81 FR 24133 - QPS Evaluation Services Inc.: Grant of Renewal and Expansion of Recognition

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 79 (April 25, 2016)

This notice announces the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's final decision granting renewal and expansion of recognition of QPS Evaluation Services Inc., as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL).

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 79 (Monday, April 25, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24133-24135]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-09488]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. OSHA-2010-0046]


QPS Evaluation Services Inc.: Grant of Renewal and Expansion of 
Recognition

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration's final decision granting renewal and expansion of 
recognition of QPS Evaluation Services Inc., as a Nationally Recognized 
Testing Laboratory (NRTL).

DATES: The renewal and expansion of recognition become effective on 
April 25, 2016.

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, 200 Constitution Avenue 
NW., Room N-3647, Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-1999; 
email: [email protected].
    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, 200 
Constitution Avenue NW., Room N-3655, Washington, DC 20210; telephone: 
(202) 693-2110; email: [email protected]. OSHA's Web page includes 
information about the NRTL Program (see http://

[[Page 24134]]

www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/index.html).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    OSHA recognition of an NRTL signifies that the organization meets 
the requirements specified by 29 CFR 1910.7. Recognition is an 
acknowledgment that the organization can perform independent safety 
testing and certification of the specific products covered within its 
scope of recognition and is not a delegation or grant of government 
authority. Each NRTL's scope of recognition includes (1) the type of 
products the NRTL may test, with each type specified by its 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. As 
a result of recognition, employers may use products properly approved 
by the NRTL to meet OSHA standards that require testing and 
certification. OSHA maintains an informational Web page for each NRTL 
at http://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/index.html that details its scope 
of recognition.
    OSHA processes applications submitted by an NRTL for renewal and 
expansion of recognition following requirements in Appendix A to 29 CFR 
1910.7. OSHA conducts renewals in accordance with the procedures in 29 
CFR 1910.7, Appendix A, Section II.C. OSHA processes applications for 
modifying the scope of recognition in accordance with 29 CFR 1910.7, 
Appendix A, Section II.B. An NRTL may submit an application to modify 
its scope of recognition at any time within its recognition period. For 
renewal, an NRTL must submit a renewal request to OSHA between nine 
months and one year before the expiration date of its current 
recognition. A renewal request includes an application for renewal and 
any additional information demonstrating an NRTL's continued compliance 
with the terms of its recognition and 29 CFR 1910.7. If OSHA has not 
conducted an on-site assessment of the NRTL headquarters and any key 
sites within the past 18 to 24 months, it will schedule the necessary 
on-site assessment prior to the expiration date of the NRTL's 
recognition.
    Upon review of the submitted material and, as necessary, the 
successful completion of the on-site assessment, OSHA announces its 
preliminary decision to grant or deny renewal and expansion of an 
NRTL's scope of recognition in the Federal Register and solicits 
comments from the public. OSHA then publishes a final Federal Register 
notice responding to any comments and announcing its final decision on 
the renewal of the NRTL's recognition, as well as whether to expand the 
NRTL's scope of recognition.

II. General Background on the Application for Renewal

    QPS Evaluation Services Inc. (QPS), initially received OSHA 
recognition as an NRTL on March 2, 2011 (76 FR 11518) for a five-year 
period expiring on March 2, 2016. QPS submitted a timely request for 
renewal, dated April 21, 2015 (OSHA-2010-0046-0007), and retained its 
recognition pending OSHA's final decision in this renewal process. The 
current address of QPS facilities recognized by OSHA and included as 
part of the renewal request is: QPS Evaluation Services Inc., 81 
Kelfield Street, Unit 8, Toronto, Ontario M9W 5A3, Canada.
    OSHA evaluated QPS's application for renewal and made a preliminary 
determination that QPS can continue to meet the requirements prescribed 
by 29 CFR 1910.7 for recognition. OSHA conducted an on-site assessment 
of QPS facilities on July 16-17, 2015 (Toronto, Canada) and found 
nonconformances with the requirements of 29 CFR 1910.7. QPS addressed 
these issues sufficiently to meet the applicable NRTL requirements.

