Technical Note No 66 supersedes TN 42

SAFETY AND FRAGILITY OF GLAZED ROOFING:

guidance on specification

This Technical Note provides guidance on safety issues relating to access to glass roofs and
maintenance of glass roofs. It describes a procedure that the specifier of a building may adopt to
determine whether a glass roof is required to be non fragile and the performance requirements
for a non fragile roof. These requirements must then be set out in the specification so that the
designer of the roof can ensure that it provides the appropriate performance. A test procedure to
assess the performance of the roof is described in Technical Note 67.

This Technical Note is one of eight describing the performance of glass. They are:

TN61 Glass types

TN62 Specification of insulating glass units
TN63 Glass breakage
TN65 Thermal fracture of glass
TN66 Safety and fragility of glazed roofing: guidance on specification
TN67 Safety and fragility of glazed roofing: testing and assessment
TN68 Overhead glazing
TN69 Selection of glass to prevent falls from height

Introduction Glass roofing has traditionally been considered to

be fragile however in recent years there has been
This Technical Note is aimed specifically at glazed a move to using non fragile forms of roof
roofs which are not accessible by the public but construction hence the fragility of glass roofing has
where people carrying out maintenance to the roof, had to be considered.
or to other equipment mounted on the roof, may
walk, fall or drop objects onto the glazed part of the The construction of a safe roof will require:
roof.
• Sufficient strength to support all anticipated
The safety issues concern the safety of people loads.
below the roof and people who may be on the roof. • Safe post-failure behaviour in the event of
People below the roof may be affected if the glass breakage.
breaks and falls or if objects fall through the glass. • Sufficient rigidity to prevent deformation under
People on the roof may fall onto the glass and be load, which may cause concern to those either
injured by contact with the glass or by falling on or within sight of the glass.
through the glass. The more general safety issues • If the glass is to be walked on sufficient slip
relating to the use of glass overhead are covered resistance to prevent people slipping and
in Technical Note 68. injuring themselves.

A fragile surface is defined in the Work at Height Glazed roofs can always be designed to withstand
Regulations as: any specified loading or impact, typically by using
glass which has higher strength, and by designing
‘A surface or assembly which would be liable to fail the frame and supports to carry the load. There
if any reasonably foreseeable loading were to be may however, be considerable cost implications
applied to it.' and other constraints. These include limitations
from the manufacturing and fabrication processes
For lightweight roof construction the impact of a and the ease with which heavy glass panes can be
person falling on the roof or dropping tools on the safely handled during transportation and
roof may be reasonably foreseeable and may be construction.
more critical than the nominal static load given in
BS6399.

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Safety and fragility of glazed roofing: guidance on specification TN 66

Scope The Work at Height Regulations includes specific

requirements relating to fragile surfaces as follows:
This Technical Note specifically addresses issues
relating to roofs of shallow slope where falling 1 Every employer shall ensure that no person at
objects and people may be retained on the glass. work passes across or near, or works on, from
Roofs of steeper slope may require a different or near, a fragile surface where it is
testing regime as the static load may not be reasonably practicable to carry out work safely
appropriate and impacts may occur in a horizontal and under appropriate ergonomic conditions
direction. without his doing so.

This Technical Note is not applicable to roofs that 2 Where it is not reasonably practicable to carry
are accessible by the public which should be
out work safely and under appropriate
designed in a similar manner to glass floors and ergonomic conditions without passing across
other walk-on glass surfaces, including
or near, or working on, from or near, a fragile
withstanding the appropriate design loads from surface, every employer shall:
BS 6399-1. Many of the issues discussed will
however be relevant.
a) ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable,
The provisions of this Technical Note are not that suitable and sufficient platforms,
intended for domestic conservatories although they coverings, guard rails or similar means of
may be relevant in some cases. support or protection are provided and used
so that any foreseeable loading is supported
In this Technical Note the term ‘glazed roof’ will by such supports or borne by such protection;
refer to both fully-glazed roofs and to glazed parts
of roofs. b) where a risk of a person at work falling
remains despite the measures taken under the
This Technical Note assumes that all glass is preceding provisions of this regulation, take
manufactured in accordance with European suitable and sufficient measures to minimise
Standards and used in the UK. the distances and consequences of his fall.’

