Prevention and OSHA Regulations - Accident/Incident Prevention Techniques - page 291

standards.are.examples.of.“horizontal”.standards..Some.standards.are.only.relevant.
to.a.particular.industry.and.are.called.“vertical”.or.“particular”.standards.
Through. the. newspapers. and. conversations,. it. certainly. sounds. as. if. OSHA. is.
producing. new. standards. each. day. that. will. impact. the. workplace.. This. simply. is.
not.true..The.regulatory.process.is.very.slow..When.OSHA.needs.to.develop.a.new.
regulation.or.even.revise.an.existing.one,.it.becomes.a.lengthy.and.arduous.process,.
often.taking.more.than.a.decade.to.come.into.being..The.steps.for.developing.a.new.
regulation.are.as.follows:
. 1.. The.Agency.(OSHA).opens.a.Regulatory.Development.Docket.for.a.new.or.
revised.regulation.
. 2.. This.indicates.that.OSHA.believes.a.need.for.a.regulation.exists.
. 3.. An.Advanced.Notice.of.Proposed.Rulemaking.(ANPRM).is.published.in.
the. Federal Register .and.written.comments.are.requested.to.be.submitted.
within.thirty.to.sixty.days.
. 4.. The.comments.are.analyzed.
. 5.. A. Notice. of. Proposed. Rulemaking. (NPRM). is. published. in. the. Federal
Register with.a.copy.of.the.proposed.regulation.
. 6.. Another.public.comment.period.transpires.usually.for.thirty.to.sixty.days.
. 7.. If.no.additional.major.issues.are.raised.by.the.comments,.the.process.con-
tinues.to.Step.10.
. 8.. If.someone.raises.some.serious.issues,.the.process.goes.back.to.Step.4.for.
review.and.possible.revision.of.the.NPRM.
. 9.. Once.the.concerns.have.been.addressed,.it.continues.forward.to.Steps.5.
and.6.again.
. 10.. If. no. major. issues. are. raised,. a. Final. Rule. (FR). will. be. published. in. the.
Federal Register ,.along.with.the.date.when.the.regulation.will.be.effective.
(usually.30.to.120.days).
. 11.. There. can. still. be. a. Petition. of. Reconsideration. of. the. Final. Rule.. There.
are.times.when.an.individual.or.industry.may.take.legal.action.to.bar.the.
regulation's.promulgation.
. 12.. If.the.agency.does.not.follow.the.correct.procedures.or.acts.arbitrarily.or.
capriciously,.the.court.may.void.the.regulation.and.the.whole.process.must.
be.repeated.
If. you. desire. to. comment. on. a. regulation. during. the. development. process,. you.
should. feel. free. to. do. so;. your. comments. are. important.. You. should. comment. on.
the.areas.where.you.agree.or.disagree..This.is.your.opportunity.to.speak.up..If.no.
one.comments,.it.is.assumed.that.nobody.cares.one.way.or.the.other..You.must.be.
speciic..Give.examples,.be.precise,.give.alternatives,.and.provide.any.data.or.spe-
ciic.information.that.can.back.up.your.opinion..Federal.agencies.always.welcome.
good. data. that. substantiates. your. case.. Cost-beneit. data. are. always. important. in.
the.regulatory.process,.and.any.valid.cost.data.that.you.are.able.to.provide.may.be.
very.beneicial..But.make.sure.that.your.comments.are.based.on.what.is.published.
in.the. Federal Register and.not.based.upon.hearsay.information..Remember.that.the.
agency.proposing.the.regulation.may.be.working.under.speciic.constraints..Make.