Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories; Proposed Revised Fee Schedule, 76365-76375 [E6-21670]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 244 (Wednesday, December 20, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76365-76375]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-21670]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. NRTL95-F-1]


Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories; Proposed Revised Fee 
Schedule

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

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY: This notice provides the proposed revised schedule of fees to 
be charged by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 
to Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories (NRTLs). OSHA charges 
fees for specific types of services it provides to NRTLs. The fees 
charged to NRTLs first went into effect on October 1, 2000.

DATES: The new fees shown in this notice will become effective on 
February 5, 2007. You must submit information or comments by the 
following dates:
     Hard copy: postmarked or sent by January 4, 2007.
     Electronic transmission or facsimile: sent by January 4, 
2007.

ADDRESSES: You may 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 on-line for making 
electronic submissions.
    Fax: If your submissions, 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: 
You must submit three copies of your comments and attachments to the 
OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. NRTL95-F-1, U.S. Department of Labor, 
Room N-2625, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210. 
Deliveries (hand, express mail, messenger and courier service) are 
accepted during the Department of Labor's and Docket Office's normal 
business hours, 8:15 a.m.-4:45 p.m., e.t.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and the 
OSHA docket number for this notice (OSHA Docket No. NRTL95-F-1). 
Submissions, 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.
    Docket: To read or download submissions or other material in the 
docket, go to https://www.regulations.gov or the OSHA Docket Office at 
the address above. All documents in the docket are listed in the http:/
/www.regulations.gov index, however, some information (e.g., 
copyrighted material) is not publicly available to read or download 
through the Web site. All submissions, including copyrighted material, 
are available for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office.
    Extension of Comment Period: Submit requests for extensions 
concerning this notice to the Office of Technical Programs and 
Coordination Activities, NRTL Program, Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Room N-3655, Washington, DC 20210. Or fax to (202) 693-1644.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: MaryAnn Garrahan, Director, Office of 
Technical Programs and Coordination Activities, NRTL Program, 
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of 
Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room N3655, Washington, DC 20210, 
or phone (202) 693-2110. Our Web page includes information about the 
NRTL Program (see https://www.osha.gov and select ``N'' in the site 
index).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction

    The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is 
proposing to adjust the fees that the Agency charges for the services 
it provides to Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories (NRTLs). OSHA 
is taking this action as a result of its process for annually reviewing 
the fees, as provided under 29 CFR 1910.7(f). This review has shown 
that the costs of providing the services covered by the fees have 
changed sufficiently to warrant adjustments to the current fee 
schedule, which has been in effect since January 2002. The fee 
adjustments described in this notice are based on the current approach 
for calculating fees, which is the same approach OSHA used in 
developing the first fee schedule (effective October 1, 2000).
    OSHA is also in the process of developing a new approach to 
calculating fees that would more accurately recoup the total costs of 
the services OSHA provides to NRTLs. The Agency will be proposing this 
new approach, and seeking comments on it, in a Federal Register notice 
to be published at a later date.

II. Background

    Many of OSHA's safety standards require that equipment or products 
used in the workplace be tested and certified to help ensure they can 
be used safely. See, e.g., 29 CFR part 1910, subpart S. In general, 
this testing and certification must be performed by a Nationally 
Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL). Products or equipment that have 
been tested and certified must have the NRTL's certification mark on 
them, or, if this is not feasible, then on its packaging. An employer 
may rely on the certification mark, which shows that the equipment or 
product has been tested and certified in accordance with OSHA 
requirements. In order to ensure that the testing and certification is 
done appropriately, OSHA implemented the NRTL Program. The NRTL Program 
establishes the criteria that an organization must meet in order to be 
and remain recognized as an NRTL.
    The NRTL Program requirements are set forth under 29 CFR 1910.7, 
``Definition and requirements for a nationally recognized testing 
laboratory.'' To be recognized by OSHA, an organization must: (1) Have 
the appropriate capability to test, evaluate, and approve products to 
assure their safe use in the workplace; (2) be completely independent 
of the manufacturers, vendors, and major users of the products for 
which OSHA requires certification; (3) have internal programs that 
ensure proper control of the testing and certification process; and (4) 
have effective reporting and complaint handling procedures.
    OSHA requires NRTL applicants (i.e., organizations seeking initial 
recognition as an NRTL) to provide detailed and comprehensive 
information about their programs, processes, and procedures in writing 
when they apply. OSHA reviews the written information and conducts an 
on-site assessment to determine whether the organization meets the 
requirements

[[Page 76366]]

of 29 CFR 1910.7. OSHA uses a similar process when an NRTL (i.e., an 
organization already recognized) applies for expansion or renewal of 
its recognition. In addition, the Agency conducts annual audits to 
ensure that the recognized laboratories maintain their programs and 
continue to meet the recognition requirements. Currently, there are 18 
NRTLs operating over 50 recognized sites in the U.S., Canada, Europe, 
and the Far East.

III. Program Costs and Fee Calculation

    To understand the adjustments we are proposing to make to the fee 
schedule, Section A discusses the derivation of the hourly rate we will 
use to assess the fees. Section B discusses changes we are making to 
the estimate of activity times and briefly describes new chargeable 
activities for the services to NRTLs. Section C details the proposed 
new activity costs.