Legislation and statutory requirements

Maintenance of glass roofs will require access to
The Building Regulations do not set out specific the roof surface. Adopting more robust forms of
requirements in relation to glazed roofing but construction will reduce the risk of falling through
Regulation 7 requires that building work is carried the roof and should be adopted in preference to
out with materials that are appropriate for the measures such as fall arrest systems that reduce
circumstances and which are fixed so as to the consequences of a fall. Fall arrest equipment
perform the functions for which they are designed. may still be required if there is a residual risk of
The scope of this requirement is limited to those falling.
aspects of performance affecting health and
safety. Various means of demonstrating For more detailed advice reference can be made
compliance are given including compliance with to the HSE publication Health and Safety in
appropriate British Standards and appropriate roofwork HSG33.
testing. For glazed roofing to comply with this
requirement, it will be necessary to ensure the
safety of people both on the roof and below the Roof types
roof.
The loads that a roof will be subjected to will
The Construction (Design and Management) depend on the type of building and in particular the
Regulations (CDM) require the designer to avoid maintenance strategy. In formulating the
risks to staff engaged in construction, cleaning, maintenance strategy and the requirements for the
maintenance and repair of the structure and glass roof, the following issues should be
people who may be affected by such work. This addressed
should preferably be done by eliminating hazards
which give rise to risks and where this is not • What methods of access are proposed for
possible by taking appropriate measures to maintenance? (Note: gantries allow access for
minimise and control the residual risks. cleaning without applying loads to the glass
but gantries often do not provide suitable
access for activities such as close inspection

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and sealant repairs). Roofs of this type would allow unrestricted access
• Is it possible that persons will walk on the to the area below the roof during routine
glazed part of the roof for some activities? maintenance activities. Maintenance work
• Is placement of maintenance and/or cleaning requiring removal of glass panes would clearly
loads onto or across the glazed part of the roof require additional safety measures to prevent or
avoidable? mitigate the fall of a person through the opening.
• Replacement of glass will often require People below should be excluded from the area.
different methods of access from those used
for routine maintenance and will require If glass roofs are designed to be walked on it is
additional safety precautions as there will be necessary to consider damage arising to the glass
an opening in the roof when the glass is surface and slip resistance.
removed.
• Is it possible that people on adjacent non- Class 2
glazed roofing will walk or fall on glazed areas Roofs where people are not intended to walk on
of roof? the glass, but which are required to be non-fragile
• Is there potential for unauthorised use of the to protect people in the following circumstances:
glazed roof as a working platform or vantage
point? • Where maintenance personnel walking
• Is there any part of the building, or an adjacent adjacent to the glass roof could trip or fall onto
building, which overlooks the glazed roof, from the glass surface.
which objects may fall, be dislodged or be • Where maintenance personnel working on the
thrown by vandals on to the glazed roof? glass roof could fall onto the glass surface
• Is there a risk that objects may be thrown onto from crawler boards or other access
the glazed roof from below? equipment.

