Pennsylvania Code › Title 7 - AGRICULTURE › Part V-D - Amusement Rides and Amusement Attractions › Chapter 139a - SAFETY STANDARDS FOR BUNGEE JUMPING › GENERAL › Section 139a.2 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
The following words and terms, when used in this chapter,
					 have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates
					 otherwise:
Act
-The Amusement Ride Inspection Act
					 (4 P.
					 S. §
											§
											401-418).
Air bag
-A device which cradles the body
					 using an air release breather system to dissipate the energy due to a fall,
					 thereby allowing the jumper to land without an abrupt stop or bounce.
Anti-two-blocking device
-A positive acting
					 device which prevents contact between the load block or fall ball and the boom
					 tip.
Approved operating site
-The area including
					 the preparation area, the jump space, the landing area and the recovery area as
					 reflected on the site plan drawings submitted by the operator under §
										139a.21(d)
					 (relating to registration of bungee jumping operations) and as approved by the
					 Department in conjunction with the registration of a bungee jumping
					 operation.
Binding of cord
-Material used to hold the
					 bungee cord threads in place.
Bungee catapulting
-The action by which the
					 jumper is held on the ground while the bungee cord is stretched. When the
					 jumper is released, the jumper is propelled upwards.
Bungee cord
or
cord
-The
					 elastic rope to which the jumper is attached. It expands and contracts and thus
					 produces the bouncing action.
Bungee jumping
-The action by which a
					 jumper free falls from a height and the descent is limited by attachment to the
					 bungee cord.
Bungee jumping operation
-An operating site
					 at which bungee jumping is conducted.
Carabiner
-A shaped metal or alloy device
					 used to connect sections of the jump rigging, equipment or safety gear.
Controlled load lowering
-A system or
					 device on the power train, other than the load hoist brake, which can regulate
					 the rate of speed at which the hoist mechanism lowers its load.
Department
-The Department of Agriculture
					 of the Commonwealth.
Dynamic load
-The load placed on the
					 rigging and attachments by the initial free fall of the jumper and the bouncing
					 movements of the jumper.
Equipment
-Each component which is utilized
					 in a bungee jumping operation, including power or manually operated devices to
					 raise, lower and hold loads.
Fence
-A permanent or temporary structure
					 designed and constructed to restrict people, animals and objects from entering
					 the jump area.
Incident
-An event that does or could
					 result in injury to a person, damage to equipment, or the interruption or
					 stopping of a bungee jumping operation.
Jump area
-The ground level area of the
					 jump space.
Jump direction
-The direction in which a
					 jumper jumps upon leaving the platform from the jump point. Jump direction is
					 unaffected by whether the jumper faces forward, backward or sideways as he
					 jumps.
Jumper
-The person who, while attached to a
					 bungee cord, falls or jumps from a platform or structure.
Jumper weight
-The weight of the jumper
					 only.
Jump harness
-An assembly to be worn by a
					 jumper, which is attached to a bungee cord.
Jump height
-The distance from the jump
					 point to the position on the ground where an object dropped from the jump point
					 would impact, exclusive of an air bag or other impediment.
Jump master
-A person who has the
					 responsibility for the bungee jumping operation and who takes a jumper through
					 the final stages to the actual jump or release.
Jump point
-The location on the platform
					 from which the jumper leaves the platform.
Jump space
-A cylinder-shaped volume, the
					 center line of which extends downward from the jump point along the line of the
					 jump height a distance equal to or greater than the maximum system length, plus
					 an additional length of at least 30 feet of safety space to the highest point
					 of the air bag (with respect to jumps over land) or to the water surface (with
					 respect to jumps over water), and extending laterally in all directions from
					 the line of the jump height a distance equal to at least 50% of the maximum
					 system length, plus an additional safety space of at least 20% of the maximum
					 system length.
Jump weight
-The weight of the jumper and
					 the jump harness.
Landing area
-The surface area on which the
					 jumper is landed. If a lifting device moves the jumper so that landing occurs
					 away from the jump area, the area covered by the movement of the lifting device
					 shall be considered part of the landing area.
Live boom
-A boom in which lowering is
					 controlled by a brake without aid from other lowering retarding devices.
Loaded length
-The length of the bungee
					 cord when extended to its fullest designed length.
Lowering system
-Manual or mechanical
					 equipment capable of lowering a jumper to the designated landing area.
Maximum system length
-The maximum extended
					 length of a bungee cord system, including static line length.
Mechanically powered lowering system
-A
					 system which utilizes a machine, rather than a human or other power source, to
					 lower the jumper to the landing area.
Mobile platform
-An apparatus attached to a
					 lifting device used to lift a jumper to jumping position, and from which the
					 jumper then falls or jumps.
Permanent platform
-The apparatus attached
					 to a structure from which a jumper falls or jumps.
Platform
or
jump platform
-A mobile or permanent platform.
Preparation area
-The area where the jumper
					 is registered, weighed, marked with his weight, notified of potential risks and
					 otherwise prepared for jumping. The preparation area shall be separate from the
					 jump area.
Qualified inspector
-A person certified by
					 the Department who, by education, training or experience is knowledgeable with
					 regard to amusement ride operating manuals and the psychological effects each
					 ride has upon a passenger. The person shall also be experienced in the erection
					 and dismantling of amusement rides and shall be familiar with the specific
					 equipment used by that particular operator.
Recovery area
-An area next to the landing
					 area, where the jumper may recover from the jump before exiting the bungee jump
					 operation site.
Rigging system
-The bungee cord plus any
					 combination of components that connect the jumper through the bungee cord to an
					 attachment point on the structure, lifting device or permanent platform.
Rigging system attachment point
-A device
					 on the structure, lifting device or permanent platform to which the rigging
					 system is connected.
Safety belt
-An assembly to be worn by all
					 persons on a mobile or permanent platform designed to be attached to an anchor
					 point by a safety line and to prevent persons from falling.
Safety hook
-A hook with a latch to prevent
					 rigging or loads from accidentally slipping off the hook.
Safety line
-A line used to connect a
					 safety harness or belt to an anchor point.
Sandbagging
-The practice of loading excess
					 weight to a jumper intending to release the excess weight at the bottom of the
					 jump, thus gaining extra momentum on the rebound.
Site operating manual
-The document
					 containing the procedures and forms for the operation of bungee jumping
					 activities and equipment.
Site operator
or
operator
-A person who owns or operates a bungee jumping operation.
Structure
-A permanent or temporary tower
					 or similar erection used for bungee jumping.
Tandem jumping
-The practice of two or more
					 people harnessed together while jumping or falling simultaneously from the same
					 jump platform.
Two-block damage prevention feature
-A
					 system which deactivates the hoisting action of a crane before damage occurs in
					 the event of contact between the load block or fall ball and the boom
					 tip.
Unloaded length
-The length of the bungee
					 cord lying on a horizontal flat surface without load or stress
					 applied.