OSHA power press standard to align with ANSI, reduce paperwork

Washington – OSHA has issued a direct final rule to align aspects of the agency’s Mechanical Power Presses Standard with a voluntary consensus standard.

Published Nov. 20, the direct final rule states that maintenance and repair must be completed before a mechanical power press is operated, and employers will certify maintenance and repair for the entire machine instead of only certain parts. This move will align the OSHA standard’s maintenance and repair provision with requirements in the American National Standards Institute’s standard on mechanical power presses.

Additionally, the new rule eliminates a requirement for employers to document mandatory weekly inspections of the presses. According to the new rule, removing this requirement will reduce employers’ paperwork burden by more than 600,000 hours. However, employers still will be responsible for performing and documenting maintenance or repairs necessary to protect the safety of power press operators.

The direct final rule will go into effect Feb. 18 unless the agency receives a “significant adverse comment” by Dec. 20. If such a comment is received, OSHA will proceed with a notice of proposed rulemaking.