Existing 29 CFR 1915, subpart E; Scaffolds Ladders and Other Working Surfaces includes scaffolds or staging, ladders, guarding of deck openings and edges, access to vessels, access to and guarding of dry docks and marine railways, access to cargo spaces and confined spaces, and working surfaces. These requirements are not comprehensive in their coverage of fall hazards in shipyards. In addition, existing standards do not reflect national consensus standards. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a Request for Information (RFI) in 2016 to solicit data and comments on updating existing standards and dividing the rulemaking into three subparts: subpart E, Stairways, Ladders and Other Access and Egress; subpart M, Fall Protection; and subpart N, Scaffolds. The estimated number of annualized fatalities associated with each subpart are: subpart E, Stairways, Ladders and Other Access and Egress - approximately 1 to 2 fatalities are occurring each year; subpart M, Fall Protection - approximately 3 to 4 fatalities in shipyards, associated with falls from elevations, are occurring each year; and subpart N, Scaffolds - approximately one fatality is occurring each year. 

This rulemaking is consistent with the intent of Executive Order 14219 (Ensuring Lawful Governance and Implementing the President's "Department of Government Efficiency Deregulatory Initiative) because the agency has good cause to believe that the existing regulations significantly and unjustifiably impede technological innovations and economic development.  By modernizing the existing regulations, OSHA will allow new technologies that both increase productivity and reduce the regulatory burden on the shipbuilding industry.