A. Derivation of Hourly Rate (ECR)

    In preparing the proposed fee schedule presented in this notice, 
OSHA has updated its calculation of the total resources that it has 
committed to the NRTL Program overall and has then computed the costs 
that are involved solely with the application approval and the periodic 
review (i.e., audit) functions.
    OSHA calculates the fees for these services by multiplying an 
equivalent average direct staff cost per hour rate (ECR) by the time it 
takes to perform the activities involved in application processing or 
audit functions. Simply put,

Fee for activity = ECR x Time for activity.

    OSHA derives the ECR by taking the total estimated direct and 
indirect costs of the program, consisting of personnel costs (salary 
and fringe) and office expenses, but excluding travel, and dividing 
that total by the total available annual work hours of the direct staff 
devoted to all the NRTL Program activities, i.e., the number of full-
time equivalent (FTE) personnel.\1\ Illustrated as an equation:

    \1\ In discussing total hours in this notice, we often refer to 
FTEs which stands for full-time equivalents and equals total hours 
divided by 2,080, the total available annual work hours for one 
full-time employee.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

ECR = TPC / TAW,

where TPC is the total estimated direct and indirect program costs 
(excluding travel) and TAW is the total available annual work hours 
of the direct staff.

    Figure 1, below, represents OSHA's TPC of providing the services 
for which we charge fees and shows the calculation of the ECR. As a 
result of our proposed adjustments, our base hourly rate for 
calculating our fees, i.e., the ECR, would increase approximately 17% 
above its present level, from $54.50 to $63.80. The $54.50 was derived 
using 2002 projected staff salary and fringe, and other program costs. 
The 17% increase mainly reflects annual salary adjustments provided to 
Federal employees that have accumulated since the revision in 2002. The 
Agency believes these costs are fair and reasonable.

                                  Figure 1.--NRTL Program Annual Cost Estimates
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                  Avg. cost  per
                                                                                        FTE
                        Cost description                                FTE         (including      Total costs
                                                                                      fringe)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Direct Staff Costs..............................................            5.24        $110,743        $580,294
Indirect Staff & Other Costs....................................           (\1\)           (\1\)      \2\115,130
 
     Subtotal Costs.............................................  ..............  ..............         695,424
Travel Expenses.................................................           (\1\)           (\1\)          60,000
                                                                                                 ---------------
    Total Program Costs.........................................  ..............  ..............        755,424
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avg. direct staff cost/hr. = $580,294/(5.24 FTE x 2,080 hours) = $53.20.
ECR = Equivalent avg. direct staff cost/hr. rate = $695,424/(5.24 FTE x 2,080 hours) = $63.80 (includes direct &
  indirect costs but not travel).
\1\ Not applicable.
\2\ This amount consists of $60,150 for management and support staff and $54,980 for equipment and other costs.

    In Figure 1, Direct Staff Costs are personnel costs for the staff 
that perform direct activities (i.e., the services, such as the 
application, on-site and legal reviews, and other activities involved 
in application processing and audits) as well as activities not 
directly connected to the fees. Indirect Staff and Other Costs are 
expenses for support and management staff, equipment, and other costs 
that are involved in the operation of the program. Support and 
management staff consists of program management and secretarial staff. 
Equipment and other costs are intended to cover items such as 
computers, telephones, building space, utilities, and supplies, which 
are necessary to perform the services covered by the proposed fees. In 
general, indirect costs, by their very nature, are not readily 
identified with a specific output (in the present context, a specific 
activity) but are used in producing it. They are allocated to the 
application processing and audit activities based on direct staff 
costs. Travel Expenses shown in the figures are estimates of the costs 
we incur for travel related to the services that are covered by the 
fees. However, this amount is not included in the ECR since we charge 
for the actual staff travel expenses of the on-site visits performed by 
our program staff. In Figure 1, the travel expenses figure is presented 
only to show total program costs.
    The use of an ``equivalent average direct staff cost per hour 
rate'' (ECR) measure is a convenient method of allocating indirect 
costs to each of the services for which OSHA will charge fees. The same 
result is obtained if direct staff costs are first calculated and then 
indirect costs are allocated based on the value, i.e., dollar amount, 
of the direct staff costs, which is an approach that is consistent with 
Federal accounting standards.
    To illustrate this, assume that a direct staff member spends 10 
hours on an activity; the direct staff costs would then be calculated 
as follows:

Direct staff costs = 10 hours x $53.20/hour = $532.

    The $53.20/hour is the direct staff cost/hour amount shown in 
Figure 1. The indirect costs would be allocated by first calculating 
the ratio of indirect costs to direct staff costs, again using the

[[Page 76367]]

costs shown in Figure 1. This ratio would be as follows:

Indirect costs/direct staff costs = $115,130/$580,294 = 0.1984.

    Next, the indirect costs would be calculated based on the $532 
estimate of direct staff costs:

Indirect costs = $532 x 0.1984 = $106.

