Applicant. An individual or organization that manufactures or controls the assembly of a product and that applies to MSHA for approval of that product.

Approval. A document issued by MSHA which states that a product has met the requirements of this part and which authorizes an approval marking identifying the product as approved.

Authorized company official. An individual designated by applicant who has the authority to bind the company.

Critical characteristic. A feature of a product that, if not manufactured as approved, could have a direct adverse effect on safety and for which testing or inspection is required prior to shipment to ensure conformity with the technical requirements under which the approval was issued.

Equivalent non-MSHA product safety standards. A non-MSHA product safety standard, or group of standards, that is determined by MSHA to provide at least the same degree of protection as the applicable MSHA product technical requirements in the subparts of this part, or can be modified to provide at least the same degree of protection as those MSHA requirements.

Extension of approval. A document issued by MSHA which states that the change to a product previously approved by MSHA under this part meets the requirements of this part and which authorizes the continued use of the approval marking after the appropriate extension number has been added.

Post-approval product audit. Examination, testing, or both, by MSHA of approved products selected by MSHA to determine whether those products meet the applicable technical requirements and have been manufactured as approved.

Technical requirements. The design and performance requirements for a product, as specified in a subpart of this part.

Test procedures. The methods specified in a subpart of this part used to determine whether a product meet the performance portion of the technical requirements.