Steel Erection Standard Challenged,
OSHA Delays Effective Date to January 2002

As a variety of industry groups voiced concerns, filed appeals, and pondered litigation in response to various provisions in the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration's new "Safety Standards for Steel Erection" (Subpart R of 29 CFR, Part 1926), the agency pushed the effective date back to Jan. 18, 2002, it announced July 13th. The rule was supposed to have gone into effect on July 18th of this year.

OSHA said the delay was prompted by concerns expressed by some industry groups and employers over their ability to comply with the new standards by the proposed mid-July effective date. Specifically, questions have been asked about whether the final rule would be applied to projects in various stages of completion at the time of the effective date, if the standard would apply to projects designed before the original July 18th effective date, or to components fabricated before that date. Objections have also been raised about OSHA having strayed beyond its authority because some of the new standard's provisions impact the manufacturing process.

"This is the first OSHA safety standard developed under the negotiated rulemaking process and it's important that we continue to work cooperatively in order to protect the safety of America's ironworkers," Acting OSHA Administrator R. Davis Layne said in the July 13th news release www.osha.gov/media/oshnews/july01/national-20010713.html. He said the delay would give OSHA more time for outreach activities and would give industry "sufficient time to adjust to the new requirements." The delay also gives employers time to make changes necessary to avoid re-fabrication and consequent delays to projects that would affect all trades involved. And, the delayed effective date should allow time for training.

In comments published July 17th in the Federal Register www.osha-slc.gov/FedReg_osha_data/FED20010717.html, OSHA acknowledged there are "two situations that could cause significant confusion under the new standard: (1) Components used in steel erection projects that were designed before the final rule was published (Jan. 18, 2001), and for which a building permit was obtained prior to that date; and (2) components used in steel erection projects in which the steel erection work has begun before the final rule becomes effective (originally July 18, 2001, now to be Jan. 18, 2002). In announcing the delay, OSHA said the new component standard would not be applied to projects for which a building permit had been obtained before the rule was published on Jan. 18th.

OSHA officials also noted "it would be difficult, costly and confusing to begin to comply with the new component requirements to a project in which steel erection work has stared under the previous steel erection standard." Because of that difficulty, and because the effective date was incorrectly published as Sept. 16, 2001, in the department's "Semi-Annual Regulatory Agenda" this past May, OSHA agreed that component requirements of the new rule would not be applied to projects if the steel erection was begun on or before Sept. 16, 2001.

Federal officials are facing several other issues raised by various industry groups. The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) petitioned the U.S. Department of Labor on July 25, saying the new steel erection standard "…could have a detrimental impact on worker safety, productivity and the cost of doing business." ARTBA www.artba.org/news/press_releases/2001/07-27-01.htm wants to exempt bridge contractors from provisions in the new standard that require shear connectors, bolts, or rods welded to the top of a steel beam to be attached in the field, rather than during fabrication in the shop. ARTBA feels the new requirements jeopardize worker safety in part because they would keep workers at elevated levels longer.

This is only the most recent in a crop of complaints about the new rule. According to the society for Protective Coatings www.sspc.org/site/regnews/osharegs/slipincourt.html, a coalition of steel and metal manufacturers filed a petition for review of the new rule last March in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (Steel Coalition v. Secretary of Labor, D.C. Cir., No. 01-1128, 3/1/5/01). The group includes the Society for Protective Coatings, the American Iron and Steel Institute, the Metal Building Manufacturers Association, the Metal Construction Association, the Steel Deck Institute, the National Coil Coaters Association, and the Steel Joist Institute. The petition objects to the new requirements for slip resistance standard and test methods of skeletal structural steel. The SSPC reports that the Resilient Floor Covering Institute also filed a petition in March for review (Resilient Floor Covering Institute v. OSHA, 4th Cir.,No. 01-1358, 3/15/01, objecting that the test methods designated by the standard haven't been validated by scientific organization (Resilient Floor Covering Institute v. OSHA, 4th Cir.,No. 01-1358, 3/15/01).

The Steel Joist Institute www.steeljoist.org/whatsnew/standard.asp also appealed last March (Steel Joist Institute v. OSHA, 4th Cir., No. 01-1356, 3/15/01) seeking removal of such provisions that would regulate manufacturers and suppliers, calling such action a "clear violation of OSHA's statutory authority."

Key Provisions

When the new standard was published this past January, it held the promise of preventing up to 30 fatalities and 1,142 injuries each year, and save employers nearly $40 million a year. It was the first OSHA safety standard developed under the Negotiated Rulemaking Act of 1990. The standard was developed by members of the Steel Erection Negotiated Rulemaking Advisory Committee (SENRAC), a collaboration of industry and union groups. It was created to enhance worker safety on such identified hazards as working under loads, hoisting, landing ad placing decking, column stability, double connections, and falls, among others.

SENRAC included representatives of the International Association of Bridge, Structural & Ornamental Iron Workers, United Steelworkers of America, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the International Union of Operating Engineers, AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department, National Erectors Association, the Associated General Contractors of America, and the Associated Builders and Contractors.

Key provisions of the revised steel erection rule http://www.osha-slc.gov/steelerection/index.html include:

Site Layout and Construction Sequence

• Requires certification of proper curing of concrete in footings, piers, etc. for steel columns
• Requires controlling contractor to provide erector with a safe site layout including pre-planning routes for hoisting loads.