    Finally, the total costs of the activity are calculated:

Total costs = direct staff costs + indirect costs = $532 + $106 = $638.

    We derive the same amount using the ECR of $63.80, i.e., 10 hours x 
$63.80/hour = $638.

B. Modified Activity Times and Additional Activities

    In addition to updating the ECR, the Agency has updated estimates 
of the average staff time that it spends on some specific activities or 
functions of the services covered by the fees. The staff activity times 
we updated resulted in a portion of the adjustments in the proposed Fee 
Schedule. OSHA previously developed these times for each major activity 
within the main types of services, which are application processing and 
audits.
    For application processing, OSHA is increasing the average staff 
activity time in the areas of the on-site assessment and the final 
report/federal register notice activities. In the first case, the 
increase mainly reflects the time necessary for making travel 
arrangements and, in the second case, mainly reflects the separate time 
necessary for the preparation of the notice. For audits, OSHA is 
increasing the average staff activity time in the areas of the pre-site 
review and report preparation activities, each for similar reasons as 
the corresponding application activities just described. In addition, 
in both cases, we propose to charge for actual travel time (i.e., time 
in travel to and from sites), which replaces the nominal 4 hours that 
we currently include in the first day fee for assessments and audits.
    OSHA also is charging for some additional activities it performs 
during application processing and audits. These activities are for 
Additional Application Review, Supplemental Program Review, and Invoice 
Processing. Section IV of this notice further explains these activities 
and the modifications mentioned above. The proposed estimates reflect 
the Agency's experience with the NRTL Program fees over the four years 
since OSHA published the current fee schedule.

C. Tables of Activity Costs

    Figures 2, 3, 4, and 5, below, present the costs of the major 
activities for which fees are charged. We include average travel costs 
in the figures below to provide an overall cost for a particular 
activity. However, as explained above, since we charge for actual 
travel, only the non-travel costs serve as the basis for the fees later 
shown in the Proposed Fee Schedule (Table A). In deriving the fee 
amounts shown in the Table A, OSHA has generally rounded the costs 
shown in Figures 2, 3, 4, and 5, up or down, to the nearest $5 or $10 
amount.

                                  Figure 2.--Initial Application Cost Estimates
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                             Average    Average
               Major activity                                 Type of cost                    hours      cost*
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Initial Application Review..................  Office and field staff time.................         80     $5,100
Additional Review Time......................  Office staff................................         16      1,020
On-Site Assessment--first day (per site, per  Field staff time (16 hours preparation, 6            30      1,914
 assessor).                                    hours travel processing, and 8 hours at
                                               site).
                                              Field staff travel expense ($700 airfare/         (\1\)        800
                                               other + $100 per diem).
                                               Total......................................  .........      2,714
On-Site Assessment--each addnl. day** (per    Field staff time (at site)..................          8        510
 site, per assessor).
                                              Field staff travel expense (per diem only)..      (\1\)        100
                                                                                           ---------------------
                                               Total......................................  .........        610
                                                                                           ---------------------
On-Site Assessment travel time--per day (per  Field staff.................................          8        510
 site, per assessor).
Review and Evaluation (10 test standards)...  Office staff time...........................          2        128
Final Report & Federal Register notice......  Field and office staff time.................        132      8,422
Fees Invoice Processing.....................  Office staff time...........................          2       128
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Average cost for staff time = average hours x equivalent average direct staff cost/hr. ($63.80).
** Note: 2 additional days estimated if there are 2 assessors and 4 additional days estimated if there is 1
  assessor.
\1\ Not applicable.


                        Figure 3.--Expansion Application (Additional Site) Cost Estimates
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                             Average    Average
               Major activity                                 Type of cost                    hours      cost*
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Application Review (expansion for site).....  Office and field staff time.................         16     $1,021
Additional Review Time......................  Office staff................................          8        510
On-Site Assessment--first day (per site, per  Field staff time (12 hours preparation, 4            24      1,531
 assessor).                                    hours travel processing, and 8 hours at
                                               site).
                                              Field staff travel time expense ($700             (\1\)        800
                                               airfare/other + $100 per diem).
                                                                                           ---------------------
                                               Total......................................  .........      2,331
On-Site Assessment--addnl. day** (per site,   Field staff time (at site)..................          8        510
 per assessor).
                                              Field staff travel expense (per diem only)..      (\1\)        100
                                                                                           ---------------------

[[Page 76368]]

 
                                               Total......................................  .........        610
                                                                                           ---------------------
On-Site Assessment travel time--per day (per  Field staff.................................          8        510
 site, per assessor).
Review and Evaluation Fee (10 test            Office staff time...........................          2        128
 standards).
Final Report & Federal Register notice......  Field and office staff time.................         50      3,190
Fees Invoice Processing.....................  Office staff time...........................          2       128
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Average cost for staff time = average hours x equivalent average direct staff cost/hr. ($63.80).
** Note: 2 additional days estimated for 1 assessor.
\1\ Not applicable.


