Precautions and safety in handling glass

Technical Article
Precautions and safety
in handling glass
Ensuring Safety Amid Fragility: Guidelines for
Handling, Storing, and Transporting Glass
It is necessary to pay meticulous attention while
handling glass to avoid accidents and injuries.
Glass is fragile and brittle by
nature. These properties
require a special attention
when loading /un-loading, stacking,
storage and transportation of glass.
Mishandling can result in
accidents which can cause cut, injury,
amputation and even be fatal at
times.
HANDLING OF GLASS
Need of safety in proper handling
of glass is of prime importance. The
safety measures must be put in place
and rigidly followed when handling
glass, both in small and large volumes.
Over the time, by experience, certain
procedures have been adhered to by
glass factories and fabricators. Some
of the most pertinent safety practices
required are:-
1. Wearing of cut resistant gloves
and not lifting the glass by bare hands.
2. The glass must be lifted by two
persons;, single person handling of
large size or heavy glass must be
avoided. Single person handling can
result in twisting and tipping of glass.
3. Never lift a glass with bare toe or
while wearing slippers. Always wear
tight boots. Falling of glass on the feet
is most common. Also broken glass on
the floor can get in to your feet.
4. Use of vacuum grippers should
be practiced. Use single pad grippers
for small size glass, and double or
triple pad vacuum grippers for large
size glass. Always use vacuum grippers
in pairs.
5. The glass should be clean and dry
before lifting. Wet glass can slip easily
and also the vacuum griper will not
grip the wet glass firmly.
6. The lifting capacity of a person
must be kept in mind. Lifting glass
heavier than the capacity or for longer
duration can pose a big problem of
fatigue, resulting in slippage.
7. All lifting tools like slings, vacuum
pads, straps, hooks should have a
safety factor of 2-2.5 .Only the properly
tested and inspected equipment
should be used.
8. Worn out, cracked, broken safety
equipment, is a serious threat. It
should never be used to handle glass.
9. Ensure that the path to the
handling area is clean; dry (no water
or oil spillage) is there. This can be a
major hazard and cause of mishap.
10. Always wear the proper
Personal Protection Equipment (PPE)
like gloves, arm guards, safety glasses,
boots, helmet, reflective uniform. Do
not wear loose clothes to reduce risk
of injury.
A very important saying in glass industry is
“NEVER TRY TO HOLD A FALLING GLASS, BETER
TO RUN OR JUMP AWAY FROM THE GLASS”.
The weight of the falling glass is 5 times the
actual weight of the glass.
Storage of Glass
Storage of glass is required by all
glass manufactures, fabricators,
processors, resellers including small
shopkeepers. Storage of glass is a
very specialised work and should be
done by trained persons who should
be aware of the risk of personal injury
and monetary loss in handling flat
glass. Understanding of accident
prone areas like stairs, sharp turns &
corners, and taking effective steps,
precautions will minimise or eliminate
the accidents.
Most important & foremost thing
in storage is RACKING. RACKING
is stacking of glass at an angle of
inclination also known as Lean Angle.
The optimum angle of lean should be
between 3-5 degrees. The storage can
also be done against a wall. The load
bearing capacity of the wall should be
taken into consideration. The floor on
which the glass is being stored should
be levelled and even. Uneven floor
can result in falling and slipping of
glass. The floor should also be strong
enough to take the load of the glass.
If the floor is not cemented or pacca,
there can be chances that the floor
might sink with weight. Rodents etc.
also are a threat in such a case.
Dos and Don’ts of glass storage are:
1. Never drag or slide the glass
across the ground. The best way is to
lift and place the glass.
2. The glass should be placed
against each other softly. Impact on
one sheet from another can break the
glass.
3. Use of plastic corners, foam /cork
separators will ease out placing and
removal of glass sheets.
4. Use of various kinds of lifters
(Manual, Electric, Pneumatic,
Hydraulic), EOT cranes, and Fork lifts
should be encouraged to lift and stack
the glass sheets.
Precautions required during storage
of glass are:
1. Ensure that the glass is properly
secured and strapped before lifting.
Use of extra slings, steel straps,
and side slings are an added safety
features but a must.
2. Never move or stand in front of
the fork lift. Keep the glass strapped
to the back of the fork lift to avoid it
from falling flat to the front.
3. Capacity of EOT crane, Fork lift,
Vacuum gripers, lifting equipment
should be kept in mind. Never ever
overload. Periodic check-up of all the
lifting equipment and maintenance
should be done to avoid any mishap.
