Consumer Product Safety CommissionConsumer Product Safety CommissionCPSC_ae90b390-4c58-44fc-adaf-0f1f970dbd5cSaving lives and keeping families safe._f6d5ec9d-2a67-48c9-9f43-c92d006db819FireReduce the rate of death from fire related causes by 20 percent from 1998 to 2013._aeab0aba-8204-4140-9a57-9d0863fab7411We will use the following strategies to meet the strategic goal of reducing the firerelated death rate: § Address the hazards associated with small open-flame ignition of upholstered furniture and mattresses. § Participate in research partnerships to advance smoke alarm technology and encourage the strengthening of existing voluntary safety standards to further improve the reliability and effectiveness of smoke alarms. § Continue to work with consumers and other organizations to encourage the increased use and maintenance of older homes. § Continue to participate in the National Electrical Code (NEC) development process to improve the safety of electrical installations. For example, CPSC staff has developed several proposals to revise the 2005 edition of the NEC to increase the use of arc- fault circuit interrupters in homes. § Address the hazards associated with range fires by conducting research on the use of sensors and associated electrical control systems to minimize the risk of fires from improper operation of appliances or from failures of those appliances. For example, CPSC has demonstrated the use of sensors to modulate the energy used in cooking, which can minimize the risk smoke alarms and the use of residential sprinklers in new and retrofit home construction. § Encourage the replacement of hazardous electrical wiring systems in of a food fire. At present, CPSC staff is evaluating the performance of various types of sensors that may be able to detect pre-hazard signatures in failing appliances. § Continue participation in selected voluntary standards committees to enhance industry's efforts to manufacture safer products. § Continue enforcement of mandatory flammability performance standards to reduce fire deaths related to ignition of mattresses, carpets, children's sleepwear, and wearing apparel and deaths due to child play with cigarette and multi-purpose lighters. § Increase public awareness of critical fire safety information and expand our efforts to promote consumer awareness of electrical safety issues through targeted multilingual information campaigns. These campaigns will focus on older homes and vulnerable populations, such as children, the elderly, the economically disadvantaged, and non-English speaking persons. The effectiveness of these information campaigns can be enhanced by developing partnerships with interested parties who can assist in distribution of our electrical safety materials. § Continue to pursue recalls or develop corrective action plans for products that do not comply with safety regulations or defective products that present a substantial product hazard. § Continue ongoing surveillance of fire incident data and reports to identify and act on emerging or unknown product-related fire hazards. § Seek partnerships with states and public and private organizations to achieve more cost-effective solutions to identify and address fire hazards. § Pursue mandatory standards, where appropriate, to reduce the risk of fire deaths related to consumer products. § Continue work with the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection to prevent violative imports from entering the country. PERFORMANCE MEASURES We use the annual residential fire-related death rate per million population as the primary performance measure to evaluate our strategic goal. We track consumer product involvement in fire-related deaths, injuries, fires, and property damage annually. When appropriate, we will also estimate and report societal costs or savings. Information on consumer productrelated fire deaths is developed from death certificates purchased by CPSC from the states and from information from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA). The population of various age groups in the United States is available from the Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce. Societal costs include information from our Injury Cost Model and other sources and an assumed cost of $5 million per statistical life, consistent with economic literature. See Appendix B, page 57 for a discussion of consumer product-related fire death data and issues related to the time needed to develop it. OTHER ORGANIZATIONS WITH SIMILAR PROGRAMS CPSC has the primary role for reducing fire hazards related to consumer products and also enforces the Flammable Fabrics Act. We work closely with staff of other organizations in order to address fire issues more efficiently, to enhance the effectiveness of our efforts to achieve fire loss reduction goals, and to avoid duplication of effort. These include: § American Gas Association (AGA) § American National Standards Institute (ANSI) § Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) § ASTM International (ASTM) (private standards-setting organization) § Building Code Groups § Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Department of Homeland Security § Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI) § Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) § Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) § National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM) § National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) § National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) § National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) § National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) § National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) § National