4: Small Business Ombudsman
Maintain success with the timeliness and usefulness of the Fast-Track and Small Business Ombudsman programs for industry through
2010.
Other Information:
THE PROGRAM Our Compliance program ensures that firms comply with the laws, regulations and standards that protect consumers
from hazardous products. Manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers must report to us if they obtain information
that reasonably supports a conclusion that one of their products: (1) fails to comply with a safety standard or banning rule
issued under the Consumer Product Safety Act; (2) contains a defect that could create a substantial product hazard; or (3)
creates an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death. To help firms comply, we provide guidance regarding reporting requirements,
the applicability of individual regulations, testing requirements and current interpretations. When a violation of a safety
standard is found or if a defective product is identified, we work cooperatively and quickly with industry to obtain correction
of the violation or recall of the hazardous product, as appropriate. REDUCING THE RISK We have two programs to assist industry
in complying quickly with our regulations: the Fast-Track Product Recall program (Fast-Track), and the Small Business Ombudsman
program. With the Fast-Track program, a firm that reports and recalls a product quickly will not be subject to a preliminary
determination that the product presents a substantial product hazard. Advantages of this program to industry include reductions
in paperwork, red tape, and possible legal expenses related to the recall of potentially defective products. A key advantage
of this program to CPSC is the quick removal of hazardous products from consumers’ hands. In 1998, shortly after it was implemented,
the Fast-Track program won several awards for innovation and excellence in government. As of mid-year 2003, over 750 firms
have participated in the program, resulting in 1,200 corrective action plans and involving over 136 million product units.
With the Small Business Ombudsman program, we help small businesspersons comply more easily with product safety guidelines
and manufacture safer products. This program provides firms with a single point of contact within the agency, which expedites
a clearly understandable response from our technical staff. As of mid-year 2003, we have helped about 1,850 small businesses
that have called our ombudsman. SETTING THE STRATEGIC GOAL Timeliness. The Fast-Track program was developed to streamline
the process of recalls for firms who were willing and prepared to recall their products quickly. The principal feature of
the program is a 20- business day criterion for implementing the first recall notice. CPSC and the firm recalling the product
agree to complete the work necessary to implement the first recall notice, often a notification to retailers to stop sale
of the product, within this 20-day time period. We set a strategic goal to maintain this timeliness standard at 95 percent
or better through 2010. For the Ombudsman program, we committed to responding to questions asked by small businesses about
our requirements and regulations within three business days. The Ombudsman identifies the appropriate technical staff, coordinates
CPSC’s response, and works with the small business to assure their satisfaction with the process. We set a strategic goal
to maintain this timeliness standard at 90 percent or better through 2010. We track our timeliness for both programs and report
these results annually. The Ombudsman program’s timeliness of responses to inquiries was much higher in 2002 than in previous
years. Part of this may be due to improved in-house reporting of quick-turnaround requests. Part may be a result of increased
use of e-mail both by customers to submit inquiries to CPSC as well as by CPSC staff in responding. Usefulness. Both the Fast-Track
and Ombudsman programs are voluntary ones, and acceptance by industry is an important feature. CPSC set a strategic goal to
maintain the usefulness of the Fast-Track and Ombudsman programs to industry at 90 percent or better with businesses that
utilized these services. This goal was set at a high level that was acceptable to the Commission. We will assess industry’s
response every two to three years, depending on the resources available. The results of a recent assessment showed that nearly
all of the firms contacted strongly agreed or agreed that the programs should be continued. STRATEGIES To provide quality
services to firms reporting to us, we will maintain and adhere to a list of customer service standards for industry contacts.
The standards aim to provide firms with: § Courteous service by knowledgeable staff. § Responses to written requests for interpretation
within a fixed schedule of business days, depending on the level of complexity. § Responses to Fast-Track reports and other
queries within a fixed schedule of business days, depending on the level of complexity. § Responses to small businesses who
make an inquiry through the Office of the Ombudsman within a fixed schedule of business days, depending on the level of complexity.
PERFORMANCE MEASURES To determine the timeliness of the Fast- Track program, in-house tracking systems assess how quickly
firms provided required information, how quickly firms’ requests were acknowledged and the necessary technical reviews were
completed, as well as the extent of, and reasons for, any delays. The Ombudsman program has a similar tracking system to measure
how quickly we responded to requests from small businesses. To assess industry’s response to the Fast- Track and Ombudsman
programs, we will conduct interviews periodically with participants in the Fast-Track program and with those small businesses
that contacted CPSC during a specified time period.
Objective(s):
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