In a very demonstrative presentation for the Insulating Glass Manufacturers Alliance (IGMA) Educational Seminar, Jeff Haberer, mechanical engineer for Cardinal IG, explained the proper procedures for handling coated glass. In the presentation, “Handling Coated Glass,” Haberer demonstrated with visual aids how to maintain an unscathed lite.

Proper steps for handling the coated glass, according to both Haberer and the instructional video shown during the presentation are: use clean, soft gloves, hold glass by the edge, handle only one lite at a time, make sure not to slide or rub lites against one another, use a large enough work space and pack lites according to their size.

One way Cardinal maintains separation of their lites, said Haberer, is by placing them on tilted harp racks. The racks are raised two inches higher on the left side; coated glass is then placed in the rack with the coated side tilted up so that it faces the left, raised side and the right, non-coated side rests on the rack.

Finally, a vital tip Haberer offered is to be cautious when storing coated glass to reduce the risk of insulating glass (IG) failure. No matter how much caution is exercised when handling the glass, careless placement can undo all of that work, according to Haberer. “We had a customer who would keep his glass near the loading dock and the exhaust from the delivery trucks would come in and damage the glass,” he said.