The Canadian Standards Board Committee is continuing its work to update the country’s national standard for wired glass, which was announced in November 2013. The committee worked to revise a draft of the standard throughout 2014, which will, however, not be available for at least a few months.
The Canadian General Standards Board’s (CGSB) Committee on Glass’s efforts to update the country’s national standard for wired glass still continue.
The CGSB announced in November 2013 that it had begun working on a new edition of the standard and had established the committee, which held its first meeting in May 2014, to complete the task. The committee worked to revise a draft of the standard throughout 2014, initially planning to release a draft for public review by the end of last year. However, the draft now won’t be available for at least a few months.
Annie Joannette, senior advisor for media and public relations at Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC), said the task groups established in the committee are continuing to work on draft revisions. Joannette says the committee will meet sometime this spring to discuss the revisions, and that a draft is expected to be available for public review and comment following that meeting.
Last spring, the committee established four task groups to work on revisions to the wired glass standard, CAN/CGSB12.11 Wired Safety Glass, as well as the safety glass standard, CAN/CGSB-12.1 Tempered or Laminated Safety Glass. The task groups were assigned to the categories of laminated glazing, fully-tempered glass, organically-coated glazing and plastic glazing.
The committee has 32 members – 20 voting and 12 “information and alternate” members – representing glass and window manufacturers and associations, engineering firms, architects, building associations, researchers and consultants, as well as government departments and agencies including PWGSC, Health Canada and the National Research Council.
The wired glass standard is referenced in federal regulations under the Hazardous Products Act (Glass Doors and Enclosures) and the National Building Code of Canada. The standard was last updated in 1990.
“The revisions will establish the performance requirements of glass to ensure it breaks in a safe manner,” Joannette said last summer. “The revised standards will also include a new category for organically-coated glass and will address impact requirements for safety glazing materials.”