20160821|
LEGAL NOTICE
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
Public Hearing
Notice is hereby given of proposed rulemaking and public hearing by the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR), Hawaii Occupational Safety and Health Division (HIOSH), to Part 11 of Title 12, Subtitle 8, Hawaii Administrative Rules (HAR), pursuant to the Boiler and Elevator Safety Law, Section 397-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), and the Hawaii Administrative Procedure Act, Chapter 91, HRS.
The public hearing will consider the amendments and compilation of chapters 12-229 and 12-230.1 in Title 12, Subtitle 8, Part 11 of the HAR. The proposed amendments and compiling of chapter 12-229, “General, Administrative and Legal Provisions” include the following:
1. Amendments to section 12-229-2 “Definitions.”:
a. Specifies that “HAW” is the registration number assigned to elevators and related systems by the Authority Having Jurisdiction (Director) to avoid mixed terminology in the rules.
b. Meet the statutory requirement that a “qualified elevator inspector” meets the criteria of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the standards for the qualification of elevator inspectors of the American National Standards Institute.
2. Amendments to section 12-229-4.1 “Installation and alteration permits” include the following:
a. Clarifying that installation or alteration permits are required for amusement rides.
b. Makes it clear that an owner is responsible for contracting work with a licensed elevator contractor to ensure only elevator contractors perform installations and alterations.
c. Changing installation, alteration and inspection fees for some equipment per the schedules in Exhibit A, titled, “Elevator and Kindred Equipment Installation and Alteration Fees,” and Exhibit B, titled, “Elevator and Kindred Equipment Inspection Fees,” to help ensure the Branch remains self-sufficient. Both exhibits have an effective date of January 1, 2017.
d. Provides electronic means to request installation or alteration refunds for the convenience of customers.
e. Requires painting or permanently attaching the HAW registration number to the car top crosshead instead of the driving mechanism in addition to painting or permanently attaching to the controller.
3. Amendments to section 12-229-5.1 “Permits to operate” include the following:
a. Conforms inspection and test intervals to the national consensus standards via Exhibit C, titled, “Inspections and Test Intervals (In Months)” with an effective date of January 1, 2017.
b. Requires the owner or the owner’s duly appointed agent to arrange for inspection of closed buildings or not readily accessible elevators and related systems.
c. Changes the requirement to post the operating permit in or on elevators and related systems from all equipment to a copy of the permit for just new or altered equipment after the effective date of the rules to reduce the economic impact of retrofitting all elevators to accommodate the posting requirement.
4. Amendments to section 12-229-6.1 “Fees” include the following:
a. Changing installation, alteration and inspection fees for some equipment per the schedules in Exhibit A, titled, “Elevator and Kindred Equipment Installation and Alteration Fees,” and Exhibit B, titled, “Elevator and Kindred Equipment Inspection Fees.” Both exhibits have an effective date of January 1, 2017.
b. Specifies that an “unscheduled” inspection is actually a “special or dedicated” inspection to accurately reflect the current practice.
c. Institutes a fee for building plan reviewsthese reviews require significant staff time to review and currently the task is non-revenue generating at a time when construction and the installation of new elevators is booming.
d. Amends the fee for inspection of amusement rides from $100 to $200, which is a more accurate reflection of the time it takes an inspector to inspect the equipment.
5. Amendments to section 12-229-7.1 “Inspection and tests” include the following:
Modifies Exhibit C, titled, “Inspection and Test Intervals (In Months),” dated January 1, 2017, by changing the inspection intervals to conform to the national consensus standards:
i. Personnel hoistsfrom six months to three months.
ii. Escalators and moving walks, dumbwaiters, material lifts and platform lifts and stairway chairliftsfrom six months to twelve months.
6. Amendment to section 12-229-10.1 “Reporting of accidents” includes the following:
Reduces the reporting requirement from any damage to equipment to “significant” damage to eliminate the need to report minor accidents in which there is little damage and no person is hurt.
7. Amendment to section 12-229-15.1 “Notifications of transfer and location” includes the following housekeeping amendment:
Strikes “registration number (HAW number)” to “HAW number” due to the insertion of HAW number in the definition section.
8. Amendment to section 12-229-16.1 “Variances” includes the following: Permits the director to post notice of a variance on the department’s website in lieu of publication in a paper of general circulation.