             Figure 4.--Renewal Or Expansion (Other Than Additional Site) Application Cost Estimates
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                             Average    Average
               Major activity                                 Type of cost                    hours      cost*
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Application Review (renewal or expansion      Office and field staff time.................          2       $128
 other than additional site).
Additional Review Time......................  Office staff................................          8        510
Renewal Application Information Review......  Office staff................................         16      1,021
On-Site Assessment--first day (expansion)     Field staff time (8 hours preparation, 4             20      1,276
 (per site, per assessor).                     hours travel processing, and 8 hours at
                                               site).
                                              Field staff travel expense ($700 airfare/         (\1\)        800
                                               other + $100 per diem).
���������������������������������������������
                                               Total......................................  .........      2,076
���������������������������������������������
On-Site Assessment--first day (renewal) (per  Field staff time (16 hours preparation, 4            28      1,787
 site, per assessor).                          hours travel processing, and 8 hours at
                                               site).
                                              Field staff travel expense ($700 airfare/         (\1\)        800
                                               other + $100 per diem).
���������������������������������������������
                                               Total......................................  .........      2,587
���������������������������������������������
On-Site Assessment--addnl. day ** (per site,  Office staff time (at site).................          8        510
 per assessor).
                                              Field staff travel expense (covers per diem       (\1\)        100
                                               only).
���������������������������������������������
                                               Total......................................        610
���������������������������������������������
On-Site Assessment travel time--per day (per  Field staff.................................          8        510
 site, per assessor).
Review and Evaluation Fee (10 test            Office staff time...........................          2        128
 standards) (expansion).
Final Report & Federal Register notice......  Office and field staff time (if there is an          50      3,190
                                               on-site assessment).
Final Report & Federal Register notice......  Office and field staff time (if there is NO          30      1,914
                                               on-site assessment).
Supplemental Program Review.................  Office and field staff time (per program              4        255
                                               requested incl. consultation and assessor's
                                               memo).
Fees Invoice Processing.....................  Office staff time...........................          2       128
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\*\ Average cost for staff time = average hours x equivalent average direct staff cost/hr. ($63.80).
\**\ Note: 2 additional days estimated for renewal assessment; no additional days for expansion assessment.
\1\ Not applicable.


                                     Figure 5.--On-Site Audit Cost Estimates
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                             Average    Average
               Major activity                                 Type of cost                    hours      cost *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On-Site Audit--first day (per site, per       Field staff time (12 hours pre-site review           24      1,531
 auditor).                                     preparation, 4 hours travel processing, and
                                               8 hours at site).
                                              Prepare report/contact NRTL plus office              18      1,148
                                               review staff time (2 days for field staff
                                               and 2 hours for office staff).
���������������������������������������������
                                               Subtotal (first day).......................  .........      2,679
���������������������������������������������
                                              Field staff travel expense ($700 airfare/         (\1\)        800
                                               other + $100 per diem).
���������������������������������������������
                                               Total......................................  .........      3,479
���������������������������������������������
On-Site Audit--addnl. day** (per site, per    Field staff time (at site)..................          8        510
 auditor).

[[Page 76369]]

 
                                              Travel expense (covers per diem only).......      (\1\)        100
���������������������������������������������
                                               Total......................................  .........        610
���������������������������������������������
On-Site Audit travel time--per day (per       Field staff.................................          8        510
 site, per auditor).
Fees Invoice Processing.....................  Office staff time...........................          2       128
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\*\ Average cost for staff time = average hours x equivalent average direct staff cost/hr. ($63.80).
\**\ Note: 1.0 additional day estimated for 1 auditor.
\1\ Not applicable.

IV. Proposed Fee Schedule and Description of Fees

    OSHA proposes the adjusted fee schedule shown below as Table A.

