2014 Arizona Revised Statutes
Title 23 - Labor
§ 23-492 Definitions

23-492. Definitions

(Conditionally Rpld.)

In this article, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. " Access" means a means of reaching a work space or area.

2. " Competent person" means a person who is capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards in the surroundings or working conditions that are unsanitary, hazardous or dangerous to employees and who has authorization to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate the hazards.

3. " Construction work" means work activities consisting of construction, alteration, repair, painting or decorating.

4. " Controlled access zone" means an area in which work may take place without the use of guardrails, personal fall arrest systems or safety nets and access to the area is controlled.

5. " Grade" means the lowest point of elevation of the finished surface of the ground, paving or sidewalk that is within the area between the building and the property line, or when the property line is more than five feet from the building, between the building and a line five feet from the building.

6. " Greater hazard" means that the hazards involved in rigging and installing the safety devices required by this article equal or exceed the hazards involved in the actual construction. Greater hazard includes where the work is a nonrepetitive task that requires thirty minutes or less to complete if adequate risk control is recognized and the work is completed under immediate, competent supervision.

7. " Guardrail" or " railing" means a barrier that consists of a top rail and a midrail that is secured to uprights and erected along the exposed sides and ends of a platform.

8. " Hole" means any opening in a floor, roof or other walking or working surface that is smaller than an opening.

9. " Infeasible" includes where the building or structure cannot support the required load for personal fall protection systems, fall clearances are inadequate for properly installed personal fall protection systems, personal fall protection systems cannot be installed according to the manufacturer's installation instructions or in compliance with the occupational safety and health construction standards, 29 Code of Federal Regulations section 1926 and adopted by the division, or the use of personal fall protection systems renders it impossible to perform necessary work operations.

10. " Leading edge" means the edge of a floor, roof or form work for a floor or other walking or working surface that changes location as additional floor, roof, decking or form work sections are placed, formed or constructed. A leading edge is considered to be an unprotected side and edge during periods when the leading edge is not actively and continuously under construction.

11. " Lower levels" means the areas or surfaces to which an employee can fall, including ground levels, floors, platforms, ramps, runways, excavations, pits, tanks, material, water, equipment, structures or any portions of these areas or surfaces.

12. " Lumber" means douglas fir or an equivalent that has been graded under standards as high as those followed by the west coast lumber inspection bureau or by the western wood products association as suitable for a bending stress of one thousand five hundred pounds per square inch.

13. " Opening" means an opening in any floor, roof or other walking or working surface, twelve inches or more in the least horizontal dimension, including stairway floor openings, ladderway floor openings, hatchways and chute floor openings.

14. " Personal fall arrest system" means a system that is used to arrest an employee in a fall from a working level and consists of an anchorage, connectors or body harness and may include a lanyard, deceleration device, lifeline or a suitable combination. The use of a body belt for fall arrest is prohibited.

15. " Personal fall protection system" includes personal fall arrest systems, positioning device systems, personal fall restraint systems, safety nets and guardrails.

16. " Personal fall restraint system" means a system that is used to prevent an employee from falling and consists of anchorages, connectors and a body belt or body harness. Personal fall restraint system may include lanyards, lifelines or rope grabs that are designed for this purpose.

17. " Positioning device system" means a body belt or body harness system that is rigged to allow an employee to be supported on an elevated surface such as a wall and work with both hands free while leaning.

18. " Qualified person" means a person who is designated by the employer and who by possession of a recognized degree, certificate or professional standing or who by extensive knowledge, training and experience has successfully demonstrated the ability to safely perform all assigned duties.

19. " Residential construction" means construction work where the end use of the structure being built is as a dwelling and is constructed using traditional wood frame construction materials and methods.

20. " Roof slope" means the incline angle of a roof surface, given as a ratio of the vertical rise to the horizontal run.

21. " Safety belt" means a device that is specifically used for the purpose of securing, suspending or retrieving a worker in or from a hazardous work area.

22. " Safety monitoring system" means a safety system in which a competent person is responsible for recognizing and warning employees of fall hazards.

23. " Structure" means an edifice or building of any kind that is built or constructed or any piece of work that is artificially built up or composed of parts joined together in some definite manner.

24. " Toeboard" means a barrier that is secured along the sides and ends of a platform at the platform level and that is used to guard against the falling of material.

25. " Unprotected sides and edges" means any side or edge, except at entrances to points of access of a walking or working surface, including a floor, roof, ramp or runway where there is no wall or standard guardrail or protection provided.

26. " Wall opening" means a gap or void thirty inches or more high and eighteen inches or more wide that is in a wall or partition through which employees can fall to a lower level.