OSHA to review the logging community requirements on

available foot protection, including many types of heavy-duty leather

logging boots currently used, kevlar boots, and foot coverings that

provide adequate chain saw resistance. Finally, this delay will allow

greater availability of new products that manufacturers are developing

in response to the standard.

Paragraph (d)(1)(vii)--Eye and face protection. The logging

standard requires loggers to wear eye and face protection meeting the

requirements of OSHA's general personal protection equipment (PPE)

standards when there is a potential for injury due to falling or flying

objects. Some interested persons have interpreted this provision to

require both eye and face protection in all cases.

OSHA has decided to grant a six-month delay in the effective date

of this provision to the extent that it requires face protection. (The

current effective date of February 9 will continue to apply to the eye

protection requirement.) The delay will allow OSHA to clarify what the

standard requires, and to better inform employers about available face

protection that does not limit worker vision.

Paragraph (d)(2)(iii)--Annual approval of first-aid kits by a

health care provider. Paragraph (d)(2) states that employers mut

provide and maintain adequate first-aid kits at each worksite, and that

the number and contents of the kits must be reviewed annually by a

health care provider. Some interested persons have interpreted the

standard to require that a doctor inspect each kit annually.

OSHA has decided to grant a six-month delay in the effective date

of the provision requiring annual health care provider review. The

requirement that first-aid kits contain at least the items listed in

Appendix A (paragraph (d)(2)(ii)) will go into effect as scheduled on

February 9, 1995. During this period, OSHA will revise the statutory

language to clarify its original intent.

Paragraph (f)(2)(iv)--Slope limitations on machine operation. This

rule states that logging machines shall not be operated on any slope

greater than the maximum slope recommended by the manufacturer. Some

parties have interpreted this provision to require manufacturers to

specify maximum slopes that would be applicable in all field

situations. OSHA is granting a six-month stay of this provision to

clarify this point.

Paragraph (f)(2)(xi)--Discharge of stored energy from machine

hydraulic and pneumatic storage devices. This provision requires that

pressure or stored energy from hydraulic and pneumatic storage devices

be discharged after the machine engine is shut down. Some parties have

interpreted this provision to require discharge of air and water from

all machine components, even when the presence of air or water pressure

will not create a hazard for any employee. OSHA is granting a six-month

delay in order to clarify this point.

Paragraph (f)(3)(ii)--Machine rollover protective structures. The

final rule requires that all rollover protective structures (ROPS) be

installed, tested and maintained in accordance with the Society of

Automotive Engineers (SAE) J1040, April 1988, performance criteria for

rollover protective structures (ROPS). OSHA has learned that some

logging equipment currently in production has not yet been designed to

meet the 1988 SAE criteria document. OSHA has decided to delay the

effective date of this requirement for six-months in order to determine

whether any additional extension may be appropriate.

Paragraph (f)(3) (vii) and (viii)--Machine operator cab protective

structures. These provisions require that the lower portion of the

operator's cab be enclosed with ``solid'' material that will prevent

objects from entering the cab. Some parties have interpreted this

provision to encourage the use of materials like steel plating that may

restrict the operator's field of vision. OSHA is granting a six-month

delay in the effective date of this provision in order to clarify this

requirement.

Paragraph (f)(7)(ii)--Machine braking systems. This provision

requires that each machine be equipped with ``a secondary braking

system, such as an emergency brake or a parking brake, which shall be

effective in stopping the machine and maintaining parking

performance.'' OSHA has since learned that the terminology used in this

provision is inconsistent with that used by some manufacturers. These

manufacturers consider a secondary braking system to be a subsystem of

the service brake system and that each subsystem should be capable of

stopping the machine even though the other subsystem fails. The parking

brake system is not designed to stop the vehicle in motion but rather

to restrain it once movement has stopped; thus it is not considered a

secondary system.

OSHA is granting a six-month delay in this provision only to the

extent that it requires that parking brakes be able to stop the

machine. During this period, employers must still assure that each

machine has a service brake system that is capable of stopping the

machine and a parking brake system that can hold the machine and its

maximum load on any slope that the machine is operated. OSHA will

revise the terminology in this provision to clarify its intent.

Paragraph (g) (1) and (2)--Inspection and maintenance of employee-

owned vehicles. These provisions require that any vehicle used off

public roads at logging work sites or to perform any logging operation,

including employee-owned vehicles, be maintained in a serviceable

condition. Some parties have interpreted this provision to require

logging employers to inspect and maintain all vehicles, including those

employee-owned vehicles that they allow on their logging sites.

OSHA is granting a six-month delay in the effective date of these

provisions insofar as they apply to employee-owned vehicles. The

additional time will enable OSHA to reexamine the record on this issue

and clarify its intent of the standard.

Paragraph (h)(2)(vii)--Backcuts. This rule requires that backcuts

be above the horizontal line of the undercut. OSHA is aware that when

loggers use the Humboldt cutting method, in which the diagonal cut is

below the horizontal cut of the undercut, the backcut is at the level

of the horizontal cut. The Agency is granting a six-month delay in the

effective date of this provision only to the extent that the rule does

not permit loggers using the Humboldt method to place the backcut at

the level of the horizontal cut. (OSHA emphasizes that backcuts may

never be made below the horizontal cut.) OSHA will reexamine the record

on this issue.

III. Authority

This document was prepared under the direction of Joseph A. Dear,

Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S.

Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC

20210. [[Page 7449]]

The actions in this document are taken pursuant to sections 4, 6,

and 8 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 653,

655, 657), Secretary of Labor's Order No. 1-90 (55 FR 9033), and 29 CFR

part 1911.

Signed at Washington, DC., this 2nd day of February, 1995.

Joseph A. Dear,

Assistant Secretary of Labor.

For the reasons set forth above, 29 CFR part 1910 is hereby amended

as follows:

PART 1910--[AMENDED]

1. The Authority citation for subpart R of 29 CFR part 1910

continues to read as follows:

Authority: Secs. 4, 6, 8, Occupational Safety and Health Act of

1970 (29 U.S.C. 653, 655, 657); Secretary of Labor's Order No. 12-71

(36 FR 8754), 8-76 (41 FR 25059), 9-83 (48 FR 35736), or 1-90 (55 FR

9033), as applicable.

Sections 1910.261, 1910.262, 1910.265, 1910.266, 1910.267,

1910.268, 1910.272, 1910.274, and 1910.275 also issued under 29 CFR

part 1911.

Section 1910.272 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 553.

2. A note is added at the end of Sec. 1910.266, to read as follows:

Sec. 1910.266 Logging operations.

* * * * *

Note: In the Federal Register of February 8, 1995, OSHA stayed

the following paragraphs of Sec. 1910.266 from February 9, 1995

until August 9, 1995:

1. (d)(1)(v) insofar as it requires foot protection to be chain-

saw resistant.

2. (d)(1)(vii) insofar as it requires face protection.

3. (d)(2)(iii).

4. (f)(2)(iv).

5. (f)(2)(xi).

6. (f)(3)(ii).

7. (f)(3)(vii).

8. (f)(3)(viii).

9. (f)(7)(ii) insofar as it requires that parking brakes be able

to stop the machine.

10. (g)(1) and (g)(2) insofar as they require inspection and

maintenance of employee-owned vehicles.

11. (h)(2)(vii) insofar as it precludes backcuts at the level of

the horizontal cut of the undercut when the Humboldt cutting method

is used.

[FR Doc. 95-3041 Filed 2-7-95; 8:45 am]

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