             Table A.--Fee Schedule: Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory Program (NRTL Program)
                                [Fee Schedule (Effective February 5, 2007)] \12\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                   Activity or
                                                  category (fee
               Type of service                     charged per                       Fee amount
                                                application unless
                                                 noted otherwise)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
APPLICATION PROCESSING.......................  Initial Application  $5,100.
                                                Review 1 8.
                                               Expansion            1,020.
                                                Application Review
                                                (per additional
                                                site) 1 8.
                                               Renewal or           130.
                                                Expansion (other)
                                                Application Review
                                                \1\.
                                               Renewal Information  1,020.
                                                Review Fee \7\.
                                               Additional Review--  1,020.
                                                Initial
                                                Application (if
                                                the application is
                                                substantially
                                                revised, submit
                                                one-half Initial
                                                Application Review
                                                fee) \7\.
                                               Additional Review--  510.
                                                Renewal or
                                                Expansion
                                                Application \7\.
                                               Assessment--Initial  8,890.
                                                Application (per
                                                site--SUBMIT WITH
                                                APPLICATION) 2 4 8.
                                               Assessment--Initial  1,910 + actual travel expenses.
                                                Application (per
                                                person, per site--
                                                first day--BILLED
                                                AFTER ASSESSMENT)
                                                2 10.
                                               Assessment--Renewal  1,790 + actual travel expenses.
                                                Application (per
                                                person, per site--
                                                first day) 3 10.
                                               Assessment--Expansi  1,530 + actual travel expenses.
                                                on Application
                                                (additional site)
                                                (per person, per
                                                site--first day)
                                                \3\.
                                               Assessment--Expansi  1,280 + actual travel expenses.
                                                on Application
                                                (other) (per
                                                person, per site--
                                                first day) \3\.
                                               Assessment--each     510 + actual travel expenses.
                                                addnl. day or each
                                                day on travel (per
                                                person, per site)
                                                2 3.
                                               Review & Evaluation  13 per standard OR $64 per standard.
                                                \5\ ($13 per
                                                standard if it is
                                                already recognized
                                                for NRTLs and
                                                requires minimal
                                                review; OR else
                                                $64 per standard).
                                               Final Report/        8,420.
                                                Register Notice--
                                                Initial
                                                Application 5 9.
                                               Final Report/        3,190.
                                                Register Notice--
                                                Renewal or
                                                Expansion
                                                Application (if
                                                OSHA performs on-
                                                site assessment) 5
                                                9.
                                               Final Report/        1,910.
                                                Register Notice--
                                                Renewal or
                                                Expansion
                                                Application (if
                                                OSHA performs NO
                                                on-site
                                                assessment) 5 9.
AUDITS.......................................  On-site Audit (per   2,680 + actual travel expenses.
                                                person, per site,
                                                first day) \6\.
                                               On-site Audit--each  510 + actual travel expenses.
                                                addnl. day or each
                                                day on travel (per
                                                person, per site)
                                                \6\.
                                               Office Audit (per    510.
                                                person, per site)
                                                \6\.
MISCELLANEOUS................................  Supplemental Travel  1,000.
                                                (per site--for
                                                sites located
                                                outside the 48
                                                contiguous States
                                                or the District of
                                                Columbia) \4\.
                                               Supplemental         260.
                                                Program Review
                                                (per program
                                                requested) \4\.
                                               Fees Invoice         130.
                                                Processing (per
                                                application or
                                                audit) \4\.
                                               Late Payment \11\..  64.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Who must pay the Application Review fees, and when must they be paid? If you are applying for initial
  recognition as an NRTL, you must pay the Initial Application Review fee and include this fee with your initial
  application. If you are an NRTL and applying for an expansion or renewal of recognition, you must pay the
  Expansion Application Review fee or Renewal Application Review fee, as appropriate, and submit this fee
  concurrently with your expansion or renewal application. See note 7 if you amend or revise your initial or
  expansion application.
\2\ What assessment fees do you submit for an initial application, and when must they be paid? If you are
  applying for initial recognition as an NRTL, you must pay $8,890 for each site for which you wish to obtain
  recognition, and you must submit this amount concurrently with your initial application. We base this amount
  on two assessors performing a three-day assessment at each site. After completing the actual assessment, we
  calculate our assessment fee based on the actual staff time and travel costs incurred in performing the
  assessment. We calculate this fee at the rate of $1,910 for the first day at the site, $510 for each
  additional day at the site, and $510 for each day in travel, plus actual travel expenses, for each assessor.
  (Note: days charged for being in travel status are those allowed under government travel rules. This note
  applies to any assessment or audit.) Actual travel expenses are determined by government per diem and other
  travel rules. We bill or refund the difference between the amount you pre-paid and the actual assessment fee.
  We reflect this difference in the final bill that we send to you at the time we publish the preliminary
  Federal Register notice announcing the application.

[[Page 76370]]