Park Service (NPS) § Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) § Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. (UL) § U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) § U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) § Various state and local governments § Various trade associations The USFA collects and provides essential data on residential fires, stimulates new technology, and conducts public information campaigns relating to fire. NIST performs basic and applied research in the fire sciences, provides their facilities for special fire testing, and serves as a comprehensive resource for standards information. The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, CDC, working with state health departments, is evaluating the effectiveness of interventions in increasing smoke alarm use and reducing residential fire-related injuries, deaths and related health care costs. CFSI was a member of the Steering Committee of CPSC's National Smoke Detector Project. We communicate with other agencies that have regulatory authority and conduct fire research in areas beyond our jurisdiction, such as the FAA (aircraft), OSHA (workplace), NHTSA (automotive), and HUD (manufactured housing). NFPA, a private-sector organization, has a major role in the collection and analysis of residential fire data in addition to developing and publishing this country's national fire codes, investigating major fires, and conducting public information programs. We continually communicate and interact with these and other organizations, including state and local agencies. We formed a multi-agency (both public and private) task force to conduct research on the effectiveness of current and emerging smoke alarm technologies for residential use. Several sponsors (CPSC, UL, NFPA, USFA, CDC, and HUD) are providing funding for NIST to perform these tasks. USFA has provided supporting funds for our projects on range fires, smoke alarms, and home electrical wiring systems. FAA, NIST, and the State of California have consulted with us on technical issues related to upholstered furniture. We participate in the CDC Healthy People 2010 Work Group on Fire Prevention, and we have provided limited funding in support of their fire prevention initiative. We maintain continuing liaison with USFA on a variety of other fire-related topics including fire investigation training, data collection and analysis, and public education. Our close coordination with other agencies and the fire community will continue. We also work with a number of organizations, such as NFPA, AGA, UL, ANSI, and ASTM on voluntary standards designed to reduce fire hazard deaths. In addition, we work closely with these and other organizations, such as NEMA, AHAM, and ESFI, to enhance our effectiveness in reducing fires of electrical origin.Carbon MonoxideReduce the rate of death from carbon monoxide poisoning by 20 percent from the 1999-2000 average by the year 2013._681c1517-15e9-403d-94bd-213285e80e0b2CPSC will pursue two major approaches to further reduce CO poisoning deaths. We believe that these strategies will also help reduce injuries associated with carbon monoxide poisonings. We will work to (1) improve or correct products to reduce the amount of CO emissions, and (2) promote the use of CO alarms in every American home. Specifically, we will: § Develop or strengthen voluntary standards for specific fuel-burning products. § Encourage the development of more reliable CO alarms. § Encourage the use of reliable CO alarms in residential dwellings in the United States. § Continue recalls and corrective actions of products that present CO hazards. § Continue public awareness by issuing public alerts to warn consumers about CO poisoning hazards and the need for regular maintenance of combustion appliances each year prior to the homeheating season. PERFORMANCE MEASURES We will use the annual CO poisoning death rate per 10 million populatio n as the primary performance measure to evaluate our strategic goal. We track product-related residential and recreational CO deaths annually. When appropriate, we will also estimate and report societal costs or savings. CO poisoning death estimates are based on data from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and our Death Certificate File (death certificates for product-related hazards that we buy directly from the states). Population estimates for the United States are available from the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce. Societal costs include information from our Injury Cost Model and other sources with an assumed cost of $5 million per statistical life, consistent with economic literature. Note that because the processing of death data reported to NCHS and to CPSC through the states takes about three years to complete, we will not know whether we reach our goal for 2013 until 2016. OTHER ORGANIZATIONS WITH SIMILAR PROGRAMS Carbon monoxide poisoning is associated with the use of household combustion appliances, boats, cars, gasoline-powered tools, and farm equipment -- a wide array of products whose jurisdiction is covered by several federal agencies. CPSC has the primary role in addressing consumer products that produce carbon monoxide hazards. However, the goal of reducing carbon monoxide deaths is one that is shared by other federal agencies as well as private sector and not- for-profit