Capitol Connection Latest Legislative Updates from the Hill and Around the Country
U.S. House Takata Hearing Included Questions About Professional Auto Recyclers
on the Takata airbag recall, a Congress- man asked important questions of the automakers that focused on the sharing of original equipment manufacturer (OEM) part numbers with the profes- sional automotive recycling industry to enhance consumer safety. During the House Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee hearing entitled “Takata Airbag Ruptures and Recalls,” Congressman Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) asked the representatives from Honda, Toyota and BMW of North America if they agreed that sharing OEM part num- bers with the professional automotive recycling industry would increase con- sumer safety and assist in tracking recalled parts. Rep. Kinzinger’s questions were as follows: “There’s been a significant discussion about
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regional recalls and the movement of recalled vehicles from high humidity states to other states outside of those regions. I believe an area that needs focus by automakers is the commerce of recycled original equipment manufacturer parts. Each day over half a million recycled OEM parts, the very same parts designed by your companies to meet your fit, finish, and durability standards are sold by professional automotive recyclers. These parts play an important part in the automotive supply chain and are readily sold from one state or region of the country to another. Recently GM reached out to professional automotive recyclers offering to buy back or purchase recalled GM ignition switches. To accomplish this, GM pro- vided specific OEM part numbers for the igni- tion switches that were critical to ensure the automotive recyclers could identify the specific recalled parts in their company’s inventories. Do you – to those representing the car com- panies – do you agree that sharing OEM part numbers and other identifiable information
66 Automotive Recycling | January-February 2015
uring a U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee hearing
Industry Standard for Safety” by provid- ing professional automotive recyclers with access to crucial OEM parts data. GM along with the rest of the automak- ers should provide professional automo- tive recyclers the same access to OEM part numbers that they currently make readily available to the insurance and vehicle repair industries.
Congressman Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) grills automak- ers on releasing important OEM parts number data in airbag hearings for safety reasons.
with the professional automotive recycling industry would increase safety? Would sharing that information help you to
track recalled parts? Sharing OEM part num- bers with recyclers? Do Honda, Toyota, and BMW currently have a similar buy-back program in place with the professional automotive recyclers?” The link to view the proceedings is
www.c-span.org/video/?c4519887/rep- adam-kinzinger
None of the automakers were prepared to answer the questions and asked the Subcommittee Chair for the flexibility to research the issue and respond back in writing. This is standard practice during committee hearings. Witnesses are expect- ed to respond in a timely fashion so that their responses can be included in the hearing’s official record.
ARA continues to urge Congress and the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration (NHTSA) to compel automakers to work with industry partners to truly make the safety of their vehicles a priority. ARA also is concurrently reaching out to the automakers directly to request access to crucial OEM parts data. In June of last year, ARA urged General Motors (GM) to live up to its “New
ARA members and staff continue to visit with Members of Congress, Administration officials along with fed- eral and state regulators seeking their support in compelling auto manufactur- ers to enhance access to recall informa- tion and integrate parts data into the automotive parts supply chain. ARA applauds Rep. Kinzinger for asking this very important question of the automak- ers at the hearing and urges policymak- ers to help automotive recyclers contribute to the safety of our nation’s drivers by requiring automakers to pro- vide parts data information to the auto- motive recycling industry.
New OSHA 300 Log Reporting Requirements Effective on January 1, 2015
eginning January 1 all employers are required to report all work-related fatalities within 8 hours and all in-patient hospitalizations, amputations, and losses of an eye within 24 hours of finding out about the incident. If your facility is reg- ulated under an OSHA State Plan how- ever, the new requirements may not go into effect until Jan. 1, 2016.
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Also, in its Frequently Asked Questions document on the recordkeeping rule, OSHA clearly states that even if you do not have to keep OSHA 300 form logs because you fall under the fewer than 11 employees exemption provided for under this standard, you still need to report these specific events. Remember, it is only the specific OSHA 300 log reporting provision from which
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