 
\3\ What assessment fees do you submit for an expansion or renewal application, and when must they be paid? If
  you are an NRTL and applying solely for an expansion or renewal of recognition, you do not submit any
  assessment fee with your application. If we need to perform an assessment for the expansion or renewal
  request, we bill you for this fee after we perform the assessment. The fee is based on the actual staff time
  and travel costs we incurred in performing the assessment. We calculate this fee at the rate of $1,790,
  $1,530, or $1,280 for the first day at the site of a renewal, expansion (site), and expansion (other)
  assessment, respectively. We also include $510 for each additional day at the site and $510 for each day in
  travel, plus actual travel expenses, for each assessor. Actual travel expenses are determined by government
  per diem and other travel rules. When more than one site of the NRTL is visited during one trip, we charge the
  $510 additional day fee, plus actual travel expenses, for each day at a site.
\4\ When do I pay the Supplemental Travel, the Supplemental Program Review, or the Fees Invoice Processing fees?
  You must include the Supplemental Travel fee when you submit an initial application for recognition and the
  site you wish to be recognized is located outside the 48 contiguous U.S. states or the District of Columbia.
  The current supplemental travel fee is $1,000. We factor in this prepayment when we bill for the actual costs
  of the assessment, as described in our note 2, above. See note 8 for possible refund of application or
  assessment fees. You must include the Supplemental Program Review fee when you apply for approval to use other
  qualified parties or facilities to perform specific activities. See Chapter 2 of the NRTL Program Directive
  for more information. We will include the Fees Invoice Processing fee in the total for each of our invoices to
  you.
\5\ When do I pay the Review and Evaluation and the Final Report/Register Notice fees? We bill an applicant or
  an NRTL for the appropriate fees at the time we publish the preliminary Federal Register notice to announce
  the application. We calculate the Review and Evaluation Fee at the rate of $13 per test standard requested for
  those standards that OSHA previously recognized for any NRTL and that require minimal review or do not
  represent a new area of testing for the NRTL. Otherwise, this fee is $64 per standard requested.
\6\ When do I pay the Audit fee? We bill the NRTL for this fee (on-site or office, as deemed necessary) after
  completion of the audit and base the fee on actual staff time and travel costs incurred in performing the
  audit. We calculate our fee at the rate of $2,680 for the first day at the site, $510 for each additional day
  at the site, and $510 for each day in travel, plus actual travel expenses for each auditor. Actual travel
  expenses are determined by government per diem and other travel rules.
\7\ When do I pay the Additional Review fee or Renewal Information Review fee? The Additional Review fees cover
  the staff time in reviewing new or modified information submitted after we have completed our preliminary
  review of an application. There is no charge for review of a ``minor'' revision, which entails modifying or
  supplementing less than approximately 10% of the documentation in the application. The Additional Review fee
  applies to revisions modifying or supplementing from 10% to 50% of that documentation. For a new application,
  the fee represents 16 hours of additional review time and for a renewal or expansion application, the fee
  represents 8 hours of additional review time. If an applicant exceeds that 50% threshold in revising its
  application, we will charge one-half the Initial Application Review fee and the full Expansion Application
  Review fee, as applicable. The Renewal Information Review fee applies when an NRTL submits updated information
  to OSHA in connection with a request for renewal of recognition.
\8\ When and how can I obtain a refund for the fees that I paid? If you withdraw before we complete our
  preliminary review of your initial application or your expansion application to include an additional site, we
  will refund half of the application fee. If you are applying for initial recognition as an NRTL, we will
  refund the pre-paid assessment fees if you withdraw your application before we have traveled to your site to
  perform the on-site assessment. For an initial application, we will also credit your account for any amount of
  the pre-paid assessment fees collected that is greater than the actual cost of the assessment. Other than
  these cases, we do not generally refund or grant credit for any other fees that are due or collected.
\9\ Will I be billed even if my application is rejected? If we reject your application, we will bill you for the
  fees pertaining to tasks that we have performed that are not covered by the fees you have submitted. For
  example, if we perform an assessment for an expansion application but deny the expansion, we will bill you for
  the assessment fee. Similarly, we will bill you for the Final Report and Federal Register fee if we also wrote
  the report and published the notice. See note 11 for the consequences of non-payment.
\10\ What rate does OSHA use to charge for staff time? OSHA has estimated an equivalent staff cost per hour that
  it uses for determining the fees that are shown in the Fee Schedule. This hourly rate takes into account the
  costs for salary, fringe benefits, equipment, supervision and support for each ``direct staff'' member, that
  is, the staff that perform the main activities identified in the Fee Schedule. The rate is an average of these
  amounts for each of these direct staff members. The current estimated equivalent staff costs per hour =
  $63.80.
\11\ What happens if I do not pay the fees that I am billed? As explained above, if you are an applicant, we
  will send you a final bill (for any assessment and for the Review and Evaluation and Final Report/Register
  Notice fees) at the time we publish the preliminary Federal Register notice. If you do not pay the bill by the
  due date, we will assess the Late Payment fee shown in the Fee Schedule. This late payment fee represents one
  hour of staff time at the equivalent staff cost per hour (see note 10). If we do not receive payment within 60
  days of the bill date, we will cancel your application. As also explained above, if you are an NRTL, we will
  generally send you a bill for the audit fee after completion of the audit. If you do not pay the fee by the
  due date, we will assess the Late Payment Fee shown in the Fee Schedule. If we do not receive payment within
  60 days of the bill date, we will publish a Federal Register notice stating our intent to revoke recognition.
  However, please note that in either case, you may be subject to collection procedures under U.S. (Federal)
  law.
\12\ How do I know whether this is the most Current Fee Schedule? You should contact OSHA's NRTL Program (202-
  693-2110) or visit the program's Web site to determine the effective date of the most current Fee Schedule.
  Access the site by selecting ``N'' in the Subject Index at https://www.osha.gov. Any application review fees
  are those in effect on the date you submit your application. Other application processing fees are those in
  effect when the activity covered by the fee is performed. Audit fees are those in effect on the date we begin
  our audit.