organizations. We work with the following agencies and organizations to increase the effectiveness of our efforts and to avoid duplication. § American Gas Association § American Lung Association § American National Standards Institute § Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers § Canadian Standards Association § U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention § U.S. Coast Guard § Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment § Committee on Indoor Air Quality § Consumer Federation of America § U.S. Environmental Protection Agency § U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency § Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association § Gas Detection Industry Association § Gas Research Institute § National Association of State Fire Marshals § National Electrical Manufacturers Association § National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. National Institutes of Health § U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration § State and local fire departments and associations § Underwriters Laboratories Inc. The effort to make the American public more aware of the hazards of carbon monoxide poisoning and the availability and use of CO alarms requires the participation of a large number of groups. Fire departments, gas utility companies, heating contractors, medical groups, alarm manufacturers, gas appliance manufacturers, voluntary standards organizations, federal, state, and local government agencies, building code organizations, and consumer groups -- all are, and must be, involved in helping to reduce the deaths and injuries from CO poisoning. We will continue to encourage involvement of all groups.Swimming PoolsReduce the rate of swimming pool and other at-home drownings of children under 5 years old by 10 percent from the 1999-2000 average by the year 2013._54725e1d-2818-45d2-9990-825dfc18addc3THE HAZARD Annually, an average of 248 children younger than 5 years of age drowned in swimming pools nationwide in 1999-2000. Drowning is the second leading cause of death from unintentional injuries in this age group, after motor vehicle incidents. Most of these deaths involve swimming pools. Drowning in swimming pools occurs not just when people are outside or using the pool, but also when young children leave the house without a parent or caregiver realizing it. In addition, an average of 167 children under 5 years of age drowned each year from other hazards in and around the home in 1999-2000. Many of these deaths involved common household products, such as bathtubs, 5-gallon buckets, toilets, spas, hot tubs, and landscape ponds. For a graph of drowning death data and a discussion of issues related to setting the current goal, see Appendix D “Drowning Deaths,” page 61. REDUCING THE RISK In past years, CPSC has undertaken a number of activities to reduce the frequency of drowning in swimming pools and other consumer products in and around the home. These included the following: § Initiating a rulemaking proceeding to address drowning hazards associated with baby bath seats § Evaluating hazards associated with pool/spa/hot tub covers § Evaluating pool alarms § Evaluating hazard scenarios associated with submersions of children under 5 in residential swimming pools § Participating in voluntary standards activities related to products such as pools, pool covers, pool alarms, door alarms, spas, hot tubs, and 5-gallon buckets § Proposing building code requirements for swimming pool barriers § Publishing pool barrier guidelines § Publishing pool/spa entrapment prevention guidelines § Publishing annual press releases on pool drowning hazards § Conducting a home drowning prevention campaign The rate of pool drownings of children under 5 has been decreasing. An evaluation of pool drowning deaths shows that the rate of death was about 20 per million population in 1991 and about 16 per million in 1998 (the most recent year for which comparable data are available). SETTING THE STRATEGIC GOAL To further reduce drowning deaths to children, CPSC set a goal of reducing the pool-drowning rate for children younger than 5 years by 10 percent. At 10 percent, the pool drowning rate would be reduced from 12.9 per million children under 5 years in 1999-2000 to 11.6 per million children in 2013, or a reduction of approximately 25 deaths per year. In addition, the drowning rate from other at-home hazards will also be reduced by 10 percent, from about 8.7 per million children under 5 years in 1999-2000 to 7.8 per million in 2013, a reduction of approximately 17 deaths per year. Both these goals together aim to reduce drownings in and around the home to children under age 5 by 42 deaths per year. STRATEGIES There are a number of activities that we may undertake to further address drowning hazards. We expect that strategies aimed at reducing drowning deaths will also reduce the number of near drownings, which can result in severe damage to the brain and other organs. These strategies include: § Conducting home drowning safety information campaigns to increase the awareness of caregivers and the community about drowning hazards in and around the home and how to correct them. § Assessing the extent of adoption of model building codes with swimming pool/spa safety provisions in various jurisdictions. Working with state and local jurisdictions to adopt or strengthen swimming pool safety codes and consumer awareness, where needed. § Assessing the extent of conformance to CPSC pool barrier recommendations and/or model building codes in locales that have