What's News, DWM 2004

September 2004

What's News

SAFETY

Glass Worker Death Leads to
Heightened Concern for Face and Neck Protection

The recent death of 25-year-old Edge Seal Technologies employee Dominic Jerome Childs has some in the industry concerned about how they can protect their face and neck from lacerations when carrying glass. Childs was killed in late May when a 6- by 7-foot lite of glass he was carrying shattered and cut his neck.

According to police reports, Childs and another employee had pulled the glass from a slot in the warehouse just before noon when they heard a cracking sound. The glass broke and shattered, and a piece struck the right side of Childs’ neck. He was rushed by rescue workers to the hospital and pronounced dead at 1 p.m.

“We have worked very hard in the last two years at safety awareness,” said Mike McHugh, Edge Seal president. “In spite of our good efforts, a good and decent person, who followed all recommended procedures, and was wearing every piece of protective gear available (steel-toed shoes, leather apron and chaps, arm and shoulder protection, wrist guards, gloves, eye protection and a hard hat) lost his life on the job. It is an event that we will never quite get over.”

In support of the Childs family, Edge Seal started a fund at the First Merit Bank in Twinsburg, Ohio, and will match dollar to dollar all contributions.

Since Childs’ death, a concern has arisen for face and neck protection within the industry. According to Mike Burk, training manager with GED USA, while he has been unable to locate any gear for neck protection specifically, there are measures glass workers can employ to reduce the likelihood of injuries.

“Glass handlers should never carry large lites,” Burk said. “There is equipment for handling large lites; [glass] should never be carried, especially above shoulder height. Too often, in order to save time, I see operators carrying large lites and inserting them into the production flow.”

Burk added that those operators who are handling packs and crates of glass with overhead cranes should still wear all of the standard anti-cut gear as well as hardhats and full-face shields.

COMPANY NEWS
Lowes to Open Door Manufacturing Plant
Lowe’s Corp. has announced plans to open a millwork manufacturing facility in Janesville, Wis., which has the industry wondering what impact this will have on window and door manufacturing. Alan Campbell, president of the Window and Door Manufacturers Association, said he was surprised by the news though he didn’t have further comment as many details of the venture were not known.

Lowes plans to invest $7.5 million in the project, according to a company press release which also states that Lowes will be using a 210,000 square foot building that had previously been used by General Motors. The new plant will manufacture pre-finished ad unfinished interior and exterior doors made of steel, fiberglass and wood and sold under the Reliabilt brand.

Lowes says it expects production to being in September with shipping to follow in October. The facility is expected to produce 200,000 interior doors and 130,000 exterior doors each year.

The company currently operates two other millwork facilities in Thomasville, N.C. and White House, Tenn.

SuperSpacer Performs Well in GGF Testing
In a recent government-funded project, commission by the United Kingdom’s (UK) Glass and Glazing Federation, Edgetech says its Super Spacer was proven to outperform others tested. A range of typical UK window systems were measured to establish the improvement in thermal performance derived from different spacer bar systems in insulating glazed units.

The hot box measurements were performed at the National Physics Laboratory, while the simulations were done at the Centre for Window and Cladding Technology at Bath University. Tests were performed on three and five chambered PVCu, soft wood windows which were tested with hard- and soft-coat low-E glass with and without argon gas.

“Super Spacer didn’t just do a little better that the rest; it did a lot better—it was approximately 23 percent better than the next best,” said Andy Jones, Edgetech’s UK sales and marketing manager. “It was up against four other warm-edge spacer bars and standard aluminum bar, with a typical overall window U-value saving with Super Spacer of approximately .03.”

The results were presented at Glassex 2004.

ASSOCIATION NEWS
AAMA Publishes New and Updated Documents
A newly approved test method, which simulates daytime ambient exterior temperature on fenestration products, has been published and approved for use by the American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) of Schaumburg, Ill. Labeled AAMA 1506-04, “Voluntary Test Method for Laboratory Heat Build-Up Effects on Fenestration Products,” the document details test procedures for accelerating dimensional and shape changes due to temperature and infrared energy. The document also provides a universal standard or measuring heat build-up.

AAMA has announced the update of another document related to thermal performance, AAMA 1503-98, “Voluntary Test Method for Thermal Transmittance and Condensation Resistance of Windows, Doors and Glazed Wall Sections.” Changes include metric updates and the inclusion of 1998 addendum items. According to AAMA, the revision makes the thermal standard more useful for those needing to determine air to air thermal transmittance and condensation characteristics of architectural products, including storefronts and curtainwalls.
In addition, the updated AAMA-TIR-A1-04, “Sound Control for Fenestration Products,” addresses the needs of those requiring technical information relating to sound transmission and measurement. The document explains what sound is and how it is transmitted and measured.

ACQUISITIONS
Marshfield DoorSystems Inc. to Acquire Bolection Door
Marshfield DoorSystems Inc. of Marshfield, Wis., has agreed to acquire Greensboro, N.C.- based Bolection Door, for an undisclosed price. Marshfield says the transaction will create a combined company with a strong presence in both commercial (Marshfield) and residential (Bolection) market segments, as well as manufacturing presence in Wisconsin and North Carolina. The acquisition was expected to be complete by early August.

“Bolection’s architectural correctness, design capabilities and innovative high-end construction mirror Marshfield DoorSystems’ standards and capabilities for high quality doors,” said Dick Krant, CEO of Marshfield DoorSystems.