    In evaluating the adjustments to the fee schedule, OSHA has 
considered the following: (1) Actual expenditures for the 2005 fiscal 
year, and (2) expected costs for the 2006 fiscal year. Both increases 
and decreases are reflected in these adjustments.
    The following is a description of the tasks and functions currently 
covered by each type of fee category, e.g., application fees, and the 
basis used to charge each fee.
    Application Fees: This fee reflects the technical work performed by 
office and field staff in reviewing application documents to determine 
whether an applicant submitted complete and adequate information. The 
application review does not include a determination on the test 
standards requested, which is reflected in the Review and Evaluation 
fee. Application fees are based upon average costs per type of 
application. OSHA uses an average cost because the amount of time spent 
on the application review does not vary greatly by type of application. 
This is based on the premise that the number and type of documents 
submitted will generally be the same for a given type of application. 
Experience has shown that, indeed, most applicants do follow the 
application guide that OSHA provides. Two new fees are being added in 
this area, which are explained in the Section VI, below.
    Assessment Fees: This fee is different for the initial renewal 
expansion (site) and expansion (other) applications. It is based on the 
number of days for staff preparatory and on-site work and related 
travel. Six types of fees are shown, and five are charged per site and 
per person. The four fees for the first day reflect time for office 
preparation and 8 hours at the applicant's facility. There is one fee 
covering either additional days at the facility and/or days in travel. 
Additional days or days in travel are assessed for either a half or a 
full day. A supplemental travel amount is assessed for travel outside 
the contiguous 48 states or the District of Columbia. For initial 
applications, an amount to cover the assessment must be submitted ``up-
front'' with the application. In addition to the first day and 
additional day amounts, the applicant or NRTL must pay actual travel 
expenses, based on government per diem and travel rules. For initial 
applications, any difference between actual travel expenses and the up-
front

[[Page 76371]]

travel amount is reflected in the final bill or refund sent to the 
applicant.
    Similar to the application fee, the office preparation time 
generally involves the same types of activities. Actual time at the 
facility may vary, but the staff devote at least a full day to 
performing the on-site work. The fee for the additional day reflects 
time spent at the facility and the actual travel expenses for that day.
    Review and Evaluation Fee: This fee is charged per test standard 
(which is part of an applicant's proposed scope of recognition). The 
fee reflects the fact that staff time spent on the office review of an 
application varies based on the number of test standards requested by 
the applicant. In general, the fee is based on the estimated time 
necessary to review test standards to determine whether each one is 
``appropriate,'' as defined in 29 CFR 1910.7, and covers equipment for 
which OSHA mandates certification by an NRTL. The fee also covers time 
to determine the current designation and status (i.e., active or 
withdrawn) of a test standard by reviewing current directories of the 
applicable test standard organization. Furthermore, it includes time 
spent discussing the results of the application review with the 
applicant. The actual time spent will vary depending on whether an 
applicant requests test standards that have previously been approved 
for other NRTLs. When the review is minimal, these activities take 
approximately 2 hours for 10 standards. This translates to $13 per 
standard. When the review is more substantial, the estimated average 
review time per standard is one hour for each standard, which 
translates to $64 per standard. Substantial review will occur when the 
standard has not been previously recognized for any NRTL or when the 
NRTL is proposing to conduct testing in a ``new'' area, i.e., for a 
type of product not similar to any currently included under its scope 
of recognition.
    Final Report/Register Notice Fees: Each of these fees are charged 
per application. The fee reflects the staff time required to prepare 
the report of the on-site review of an applicant's or an NRTL's 
facility, which includes contacting the applicant or NRTL to discuss 
issues or items in its response to our findings during our assessment. 
The fee also reflects the time spent making the final evaluation of an 
application, preparing the required Federal Register notices, and 
responding to comments received in response to the preliminary finding 
notice. These fees are based on average costs per type of application, 
since the type and content of documents prepared are generally the same 
for each type of applicant. There is a separate fee when OSHA performs 
no on-site assessment. In these cases, the NRTL Program staff perform 
an office assessment and prepare a memo to recommend the expansion or 
renewal.
    Audit (Post-Recognition Review) Fees: These fees reflect the time 
for office preparation, time at the facility and travel, and time to 
prepare the audit report of the on-site audit. A separate fee is shown 
for an office audit conducted in lieu of an actual visit. Each fee is 
per site and does not generally vary for the same reasons described for 
the assessment fee and because the audit is generally limited to 
between one and two days. As previously described, the audit fee 
includes amounts for travel, and, similar to assessments, OSHA will 
bill the NRTL for actual travel expenses.
    Miscellaneous Fees: Four different fees are shown under this 
category. OSHA can charge a Late Payment fee if an invoice is not paid 
by the due date. This amount represents 1 hour of staff time for 
contacting the NRTL and preparing a late invoice and cover letter. The 
Supplemental Travel fee applies per site for an initial application if 
the site to be recognized is located outside the 48 contiguous U.S. 
states or the District of Columbia. The fee is $1,000. We are adding 
two new miscellaneous fees, which are explained in Section VI, below.

VI. Major Changes to the Fee Schedule

    The following table shows the major adjustments (i.e., increases or 
decreases of $100 or more) that we propose to make to the fee schedule 
in Table A as compared to the current fee schedule.\2\ Following the 
table, we explain each of the major adjustments.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ Our current fee schedule is available on the OSHA Web site.

