The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today issued a final rule revising 14 provisions in its recordkeeping, general industry, maritime and construction standards that it said might be “outdated, confusing or unnecessary.”

osha-revises-several-standards-May-2019The rule, as published in the Federal Register, is said to reduce “regulatory burden while maintaining or enhancing worker safety and health, and improving privacy protections.” In a press release, the agency also said the rule would “save employers an estimated $6.1 million per year.”

The new rule is part of OSHA’s Standards Improvement Project, which began in 1995 and has spawned three previous rule changes.

Among the revisions proposed by the rule are reductions in annual lung X-ray requirements, elimination of the collection of employee Social Security numbers, and the removal of feral cats from the list of “rodents” in standards for shipyard sanitation.

The rule will take effect 60 days from date of publication.