Standards Development

Scope

This document is a guidance for the development or the improvement of rules to help choosing the appropriate glazing for the protection against injuries and falling, hereafter called "the Specifications". The Specifications to be written or revised can be a national regulation, national standard, recommendations from a professional association, requirements for a particular project, etc.

This document deals only with the safety of people against:

— the risk of injury in the event of a collision with a glazed element, e.g. a partition

— the risk of falling through or over a glazed element, e.g. a balcony, and

— the risk of accidental fall of glass fragments on people not having caused the breakage, e.g. an overhead glazing.

These risks shall be evaluated in function of a normal use of the building or construction work. This includes use by the elderly, children and people with disabilities but excludes deliberate risk taking. It presupposes a rational and responsible behaviour of the users or, in case of children, of those responsible for watching them.

The information contained in this document may be used to define minimum glass configuration. Glass thickness and configuration shall be calculated taking the applicable loads into account as well as the dimensions of the glass, its mode of fixing and the possible need for redundancy, see CEN/TS 19100-1, CEN/TS 19100-2 and where appropriate CEN/TS 19100-3.

Safety against burglary, vandalism, bullet attack, explosion, exposition to fire and seismic actions are not covered in this document. Preventing these risks needs further appropriate requirements.

This document does not apply to the following glass products:

— glass blocks and paver units (EN 1051-1);

— channel-shaped glass (EN 572-7).

It also doesn't apply to the following applications:

— escalators and moving walkway (see EN 115-1);

— lifts (see EN 81 series);

— access to machinery (see EN ISO 14122 series);

— animal enclosure and aquarium;

— greenhouse (see EN 13031-1) and agricultural installation;

— temporary scaffold.

Purpose

CEN/TC 250/SC 11 considers the establishment of a guidance for the development/specification of rules on glass selection relating to the risk of human injury as necessary. The selection of the type of glass (mode of breakage) in function of the risk is usually the first step of glass design. There are already many national standards, code of practice, professional associations guidelines, etc… but not in all countries and not always covering all aspects. This new TS can help to complete national standard or code of practice or to write one where no rules exist

CEN/TC 250/SC 11 is aware that due to national regulation in the member states, when converting CEN/TS 19100 all parts into EN standards, the CEN/TS 19100-4 will remain in a status of a Technical Specification.