90 Glass Bulletin | April - June, 2024

Techno Trade Links • 2
4. During storage look for defects,
cracks, chipped corners in the glass,
if noticed do not store such glass. The
flawed glass can break or cause injury
during stacking and removal.
5. Storage area should be well
lit and well ventilated. Foul smell,
sneezing, nausea can also be the
cause of slippage of glass when
manual stacking. Large size glasses
can obstruct the light and can create
dark spots, which can be risky area of
accidents.
6. ‘A’ Frames are commonly used to
stack the glass. It is advisable to stack
the glass on both sides of ‘A’ Frame to
make it stable and not tumble and tilt
due to imbalance.
7. Always ensure that the storage
place is clean, it is not cluttered and
the path is free for movement. Any
obstruction can be the reason for
tumbling and tripping over.
8. No pets in the storage area. Pets
can hurt themselves and cause panic
resulting in accidents.
9. Noise is also a big problem
in glass industry. Some machines
like belt grinders, Edge grinders,
and toughened glass plant create a
lot of noise. This noise can make it
difficult to hear the instructions and
movement of storage vehicles, which
could result into collision and mishap.
Avoid storage in noisy area.
10. The walk way for workers, area
for movement of vehicles, trolleys
etc. should be away from storage
area. These areas should be clearly
designated and marked. The storage
area should be cordoned and fenced
for safety reasons.
11. Safety instructions, dos and
don’ts chart, caution notices must be
prominently displayed. The training
of storage area workers must be a
regular feature. This will keep them
updated and aware of the risks.
12. If any shift or slip or untoward
thing is noticed in stack, the area must
be earmarked as out of bounds. The
problem must be attended to on top
priority, without any delay.
Transportation of Glass
Transportation of any fragile good is a
challenge in itself. When transporting
glass lot of care, precautions and
alertness is required. Breaking,
scratching, chipping, corner breaking
during loading/ unloading are very
common. The risk of injury and getting
hurt or bruised is very high during
loading/ unloading of glass on truck or
container.
When loading on truck/ any vehicle
or container, the main problem is the
constraint of area. The movement
is much restricted due to area
availability that result in bruises and
cuts very often. Severing of fingers is
another serious issue.
It is always better to use
mechanical equipment like cranes,
hoists and other manual lifting
devises such as chain pulley blocks,
hoists, tripods to minimise human
interaction. Many a times the trucks
are loaded in a pit, which makes it
easier and efficient.
Precautions to be taken for
transportation:
1. The truck or container should be
loaded with even load distribution.
2. The glass should be secured in
wooden crates with steel strapping.
Corners of the glass should be
secured with cardboard or plastic
corner protectors.
3. The glass loaded on the truck
should be securely strapped, to
avoid breakage due to bumps, pits or
sudden breaking on the road.
4. Foam, cork and other
polyurethane separators are placed
between the glass sheets, covering of
glass by plastic film will help to take
care of breakage and scratches due to
friction during transportation.
5. The truck / container should not
be overloaded or driven at high speed.
When turning it should be controlled
and slow. Manoeuvring on sharp
turns, high height speed breakers or
multiple speed breakers should be
done very carefully.
6. Always lay the glass on the
edge i.e., in upright position. The
edge should be laid on soft wooden
logs, with rubber and foam padding
.This will avoid chipping at the
edges. Horizontal stacking is not
recommended.
7. ‘A’ frame is used to transport glass
on tempos and smaller vehicles. The
‘A’ Frame should be strong enough to
take the load. Both sides should be
loaded evenly. The ‘A’ frame should
be very rigidly secured to the floor of
the vehicle. The ‘A’ frame should be
levelled to avoid slippage of glass. The
glass crates should be strapped with
rubber slings very securely.
8. Climatic conditions also affect
the transportation of glass. Extreme
heat or cold can cause thermal shock
in the glass. Rain water, dust can also
damage the glass. The glass sheets
should be covered by plastic sheets
before putting in the crate.
9. Unloading is equally important.
Lot of caution and care is desired
while opening the crates. The opening
of crates should be done slowly,
10. Never stand in front of the glass
while opening the crate. Avoid using
sharp metal objects with glass as it
may break the glass. One sheet at a
time should be lifted. The next sheet
must be secured before removing the
front sheet.
All this and many more precautions
are required to handle and minimise
the breakage of glass and injury to the
human beings.
Have a safe handling, storage and
transportation of glass. That is the
purpose and aim of this article.
The Author:
MR. SUDHIR ARORA, B.Sc Engg. (Mech), LLB,
Managing Director of Techno Trade Links
Website: www.technotradelinks.in
Glass Bulletin | April - June, 2024
91