adopted these requirements. § Conducting a special study of the circumstances involved in pool and spa drowning deaths in areas that have adopted CPSC recommendations and/or model codes to evaluate the effectiveness of these requirements. § Continuing efforts to evaluate the § National Spa and Pool Institute § National Safe Kids Campaign § Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. § U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, HHS Cooperative and collaborative efforts with other organizations range from data collection to enforcement activities. Memoranda of Understanding have been developed with other organizations to share data and other information. Prominent among these organizations is the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). CPSC and CDC share technical information, injury data and results of survey-related research. We also work with a number of organizations, such as American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASTM International, the American National Standards Institute, and the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association, to provide technical expertise for voluntary standards and certification programs, as well as collaborating on publications for child safety. Other organizations, such as the Children’s Safety Network, the Bureau of Maternal and Child Health, and the National 4-H Foundation, distribute our safety materials to grassroots organizations and consumers. In support of these activities, our unique data gathering systems have proven to be invaluable tools for defining the nature and scope of productrelated hazards. As a federal health and safety regulatory agency, CPSC has the unique task of translating drowning mortality data and research into safety recommendations for consumers and, as necessary, mandatory and voluntary consumer product safety standards. Our development of swimming pool barrier guidelines is an important example of action taken to address a safety problem of concern to a broad spectrum of public and private organizations. performance of safety devices such as alarms, covers, etc., and address deficiencies through voluntary standards activities. § Conducting more research on barrier products. For example, what are the most common barrier products currently in use? Are these products being used properly (i.e., in place and functioning)? Are multiple barriers used together more effective than use of just one at a time? How effective are the new technology products—laser and infrared perimeter alarms, etc? How well do they work in home settings? From this research CPSC could revise the current guidelines on swimming pool barriers as appropriate. § Continuing efforts to assess drain suction and entrapment hazards, and addressing them through voluntary standards activities. § Continuing recalls or corrective actions of pool or bathing products that do not comply with safety standards or that are defective products and present a substantial product hazard. § Continuing efforts to understand and address other drowning scenarios in and around the home. PERFORMANCE MEASURES We will use drowning rates per million children in the under-5 population for pool drownings and for other at-home drownings as our performance measures to evaluate our strategic goal. We track these rates annually. The annual numbers of swimming poolrelated drowning deaths and other at-home drownings are obtained from national mortality data from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and CPSC data. Estimates of the number of children under 5 years old in the United States population is available from U.S. Census Bureau, Department of Commerce. OTHER ORGANIZATIONS WITH SIMILAR PROGRAMS We work closely with staff of other organizations in order to more efficiently address the safety of children, enhance the effectiveness of our efforts to achieve injury reduction goals, and avoid duplication of effort. Among these are: § American Academy of Pediatrics § American Red Cross § American Society of Mechanical Engineers § ASTM International (private standardssetting organization) § American National Standards Institute § Children's Safety Network § Consumer Federation of America § Fire protection and emergency medical services organizations. § International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization § Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association § National 4-H Foundation § National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) § National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, HHSSmall Business OmbudsmanMaintain success with the timeliness and usefulness of the Fast-Track and Small Business Ombudsman programs for industry through 2010._c03e72e1-f276-44bd-840b-7d9906b905064THE 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.Customer SatisfactionSustain the high level of customer satisfaction with the CPSC web site, hotline, Clearinghouse, and State Partnership Program at 90 percent or better through the year 2010._a41fd252-afc6-495c-a39a-647b9907312d5THE PROGRAM In addition to our work reducing hazards associated with consumer products, we provide additional services to the public in the form of information services, including the agency's Internet web site, hotline, the National Injury Information Clearinghouse, the State Partners Program. These resources are used both to provide information to, and to receive information from, the public. Customer satisfaction with these services is vital if CPSC is to fulfill its mission. Our web site (www.cpsc.gov) provides