Anchorage —A secure point of attachment for lifelines, lanyards or deceleration devices.

Body belt —A strap with means both for securing it about the waist and for attaching it to a lanyard, lifeline, or deceleration device.

Body harness —-Straps that may be secured about the person in a manner that distributes the fall-arrest forces over at least the thighs, pelvis, waist, chest, and shoulders with a means for attaching the harness to other components of a personal fall arrest system.

Connector —A device that is used to couple (connect) parts of a personal fall arrest system or positioning device system together.

Controlled access zone —A work area designated and clearly marked in which certain types of work (such as overhand bricklaying) may take place without the use of conventional fall protection systems—guardrail, personal arrest or safety net—to protect the employees working in the zone.

Deceleration device —Any mechanism—such as rope, grab, ripstitch lanyard, specially-woven lanyard, tearing or deforming lanyards, automatic self-retracting lifelines/lanyards—which serves to dissipate a substantial amount of energy during a fall arrest, or otherwise limits the energy imposed on an employee during fall arrest.

Deceleration distance —The additional vertical distance a falling person travels, excluding lifeline elongation and free fall distance, before stopping, from the point at which a deceleration device begins to operate.

Guardrail system —A barrier erected to prevent employees from falling to lower levels.

Hole —A void or gap 2 inches (5.1 centimeters) or more in the least dimension in a floor, roof, or other walking/working surface.

Lanyard —A flexible line of rope, wire rope, or strap that generally has a connector at each end for connecting the body belt or body harness to a deceleration device, lifeline, or anchorage.

Leading edge —The edge of a floor, roof, or formwork for a floor or other walking/working surface (such as the deck) which changes location as additional floor, roof, decking, or formwork sections are placed, formed or constructed.

Lifeline —A component consisting of a flexible line for connection to an anchorage at one end to hang vertically (vertical lifeline), or for connection to anchorages at both ends to stretch horizontally (horizontal lifeline) and that serves as a means for connecting other components of a personal fall arrest system to the anchorage.

Low-slope roof —A roof having a slope less than or equal to 4 in 12 (vertical to horizontal).

Opening —A gap or void 30 inches (76 centimeters) or more high and 18 inches (46 centimeters) or more wide, in a wall or partition, through which employees can fall to a lower level.

Personal fall arrest system —A system including but not limited to an anchorage, connectors, and a body belt or body harness used to arrest an employee in a fall from a working level. As of January 1, 1998, the use of a body belt for fall arrest is prohibited.

Positioning device system —A body belt or body harness system rigged to allow an employee to be supported on an elevated vertical surface, such as a wall, and work with both hands free while leaning backwards.

Rope grab —A deceleration device that travels on a lifeline and automatically, by friction, engages the lifeline and locks to arrest a fall.

Safety-monitoring system —A safety system in which a competent person is responsible for recognizing and warning employees of fall hazards.

Self-retracting lifeline/lanyard —A deceleration device containing a drum-wound line which can be slowly extracted from, or retracted onto, the drum under minimal tension during normal employee movement and which, after onset of a fall, automatically locks the drum and arrests the fall.

Snaphook—A connector consisting of a hook-shaped member with a normally closed keeper, or similar arrangement, which may be opened to permit the hook to receive an object and, when released automatically closes to retain the object.

Steep roof —A roof having a slope greater than 4 in 12 (vertical to horizontal).

Toeboard —A low protective barrier that prevents material and equipment from falling to lower levels and which protects personnel from falling.

Unprotected sides and edges —Any side or edge (except at entrances to points of access) of a walking/working surface (e.g. floor, roof, ramp, or runway) where there is no wall or guardrail system at least 39 inches (1 meter) high.

Walking/working surface —Any surface, whether horizontal or vertical, on which an employee walks or works, including but not limited to floors, roofs, ramps, bridges, runways, formwork, and concrete reinforcing steel. Does not include ladders, vehicles, or trailers on which employees must be located to perform their work duties.

Warning line system —A barrier erected on a roof to warn employees that they are approaching an unprotected roof side or edge and which designates an area in which roofing work may take place without the use of guardrail, body belt, or safety net systems to protect employees in the area.