III. General Information on the Applications for Expansion of 
Recognition

    QPS submitted applications, dated July 16, 2014, and June 9, 2015 
(OSHA-2010-0046-0004), to expand its recognition to include a total of 
seven additional test standards. OSHA staff performed a comparability 
analysis and reviewed other pertinent information. OSHA performed an 
on-site review in relation to these applications (as well as the 
application for renewal) on July 16-17, 2015.
    OSHA published the preliminary notice announcing QPS's renewal 
request and scope expansion applications in the Federal Register on 
November 27, 2015 (80 FR 74144). The Agency requested comments by 
December 14, 2015, but received no comments in response to this notice. 
OSHA now is proceeding with this final notice to grant QPS's request 
for renewal and expansion of recognition.
    To obtain or review copies of all public documents pertaining to 
the QPS's applications, go to www.regulations.gov or contact the Docket 
Office, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department 
of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Room N-2625, Washington, DC 
20210. Docket No. OSHA-2010-0046 contains all materials in the record 
concerning QPS's recognition.

IV. Final Decision and Order

    OSHA staff examined QPS's renewal and expansion applications, its 
capability to meet the requirements of the test standards, and other 
pertinent information. Based on its review of this evidence, OSHA finds 
that QPS meets the requirements of 29 CFR 1910.7 for renewal and 
expansion of its recognition, subject to the specified limitations and 
conditions listed below. OSHA, therefore, is proceeding with this final 
notice to grant QPS's renewal and scope of recognition requests. OSHA 
limits the expansion of QPS's recognition to testing and certification 
of products for demonstration of conformance to the test standards 
listed in Table 1 below.

 Table 1--List of Appropriate Test Standards for Inclusion in QPS's NRTL
                          Scope of Recognition
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           Test standard                     Test standard title
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UL 48.............................  Standard for Electric Signs.
UL 8750...........................  Standard for Light Emitting Diode
                                     (LED) Equipment for Use in Lighting
                                     Products.
UL 73.............................  Standard for Motor-Operated
                                     Appliances.
UL 1310...........................  Standard for Class 2 Power Units.
UL 1598...........................  Luminaries.
UL 1741...........................  Standard for Inverters, Converters,
                                     Controllers and Interconnection
                                     System Equipment for Use with
                                     Distributed Energy Resources.
ANSI/ISA 12.12.01.................  Nonincendive Electrical Equipment
                                     for Use in Class I and II, Division
                                     2 and Class III, Divisions 1 and 2
                                     Hazardous (Classified) Locations.
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[[Page 24135]]

    OSHA's recognition of any NRTL for a particular test standard is 
limited to equipment or materials for which OSHA standards require 
third-party testing and certification before using them in the 
workplace. Consequently, if a test standard also covers any products 
for which OSHA does not require such testing and certification, an 
NRTL's scope of recognition does not include these products.
    The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) may approve the 
test standards listed above as American National Standards. However, 
for convenience, we may use the designation of the standards-developing 
organization for the standard as opposed to the ANSI designation. Under 
the NRTL Program's policy (see OSHA Instruction CPL 1-0.3, Appendix C, 
paragraph XIV), any NRTL recognized for a particular test standard may 
use either the proprietary version of the test standard or the ANSI 
version of that standard. Contact ANSI to determine whether a test 
standard is currently ANSI-approved.
    OSHA limits the renewal of QPS's recognition to include the terms 
and conditions of QPS's scope of recognition, inclusive of the 
expansion of scope granted in this notice. The scope of recognition for 
QPS is available in the Federal Register notice dated March 2, 2011 (79 
FR 11518) or on OSHA's Web site at https://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/qps.html. This renewal extends QPS's recognition for a period of five 
years from April 25, 2016.

Conditions

    In addition to those conditions already required by 29 CFR 1910.7, 
QPS also must abide by the following conditions of recognition:
    1. QPS must inform OSHA as soon as possible, in writing, of any 
change of ownership, facilities, or key personnel, and of any major 
change in its operations as an NRTL, and provide details of the 
change(s);
    2. QPS must meet all the terms of its recognition and comply with 
all OSHA policies pertaining to this recognition; and
    3. QPS must continue to meet the requirements for recognition, 
including all previously published conditions on QPS's scope of 
recognition, in all areas for which it has recognition.

Authority and Signature

    David Michaels, Ph.D., MPH, Assistant Secretary of Labor for 
Occupational Safety and Health, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20210, 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, January 
25, 2012), and 29 CFR 1910.7.

    Signed at Washington, DC, on April 19, 2016.
David Michaels,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2016-09488 Filed 4-22-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-26-P