Internet access to CPSC resources, allowing the public to view information about recalled products, report unsafe product incidents, request information, and download safety information. The hotline is a toll-free telephone service that allows consumers to report product complaints or product-related injuries, learn about recalls and safety hazards, and obtain safety publications. The National Injury Information Clearinghouse provides data to the public in response to 3,300 requests each year. It also alerts manufacturers to potential hazards associated with their products, providing them with consumer complaints, reported incidents and accident investigations involving their products. Our State Partners Program, using limited CPSC funds and CPSC-developed safety information, brings product safety services to consumers through cooperative programs with state and local governments. The program extends our reach throughout the nation. REDUCING THE RISK The satisfaction of customers (including consumers, industry, and state partners) with CPSC services is important to us. If consumers are satisfied with safety information they receive through the web site, hotline, and Clearinghouse, they will more likely obtain and use this information to protect themselves and their families. If our state partners are satisfied with CPSC's safety information and response to them, they are more likely to incorporate this safety information into their local ongoing programs, again protecting consumers from product-related injuries and deaths. SETTING THE STRATEGIC GOAL Web Site. In the past our strategic goal focused on the number of contacts to our web site, which has increased dramatically over the years (see graph below). However, now that our web site and the Internet itself have matured, we want to shift the focus more towards customer satisfaction with our site. We plan to begin conducting surveys of user satisfaction with our Web site to identify areas that could be improved. We conducted an initial survey in 2003 to give us baseline data for the level of satisfaction with our Web site. In this survey approximately 96 percent of respondents indicated that they were satisfied or very satisfied in general with the CPSC Web site. In attempting to benchmark this goal, we also investigated evaluations at other agencies. We were able to locate only two other Federal agencies that reported conducting customer satisfaction surveys for their Web sites: the Bureau of the Census, and the International Trade Administration (ITA), both in the Department of Commerce. The Bureau of the Census reported 94 percent custome r satisfaction in 1997, 69 percent in 2000, and 90 percent in 2001. The ITA reported customer satisfaction levels for 2002 at 84.4 percent. For FY 2002 their target satisfaction rate was “greater than 50 percent.” For 2003, they set the target at 70 percent. Because these agencies’ customers’ needs and expectations may be very different from those of CPSC’s customers, we are not sure that these satisfaction levels would be strictly comparable to CPSC’s. However, based on the Web site customer satisfaction evaluations at these other agencies, and CPSC’s own baseline evaluation of customer satisfaction, we set a goal of 90 percent satisfaction with our Web site. Hotline, Clearinghouse, State Partners. CPSC set a strategic goal to sustain the high level of customer satisfaction with the hotline and Clearinghouse and of the states with our State Partnership Program at 90 percent or better through the year 2010. We set this goal based on recent evaluations of the three services showing customers and partners to be very satisfied with CPSC's services. Satisfaction levels ranged from 88 percent to 97 percent over the time period (see following table). These values compare very favorably with those we found from other comparable agencies that reported customer satisfaction levels ranging from 70 percent to 81 percent. STRATEGIES The two following strategies will be used to maintain or improve the level of customer satisfaction with the web site. Customers will be able to: § Find information about recalls on our web site the day the recall is announced. § Find copies of statistical studies, briefing packages, and other documents on our web site the day the documents become public. To sustain the high level of customer satisfaction with the hotline, Clearinghouse, and State Partners Program, staff will maintain and adhere to a list of customer service standards. Customers, including consumers, industry, and state partners, will be able to: § Speak to a knowledgeable and courteous staff person. § Receive the most up-to-date safety information. § Have a response to a request within a specified time, usually within one to five business days. § Receive a return call or have a request acknowledged in a specified time, usually within one to two business days. § Speak to a CPSC staff member in any of 12 languages. § Have a consumer complaint recorded accurately and a copy mailed for verification within two business days. PERFORMANCE MEASURES We will rely primarily on two basic types of performance measures: in-house tracking systems will provide time-torespond measures, and surveys will provide the percent of customers (consumers, industry, or state partners) satisfied with our services. Surveys may be telephone interviews, e-mail surveys, or mailed questionnaires.Data Quality and UtilityImprove the utility and quality of CPSC's data through 2009_6379e78d-970c-499c-86f6-75a48272eaaa6THE PROGRAM Improvements in