Depending upon the particular risk it is possible to Such roofs must be non fragile but as any impact
assess the likely impacts that may occur, and to or loading from maintenance workers would be
specify glass appropriately. accidental or in contravention of approved
methods, the main requirement would be to ensure
In the event of an accident occurring there should safety rather than to prevent damage to the glass.
be a procedure for recovering an injured person The glass may therefore fracture but should
which must be incorporated into the remain in place with sufficient integrity to retain
cleaning/maintenance strategy of the building. foreseeable loads.
This should not impose greater loads or impacts
on the glass than allowed for in the design. All maintenance of roofs of this type must be
possible without walking on the glass.
In this Technical Note glazed roofs are classified
into four classes. These are: Roofs of this type would allow unrestricted access
to the area below the roof during routine
Class 0 maintenance activities. Maintenance work
Roofs which are designed for unrestricted access requiring removal of glass panes would clearly
by building occupants. Roofs of this type must be require additional safety measures as described
designed as floors and are outside the scope of for a Class 1 roof.
this Technical Note.
Class 3
Class 1 Roofs which are fragile. Under the CDM regulation
Roofs which will be walked on for occasional the client and designer should be looking to
cleaning/maintenance activities and which will remove fragile roofing materials however this is not
therefore need to support both the weight of always practicable. Where fragile materials are
people on the glass and their equipment. Such used, barriers and appropriate notices are required
roofs could be subject to impact from a person, to warn people and prevent them from walking on
and/or any object carried, falling onto its surface. or falling onto the fragile surface under all
circumstances except when alternative measures
Such roofs must be designed to be non fragile and are in place to ensure safety both of people on the
should be able to resist both static and impact roof and within the building.
loads safely. As it is intended that the glass will be
walked on, some impacts may be expected and Routine maintenance such as cleaning may be
the roof should to resist the impacts without carried out from behind the barrier with long
damage i.e. at a serviceability level. handled equipment or from a gantry or access
platform. During such operations maintenance

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workers should not be able to fall onto the glass hard body tests are summarised in Appendix 2.
surface but equipment could fall or be dropped so These tests are highlighted for background
the glass should be able to resist a hard body information and comments on their relevance to
impact. glazed roofs are given.

Some activities such as detailed inspection and All these tests have their limitations and to
sealant repairs may not be possible when working overcome these, a fragility test sequence for
from behind a barrier or from a gantry or mobile glazed roof assemblies has been developed by the
elevating work platform. In such circumstances CWCT. The test sequence must be carried out on
crawler boards may be used but these must either a test sample incorporating framing representative
have adequate guard rails or alternative protection of the roof assembly as changes in the rigidity of
such as harnesses must be in use. Where the supporting structure and retention of the
harnesses are used they should be used as a glazing will affect the performance of the roof.
restraint to prevent the person falling through the
roof. Where this is not possible and they are used The CWCT Test sequence is described in
to arrest a fall through the roof, the roof materials Technical Note 67. The test sequence includes
should be selected to minimise injury to the falling the following elements:
person. If there is a risk of workers or heavy
equipment falling onto the glass surface the area • ACR soft body test to represent impacts from
below the glass must be kept clear. people,
• hard body test to represent impacts from tools
A flowchart to aid the selection of the appropriate and equipment,
class of roof is given in Figure 1. A risk • a static load test to demonstrate residual
assessment should be applied as part of the strength of the glazing if the glass breaks.
selection process to ensure that the selected roof
design is appropriate. The test sequence should always be specified,
overseen and reviewed by a competent person to
Testing for fragility ensure that it is appropriate for the particular roof
assembly. A number of specific aspects which the
To be classed as non fragile, a material must be competent person should check are given in a
able to resist reasonably foreseeable loads. checklist in Technical Note 67.
Calculations should be produced to show that
static loads can be resisted, however, for lightly Because residual strength is dependent on the
loaded roofs, impact loads are likely to be more performance of laminated glass interlayers which
critical and these are best assessed by testing. is temperature dependent, there is a requirement
to carry out tests at temperatures likely to be
At the present time there are no British or encountered in service.
European standards for assessing the impact
resistance of glazed roofing systems.
Guidance on glass configuration
The Advisory Committee for Roofwork (ACR) is an
industry body originally set up by the HSE to A glass specifier may find the following guidance
provide advice on roofwork. It maintains a website useful when deciding on a glass configuration to
at www.roofworkadvice.info and has published a test. The information should not be used in lieu of
number of guidance documents including ACR undertaking a test.
[M]001 ‘Test for non-fragility of profiled sheeted
roofing assemblies’. This fragility test was Class 1 roofs
developed to represent the impact of a person For a Class 1 roof, the glazing should be able to
accidentally falling onto a roof surface. The test resist impacts without any fracture of the glass and
was developed without input from the glass remain retained by the supporting framework. It is
industry and hence does not address all issues accepted that a glass configuration that remains
relevant to glass roofs. However the test does unbroken during a test may fail in service due to
represent the forces applied to a roof by a person the variable nature of glass. It is therefore a
falling onto the roof surface from a standing requirement that the glass should be able to resist
position. These forces will be the same for any a static load when fractured.
roofing material including glass.
As maintenance staff may fall onto the surface, the
Test methods that have been commonly used for upper pane should be a safety glass. Damage to
impact testing using soft body tests are the glass may also be minimised by use of special
summarised in Appendix 1, while test methods for footwear which is only used for work on the glass

