DEKRA Certification Inc.: Application for Expansion of Recognition

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Notice of the Application for Expansion

OSHA is providing notice that DEKRA Certification Inc. (DEKRA), is applying for expansion of the current recognition as a NRTL. DEKRA requests the addition of seventeen test standards to the NRTL scope of recognition.

OSHA's recognition of a NRTL signifies that the organization meets the requirements specified in 29 CFR 1910.7. Recognition is an acknowledgment that the organization can perform independent safety testing and certification of the specific products covered within the scope of recognition. Each NRTL's scope of recognition includes: (1) the type of products the NRTL may test, with each type specified by the applicable test standard; and (2) the recognized site(s) that has/have the technical capability to perform the product-testing and product-certification activities for test standards within the NRTL's scope. Recognition is not a delegation or grant of government authority; however, recognition enables employers to use products approved by the NRTL to meet OSHA standards that require product testing and certification.

The agency processes applications by a NRTL for initial recognition and for an expansion or renewal of this recognition, following requirements in appendix A to 29 CFR 1910.7. This appendix requires that the agency publish two notices in the Federal Register in processing an application. In the first notice, OSHA announces the application and provides a preliminary finding. In the second notice, the agency provides a final decision on the application. These notices set forth the NRTL's scope of recognition or modifications of that scope. OSHA maintains an informational web page for each NRTL, including DEKRA, which details the NRTL's scope of recognition. These pages are available from the OSHA website at http://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/index.html.

DEKRA currently has two facilities (sites) recognized by OSHA for product testing and certification, with the headquarters located at: DEKRA Certification Inc., 405 Glenn Drive, Suite 12, Sterling, Virginia 20164. A complete list of DEKRA's scope of recognition is available at https://www.osha.gov/nationally-recognized-testing-laboratory-program/dekra.

II. General Background on the Application

DEKRA submitted an application to OSHA for expansion of the NRTL scope of recognition on December 24, 2021 (OSHA-2019-0009-0007), requesting the addition of twenty-nine recognized testing standards. The application was amended on February 1, 2023 (OSHA-2019-0009-0008), removing eight standards from the original request, while adding an additional standard to the expansion application. The December 2021 expansion application was amended a second time on June 21, 2023 (OSHA-2019-0009-0009) to withdraw three standards from the December 2021 application. The December 2021 application was amended a third time on February 28, 2024 (OSHA-2019-0009-0010), to withdraw two standards from the original request. This notice covers the remaining seventeen standards. OSHA staff performed a detailed analysis of the application packets and reviewed other pertinent information. OSHA performed an on-site review of DEKRA's Arnhem, Netherlands site on June 5-7, 2023, in which assessors found some nonconformances with the requirements of 29 CFR 1910.7. DEKRA addressed these issues sufficiently, and OSHA staff has preliminarily determined that OSHA should grant the application.

Table 1, below, lists the appropriate test standards found in DEKRA's amended application for expansion for testing and certification of products under the NRTL Program.