DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. NRTL-1-93]

Wyle Laboratories; Recognition as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Notice of Recognition as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory.

SUMMARY: This notice announces the Agency's final decision on the application of Wyle Laboratories for recognition as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) under 29 CFR 1910.7.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Office of Variance Determination, NRTL Recognition Program, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room N3653, Washington, DC 20210.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Notice of Final Decision

Notice is hereby given that Wyle Laboratories, which made application pursuant to 29 CFR 1910.7, has been recognized as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory for the equipment or material listed below.

The address of the laboratory covered by this application is: Wyle Laboratories, 7800 Governors Drive, P.O. Box 077777, Huntsville, Alabama 35807.

Background

Wyle Laboratories (WL), a publicly-held corporation, was founded in 1949 in El Segundo, California, as an independent test laboratory to support the aerospace industry. In 1959, Wyle expanded to a new location in Norco, California and created the Huntsville facility in 1962 to support the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the establishment of the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama, with testing, engineering, and research capabilities. Of the three major operations at the Huntsville facility, the one of interest to the NRTL Accreditation program is the Test Operations Division, which includes the Product Safety Department. The Product Safety Testing and Certification Department of the Test Operations Division is responsible for the testing, certification, and factory follow-up inspections of the products.

Wyle Laboratories applied to OSHA for recognition as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory in April 1992. An on-site evaluation was conducted from November 2-6, 1992, and the results discussed with the applicant who responded [Ex. 3A(2)] with appropriate actions and clarifications to recommendations made as a result of the survey [Ex. 3A(1)]. These actions were accomplished prior to the preparation of the final report. The final on-site review report (Ex. 3A) consisting of the on-site evaluation of WL's testing facilities and administrative and technical practices, and the corrective actions taken by WL in response to these evaluations, and the OSHA staff recommendation, were subsequently forwarded to the Assistant Secretary for a preliminary finding on the application. A notice of WL's application together with a positive preliminary finding was published in the Federal Register on January 6, 1994 (59 FR 783-785). There were eight responses, all of a positive nature, to this Federal Register notice of the WL application and preliminary finding (Docket No. NRTL-1-93).

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has evaluated the entire record in relation to the regulation set out in 29 CFR 1910.7 and makes the following findings:

Capability

Section 1910.7(b)(1) states that for each specified item of equipment or material to be listed, labeled or accepted, the laboratory must have the capability (including proper testing equpment and facilities, trained staff, written testing procedures, and calibration and quality control programs) to perform appropriate testing.

The on-site review report indicates that WL does have testing equipment and facilities appropriate for the areas of recognition it seeks. The laboratory has available all the general test equipment required to perform the testing required by the particular standards for which accreditation is sought. If any unique pieces of additional equipment are necessary, WL will obtain them as required.

WL's laboratory has adequate floor space for testing and evaluation and an adequate number of technical and professional personnel to accomplish the services required for the present workload in the areas of recognition it seeks. Environmental conditions in the laboratory are adequately controlled for the type of testing performed in the laboratory.

OSHA has determined that Wyle Laboratories has appropriate written test procedures, and calibration and quality control programs to enable it to adequately perform appropriate testing.

Creditable Reports/Complaint Handling

Section 1910.7(b)(4) provides that an OSHA recognized NRTL must maintain effective procedures for producing creditable findings and reports that are objective and without bias. The laboratory, in order to be recognized, must also maintain effective procedures for handling complaints under a fair and reasonable system. Wyle Laboratories meets these criteria.

WL's application as well as the on-site review report indicate that WL does maintain effective procedures for producing creditable findings and reports that are objective. The laboratory maintains a system for identifying product samples submitted or testing to ensure that there is no confusion regarding the identity of the samples or the results of the measurement.

Wyle Laboratories' Standard Operating Procedure documents the investigation and testing for product safety investigations. These standard operating procedures specify the records that are to be maintained for the investigation, list the general steps of the investigation in chronological order, specify the personnel responsible for conducting each stage of the investigation, and require the investigators to verify that the latest edition of the standards are used.

Wyle Laboratories has a written Appeals Procedure which provides an unbiased review of questions or protests regarding the results or process of Wyle Laboratories' Product Safety Certification Program by a client or any interested third party.

Type of Testing

The standard contemplates that testing done by NRTLs fall into one of two categories: testing to determine conformance with appropriate test standards, or experimental testing where there might not be one specific test standard covering the new product or material. WL has applied for recognition in the first category.

Follow-Up Procedures

Section 1910.7(b)(2) requires that the NRTL provide certain follow-up procedures, to the extent necessary, for the particular equiment or material to be listed, labeled, or accepted. These include implementation of control procedures for identifying the listed or labeled equipment or materials, inspecting the production run at factories to assure conformance with test standards, and conducting field inspections to monitor and assure the proper use of the label.

Wyle Laboratories performs inspections of factory production runs to assure conformance with the appropriate product safety standard and WL' Certification Report. The adequacy of the manufacturer's Quality Control Program will be reviewed on the initial inspection.

WL's Follow-Up Services Agreement requires that it will have access, unannounced and unrestricted, to all facilities where products may be fabricated, processed, or stored. Such inspections will be conducted at approximately three-month intervals from the date of the initial inspection, (four times per year), depending upon production schedules. The inspection is to assure that the product on the production line is identical to the product tested and approved for labeling.

The procedure states that unresolved discrepancies found during the follow-up inspections could result in forfeiture of the right to apply the label, removal of the already affixed labels, and the recall of products sold with the label. WL will retain the right to notify vendors, authorities, potential users, and others of the improper, or unauthorized, use of its mark.

WL will conduct field inspections to monitor and assure the proper use of its certification mark after the products are delivered.