the overall ut ility and quality of CPSC data are necessary for the Commission to focus its limited resources effectively. To improve the utility of the data, we will more systematically review and analyze death and injury data and identify areas where more information must be obtained in order to develop effective strategies to reduce deaths and injuries. In addition, the quality of in-house databases that track CPSC’s activities needs to be upgraded and better maintained. Failure to improve these basic operations could result in a reduction in our ability to analyze and prioritize product hazards. Data Utility. Each year CPSC collects incident information involving consumer products: 8,700 death certificates, 360,000 hospital emergency room reports of injuries, 5,000 newsclips, and 10,000 other reports of incidents involving consumer products. Incidents are screened on a daily basis and routinely summarized. Selected incident information is expanded by conducting follow-up investigations of individual incidents, eithe r by telephone or through onsite visits. These follow-up investigations provide an opportunity to examine the interaction between the product involved in the incident, the environment in which the incident occurred, and the injured person. While these methods have worked effectively in the past, increasingly limited resources require that we target agency efforts more systematically and prioritize our efforts. Staff plans to develop and implement a new data review system that will identify promising strategic goal areas and/or hazard reduction projects for future incorporation into our strategic planning process and daily operations. CPSC plans to begin systematic reviews of death and injury data and associated cost data by hazard area. We plan to do this by product grouping (heating, cooking, ventilating; general household appliances; nursery equipment; home workshop tools, etc.) beginning in 2004. We anticipate reviewing one product grouping per quarter, four per year. We also plan to conduct special studies in areas identified by the strategic planning process, data reviews or other staff activity. These studies could include, for example, analyses of nursery products, powered workshop and yard equipment, mechanical hazards to seniors, and head injuries to adults. Finally, we will continue to screen all incoming data daily to identify products that may be associated with increasing numbers of injuries. In addition, we will investigate, in partnership with other federal agencies, the possibility of deve loping a database related to the health effects of exposure to chemical and biological hazards associated with consumer products to help us identify products that might be hazardous. Data Quality refers to the accuracy and reliability of data held within our computer systems: can we identify the source of the data, has the data been entered accurately, is it internally consistent and complete, is the same data used by all groups within the agency, is the data secure? While most of CPSC’s data systems already meet these standards, some may not. To improve data quality in these areas, we will need to determine exactly what problems exist and find data quality tools, policies and processes to improve these systems. CPSC plans to evaluate at least one major data system in 2004. We hope to identify remedial strategies and will seek to acquire needed software and/or hardware in 2005. We plan to implement changes beginning in 2006. Evaluation of other data systems could begin as early as 2005, depending on availability of resources. STRATEGIES There are a number of effective strategies for improving data utility and quality. They are: · Conduct hazard overviews of death, injury and incident data. · Conduct special studies such as those using telephone interviews and onsite investigations to determine the circumstances surrounding the injuries or deaths. · Continue daily screening of all incoming data. · Assess the quality of CPSC's internal databases. · Benchmark data quality tools, policies and processes in other governmental and commercial organizations. · Assess the strategies and effort required to integrate CPSC's databases. · Define a plan for creating tools, policies and procedures for data quality control and quality assurance. · Develop applications to centralize data processing and perform quality control checks. · Develop standard operating procedures in each office toward achieving data quality. PERFORMANCE MEASURES We expect to develop and implement a systematic hazard review system by 2004. We will measure the success of this new system through its identification of new strategic goal areas, hazard reduction projects and/or remedial actions. Currently, we plan to develop baseline data for improving the accuracy, consistency, security, and completeness of CPSC's data. The number of database errors, including omissions of relevant data, will measure quality of the data. SETTING THE STRATEGIC GOAL Setting the target for data quality will be determined after baseline data is developed in 2004. UtilityDevelop and implement a more systematic method to identify new strategic goal areas, hazard reduction projects, and remedial actions._97728958-c2f9-47ab-9679-c567fc25b8316.1QualityImprove the quality of CPSC’s data based on criteria such as accuracy, consistency, security and completeness._e7950cee-cee3-4156-b849-3ed6f669b5876.22003-09-012010-02-08http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/reports/2003strategic.pdfArthurColman (www.drybridge.com)colman@drybridge.com