Key terms
Working at height: key terms
Plain-English definitions of the words used in the course. In the lessons, tap any underlined term to read its definition without leaving the page.
15 terms, United Kingdom version
- Anchor point
- A secure point to which a fall protection system is attached.
- Clearance
- The space needed below a worker for a fall arrest system to stop a fall safely.
- Collective protection
- Measures that protect everyone, such as guardrails and nets.
- Fall arrest
- A system that stops a person after they have started to fall.
- Fragile surface
- A surface that could break under a person's weight, such as some roof lights or cement sheets.
- Full body harness
- A harness with shoulder, chest and leg straps that spreads the forces of a fall across the body.
- Lanyard
- A strap or rope that connects a harness to an anchor point.
- MEWP
- A powered platform that lifts people to work at height.
- Personal protection
- Equipment that protects only the user, such as a harness and lanyard.
- Podium step
- A small platform with guardrails all round, for repeated work at low height.
- Stile
- The side rails of a ladder.
- Suspension trauma
- Restricted blood flow from hanging still in a harness after a fall.
- Three points of contact
- Keeping two feet and one hand (or two hands and one foot) on a ladder at all times.
- Work at height
- Work in any place where a person could fall a distance liable to cause injury, whatever the height.
- Work restraint
- A system that stops a person reaching a place where they could fall.
These terms come from the United Kingdom version of the course. See what the course covers.