Dec 10th is Deadline to Respond To Draft
OSHA Compliance Directive on Steel Erection

Nov. 21 – December 10, 2001, is the deadline to respond to a draft of the federal Occupational Safety & Health Administration's compliance directive for steel erection. The draft directive includes an overview of the new steel erection standard scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 18, 2002. Also included are inspection tips for OSHA compliance officers, compliance policy information, and definitions from the text of the standard. The draft directive can be accessed on the OSHA Web site at http://www.osha-slc.gov/doc/steelerection/steelerection-memo.html. This is the first time OSHA has published a directive on its Web site in draft form, giving the public an opportunity to send in "informal suggestions" via e-mail to messagestodoc@osha.gov. OSHA officials note that while suggestions and comments are "welcomed and appreciated, this is not part of the rulemaking process; the Agency will not be issuing an analysis on the suggestions received." Because the directive is in draft form, it is not an official OSHA policy document, officials said.