The proposed amendments and compiling of chapter 12-230.1, “Elevators, Escalators, Dumbwaiters, Moving Walks, and Material Lifts and Dumbwaiters with Automatic Transfer Devices” include the following:
1. Amendments and compiling of section 12-230-1-4 “Requirements for existing elevators, escalators, dumbwaiters, moving walks, and material lifts and dumbwaiters with automatic transfer devices” include the following:
a. Clarifies that for existing elevators installed or altered before 1998 that the code adopted by the HAR at the time of installation or alteration is the applicable code. This eliminates the potential confusion as to which code pertains to a particular device and is illustrated in a new Exhibit A, titled, “Existing Elevator and Kindred Equipment Code Application Dates,” dated January 1, 2017.
b. Clarifies that fire recall devices and related services and any requirement for upgrades to the existing fire recall system would not be retroactive for existing elevators, which significantly reduces the economic impact of owners by not having to retrofit existing equipment to more current standards.
c. Removes the requirement for all existing equipment to have a written Maintenance Control Program (MCP) because the MCP requires a complete history of maintenance amongst other features. Almost all existing elevators have incomplete maintenance records because the MCP had not been required before the last change in the code (June 30, 2014). This also significantly reduces the economic impact for owners who would need to investigate and determine when maintenance occurred on equipment regardless of when it was installed or altered.
The proposed rules apply to any entity, including small businesses, which own or are responsible for elevators or related systems and amusement rides. The initial impact of the proposed rules will be to elevator contractors, construction contractors of buildings using elevators and related systems, and building owners. The proposed rules include increased fees for inspections and safety tests. The increased fees will affect building owners, tenants and all businesses responsible for elevators or related equipment.
DLIR believes the increase in fees are modest and reflect a more accurate cost of the labor, overhead and equipment and supplies required to perform each kind of inspection or safety test. This is of critical importance as the fees charged for the services is the only source of funding (special) for the Branch.
DLIR estimates the costs of operating the Branch by combining the salaries of the inspectors, the salaries of the non-revenue generating staff, and overhead costs like rent charged by the Department of Accounting & General Services as well as supplies and services.
Moreover, the proposal will save those responsible for elevators and related equipment anywhere from thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars. The actual cost savings is dependent on the type, age and size of the equipment so the direct and indirect costs must be determined on a case-by-case basis.
The cost-saving provisions include the requirement for existing equipment to have a MCP, posting of permits in existing equipment, increases the threshold for reporting of accidents and required subsequent investigations, clarifies the applicable code to avoid needlessly upgrading equipment, and eliminates the need for much of the existing equipment to have fire recall and related services.
A copy of the proposed rule changes will be made available for public viewing from the first working day that the legal notice appears in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Hawaii Tribune Herald, West Hawaii Today, The Maui News, and The Garden Island, through the day the public hearing is held, from Monday Friday, August 15-September 14, 2016, between the hours of 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., at the following locations: 830 Punchbowl Street, Room 423, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813; 75 Aupuni Street, Hilo, Hawaii 96720; 2264 Aupuni Street, Wailuku, Hawaii 96793; and 3060 Eiwa Street, Lihue, Hawaii 96766. A copy of the proposed rules may be obtained for a prepaid fee of ten cents per page plus postage or viewed at our website at http://labor.hawaii.gov/hiosh.
Interested persons may present at the public hearing any written or oral data, views, arguments, comments, and objections concerning the proposals on September 14, 2016, 1:00 p.m. at:
HONOLULU, OAHU
Keelikolani Building
830 Punchbowl Street, Room 427
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
The public hearing will be continued, if necessary, to a time, date, and place announced at the scheduled hearing.
Interested persons may submit written data, views, arguments, comments, and objections concerning the proposals to the HIOSH, 830 Punchbowl Street, Room 423, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813, or via electronic mail at dlir.hiosh.elevators@hawaii.gov. All submissions for the record must be received at or prior to the scheduled public hearing.
Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request. Call the HIOSH at (808) 586-9116 (voice), or dial 711 and then ask for (808) 586-9116. A request for reasonable accommodations should be made no later than ten working days prior to the needed accommodations.
Dated: August 14, 2016
LINDA CHU TAKAYAMA
Director
Department of Labor and
Industrial Relations
Equal Opportunity Employer/Program
Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request
to individuals with disabilities.
TDD/TTY Dial 711 then ask for (808) 586-9116
(SA900631 8/14/16)~
