Glass Safety Compliance In Schools: We Can Help
As a ‘Window Film Person’ (quite a rare job title), one of the less obvious, but arguably more important parts of my job is helping schools with health and safety compliance when it comes to glass. One of the most worrying things I come across on a daily basis is the fact that many schools are unaware of the requirements upon them to make sure their glass is of a sufficient strength to withstand the general risks of injury and harm that is inherent with glass, particularly in a school environment.
The purpose of this blog isn’t to reel off legislation, regulations, building documents, safety standards, tensile strength data and so on (I save that for dinner parties that I am keen to leave) but rather to spread a bit of awareness that such things do exist, and to emphasise the importance of glass safety, particularly in schools.
'Clearly safe' simplifies glass safety compliance
It is one of those things that should be as self-evident as a fire alarm servicing, asbestos surveys, PAT testing and so on, part of the standard safety practices put in place to protect the most vulnerable… sadly, this is rarely the case.
And it’s not the fault of the schools, per-se. When the reigns of power were forced back into the hands of the schools themselves, and the old idea of a Local Education Authority become less hands-on, many schools found themselves in a position where they suddenly had to look after many elements that had always been dealt with for them by a more centralised department. Glass safety checks, as a result, seem to have somewhat fallen through the cracks.
For these reasons, I decided to take the requirements and simplify things as much as possible, to make glass safety compliance really accessible and painless for schools to undertake. And because I enjoy a good pun as much as the next person, I called the campaign “Clearly Safe”.
"...Glass safety checks, as a result seem to have fallen through the cracks..."
So what do we actually do? Really that comes in 2 main parts – Understanding the risk, and Mitigating the risk. A briefing with the head or business manager, a survey to identify the problematic, non-compliant glass that poses a risk to safety, and then helping to plan and implement corrective and curative measures to reduce the likelihood and severity of injury from broken glass.
By applying a clear, strong safety film with a specific and unique adhesive, we can upgrade the safety properties of glass, without the cost and upheaval of replacing glass, often making glass safer than toughened or laminated glass due to the film creating an effective barrier between a child and the glass.
As you can see, we try to make it a simple process, and an immensely important one. For a rundown of the techy figures, our website for Clearly Safe has all of that, as well as details on how you can get in touch and access a free consultation.
Remember, just because you look through glass, doesn’t mean you should overlook it. Stay safe.
Tom @ Solar Sentry