Independence

Section 1910.7(b)(3) requires that an NRTL be completely independent of employers subject to the tested equipment requiremets and of any manufacturer or vendors of equipment or materials being tested. The applicant stated in it application that it is in complete compliance with this requirement.

OSHA believes, based upon an examination of the application with particular reference to the statements in Exhibit 2A(1), Section 3, pages 12 and 13, and the response (Ex. 4) to questions raised by the Office of the Solicitor, that Wyle Laboratories is independent within the meaning of section 1910.7(b)(3).

Test Standards

Section 1910.7 requires that an NRTL use "appropriate test standards", which are defined, in part, to include any standard that is currently designated as an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) safety designated product standard or an American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) test standard used for evaluation of products or materials. As to the non-ANSI UL test standards for which WL has applied to test products to, OSHA previously had examined the status of the Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) Standards for Safety and, in particular, the method of their development, revision and implementation, and had determined that they are appropriate test standards under the criteria described in 29 CFR 1910.7(c)(1), (2), and (3). That is, these standards specify the safety requirements for specific equipment or classes of equipment and are recognized in the United States as safety standards providing adequate levels of safety; they are compatible and remain current with periodic revisions of applicable national codes and installation standards; and they ae developed by a standards developing organization under a method providing for input and consideration of views of industry groups, experts, users consumers, governmental authorities, and others having broad experience in the safety fields involved.

Final Decision and Order

Based upon a preponderance of the evidence resulting from an examination of the complete application, the supporting documentation, and the OSHA staff finding including the on-site report, OSHA finds that Wyle Laboratories has met the requirements of 29 CFR 1910.7 to be recognized by OSHA as a Nationally Recognzed Testing Labortory to test and certify certain equipment or materials.

Pursuant to the authority in 29 CFR 1910.7, Wyle Laboratories is hereby recognized as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory subject to the conditions listed below. This recognition is limited to equipment or materials which, under 29 CFR Part 1910 require testing, listing, labeling, approval, acceptance, or certification, by a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory. This recognition is limited to the use of the following test standards for the testing and certification of equipment or materials included within the scope of these standards.

WL has stated that all the standards in these categories are used to test equipment or materials which may be used in environments under OSHA's jurisdiction. These standards ar all considered appropriate test standards under 29 CFR 1910.7(c):

ANSI/UL 153 -- Portable Electric Lamps
ANSI/U187 -- X-Ray Equipment
ANSI/UL 465 -- Central Cooling Air Conditioners
ANSI/UL 484 -- Room Air Conditioners
ANSI/UL 489 -- Molded-Case Circuit Breakers an Circuit-Breaker Enclosures
ANSI/UL 499 -- Electric Heating Appliances
ANSI/UL 506 -- Specialty Transformers
ANSI/U508 -- Industrial Control Equipment UL 544 -- Electric Medical and Dental Equipment
ANSI/UL 698 -- Industrial Control Equipment for Use in Hazardous (lassified) Locations
ANSI/UL 1012 -- Power Supplies
ANSI/UL 1025 -- Electric Air Heaters
ANSI/UL 1069 -- Hospital Signaling and Nurse Call Equipment
ANSI/UL 1087 -- Molded-Case Switches
ANSI/UL 1236 -- Electric Battery Chargers UL 1244 -- Electrical and Electronic Measuring and Testing Equipment
ANSI/UL 1262 -- Laboratory Equipment
ANSI/UL 1310 -- Direct Plug-In Transformer Units
ANSI/UL 1411 -- Transformers and Motor Transformer for Use in Audio-, Radio-, and Television-Type Appliances
ANSI/UL 1459 -- Telephone Equipment
ANSI/UL 1570 -- Fluorescent Lighting FixturesASI/UL 1571 -- Incandescent Lighting Fixtures
ANSI/UL 1585 -- Class 2 and Class 3 Transformers
ANSI/UL 1778 -- Uninterruptible Power Supply UL 1863 -- Cmmunication Circuit Accessories
ANSI/UL 1950 -- Information Technology Equipment Including Electrical Business Equipment

Wyle Laboratories must also abide by the following conditions of its recognition, in addition to those already required by 29 CFR 1910.7:

This recognition does not apply to any aspect of any program which is available only to qualified manufacturers and is based upon the NRTL's evaluation and accreditation of the manfacturer's quality assurance program;

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration shall be allowed access to WL's facilities and records for purposes of ascertaining continuing compliance with the terms of its recognition and to investigate as OSHA deems necessary;

If WL has reason to doubt the efficacy of any test standard it is using under this program, it shall promptly inform the organization that developed the test standard of this fact and provide that organization with appropriate relevant information upon which its concerns are based;

WL shall not engage in or permit others to engage in any misrepresentation of the scope or conditions of its recognition. As part of this condition, WL agrees that it will allow no representation that it is either a recognized or an accredited Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) without clearly indicating the specific equipment or material to which this recognition is tied, or that its recognition is limited to certain products;

WL shall inform OSHA as soon as possible, in writing, of any change of ownership, facilities, or key personnel, including details;

WL will continue to meet the requirements for recognition in all areas where it has been recognized;

WL wil not test or certify any equipment or materials for a client which installs its equipment in an electronic enclosure cabinet manufactured or distributed by Wyle.

WL will always cooperate with OSHA to assure compliance with the letter as well as the spirit of its recognition and 29 CFR 1910.7.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This recognition will become effective on July 22, 1994 and will be valid for a period of five years from that date, until July 24, 1999, unless terminated prior to that date, in accordance with 29 CFR 1910.7.

Signed at Washington DC this 15th day of July, 1994.

Joseph A. Dear
Assistant Secretary.

[FR Doc. 94-17888 Filed 7-21-94; 8:45 am]