                                                       Table of Major Adjustments to Fee Schedule
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                              Comment on change in fee
       Description of activity or category                    Current fee amount                  Proposed fee amount                  amount
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Initial Application Review.......................  $4,400.................................  $5,100........................  None.
Expansion Application Review.....................  850....................................  1,020.........................  None.
Additional Review--Initial Application...........  None...................................  1,020.........................  New fee.
Renewal Application Information Review...........  None...................................  1,020.........................  New fee.
Additional Review--Renewal or Expansion            None...................................  510...........................  New fee.
 Application.
Assessment--Initial Application (SUBMIT WITH       6,500..................................  8,890.........................  None.
 APPLICATION).
Assessment--Initial Application (per person, per   1,500..................................  1,910.........................  None.
 site--first day--BILLED AFTER ASSESSMENT).
Assessment--Renewal Application (per person, per   1,100..................................  1,790.........................  Currently combined with
 site--first day).                                                                                                           expansion assessment fee.
Assessment--Expansion (additional site) (per       1,100..................................  1,530.........................  Currently combined with
 person, per site--first day).                                                                                               renewal assessment fee.
Assessment--Expansion (other) (per person, per     1,100..................................  1,280.........................  Currently combined with
 site--first day).                                                                                                           renewal assessment fee.
Assessment--each addnl. day OR travel time--each   440....................................  510...........................  Only 4 hours of travel time
 day (per person, per site).                                                                                                 currently charged through
                                                                                                                             the first day fee for
                                                                                                                             assessments.
Review & Evaluation..............................  10 per ten standards...................  13 per standard...............  Correction of undercharge
                                                                                                                             per ten standards: $130 +
                                                                                                                             $10 = $120.
Final Report/Register Notice--Initial Application  6,550..................................  8,420.........................  None.

[[Page 76372]]

 
Final Report/Register Notice--Renewal or           2,600..................................  3,190.........................  None.
 Expansion Application (if OSHA performs on-site
 assessment).
Final Report/Register Notice--Renewal or           1,500..................................  1,910.........................  None.
 Expansion Application (if OSHA performs NO on-
 site assessment).
On-site Audit (first day)........................  1,950..................................  2,680.........................  None.
Supplemental Program Review......................  None...................................  260...........................  New fee
Fees Invoice Processing..........................  None...................................  130...........................  New fee.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Application and Assessment. The increase in the application review 
fees, the assessment-related fees, and the final report/register notice 
fees resulted primarily from the increase in the hourly cost charged 
for the direct staff time. The audit-related fees also increased in 
part for the same reason but also because we added 4 hours for the pre-
site review of each audit and 14 hours for the preparation of the audit 
report. These extra hours are reflected in Figure 5. In our current fee 
schedule, we have a fee for Assessment--Expansion or Renewal 
Application (first day). Under the proposed schedule, we would replace 
this with a separate assessment fee for renewals and a separate fee for 
each type of expansion.
    Travel. We changed our treatment of ``travel time,'' which is time 
in travel to and from a site, as opposed to audit or assessment time at 
a site. Travel time is determined following Government travel 
regulations. Currently, the fee schedule includes only 4 hours of 
travel time for an entire trip, which is reflected in the first day fee 
for assessments and audits. As explained in the notes to the fee 
schedule, we have removed the 4-hour travel time from these first day 
fees and propose to charge for actual travel time at the rate for an 
additional day, which under the proposed schedule would be $510. This 
rate would be charged based on either a half-day or a full day. We are 
charging for this fee separately, as opposed to including it in the 
first day flat fee, in order to more accurately recoup our travel 
costs. For example, if a trip for an audit lasts a total of three days, 
with two of those days spent at the site, we currently charge the lab 
for 2.5 workdays (20 hours). Under the proposed schedule, we would 
charge for 3 workdays (24 hours). This charge is most important in the 
case of foreign travel where travel time may be 2 or 3 days in total. 
Of course, the removal of the 4 hours of travel time from the first day 
of an assessment or of an audit reduces those fees.
    Additional Application Review. The new Additional Review fees cover 
the staff time in reviewing new or modified information submitted for 
an application. For example, an applicant may need to revise or amend 
an initial or expansion application if we find that there are ``major'' 
deficiencies with it. There is no charge for review of a ``minor'' 
revision, which as Note 7 to the Fee Schedule describes, entails 
modifying or supplementing less than approximately 10% of the 
documentation in the application. The Additional Review fee applies to 
revisions modifying or supplementing from 10% to 50% of that 
documentation. For a new application, the fee represents 16 hours of 
additional review time and for a renewal or expansion application, the 
fee represents 8 hours of additional review time. If an applicant 
exceeds that 50% threshold in revising its application, we will charge 
one-half the Initial Application Review fee and the full Expansion 
Application Review fee, as applicable. The Renewal Information Review 
fee applies when an NRTL submits updated information to OSHA in 
connection with a request for renewal of recognition. For example, such 
information may include revised procedures and manuals for various 
parts of its testing and certification activities.
    Supplemental Program Review and Fees Invoice Processing. There are 
two more new fees, which would recoup costs for tasks we now perform in 
application processing and/or audits, but for which we do not charge. 
The first fee, Supplemental Program Review, covers the time to review 
requests by NRTLs to use a supplemental program, under which NRTLs can 
use other qualified parties to perform tasks necessary for product 
testing and certification. Currently, there are eight of these 
programs, and NRTLs may apply to use one or more of them. The use of 
the term ``program'' in this context may be a bit misleading. It is not 
separate from, but just a segment within, the NRTL Program and defines 
the category or type of activity or service that th