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roof. The upper pane also needs to provide Ionoplast is stiffer than pvb and does not soften to
adequate slip resistance and this is considered the same extent at moderate temperatures likely to
later. be experienced in roof glazing. It should therefore
give better performance. Currently ionoplast is
It is possible to select glass that will resist the available in sheets up to 2.5 m wide and 5.7m long
impacts specified in Technical Note 67 without but not all processors are able to laminate glass of
breaking. The required thickness will vary with the this size.
size and type of pane. For an opening 1.5m x
1.5m, 6mm panes of toughened glass and 8.76 Class 2 roofs
mm panes of laminated annealed glass supported For a Class 2 roof the glass may be permitted to
on four edges have resisted the specified impacts. break under impact but must still withstand a static
load after fracture. As the static load requirement
To resist a static load when the glass is broken is more onerous, the same type of glass as used
requires a laminated glass of suitable composition. for Class 1 roofs will be required. As the glass is
For glazing units this only needs to be used for the not intended to be walked on it will not be
lower pane. necessary to consider slip resistance.

After breakage the laminated glass may sag under

load and pull free from the frame. This can be Class 3 roofs
prevented by bonding the glass to the frame but A class 3 roof is fragile. A worker on the roof
this may result in tearing of the interlayer. should always be provided with a safe means of
access which does not rely on the worker standing
Behaviour of the laminated glass after breakage directly on the glass.
depends on both the interlayer and the glass type.
Laminated glass with only annealed or heat When work is carried out on the roof there will be a
strengthened glass will be stiffer, after breakage, risk of equipment falling on the roof and
than laminated glass that includes a ply of penetrating the roof or causing broken glass to fall.
toughened glass and will not sag so much. A Class 3 roof is therefore required to prevent
Laminated glass consisting of only toughened falling equipment penetrating the glass. To satisfy
glass will give the lowest stiffness after the glass this requirement the glass should be able to
has broken. Performance of interlayers depends prevent a hard body impactor from penetrating the
on the type and thickness of material used and glass. A single pane of toughened glass may be
temperature. able to resist an impact without breaking but it is
not considered acceptable to rely on a single pane
Design of ventilation of atria assumes that warm of glass as there will always be a risk of failure.
air will rise and collect below the roof. Air For single glazing a laminated pane is required to
temperatures of up to 38°C may therefore be provide adequate safety for maintenance
expected to occur below the glazing for long purposes. For double glazing two panes of
periods of time. A glass temperature of at least toughened glass which are each able to resist the
40°C for the lower pane of a glazing unit is hard body impact may be considered to give an
therefore likely and significantly higher adequate level of impact safety. However,
temperatures have been observed in some cases. toughened glass may not be appropriate as it can
Solar control glass in the outer pane may be fail spontaneously and the guidance on general
expected to reach higher temperatures. Canopies safety issues of overhead glazing in Technical
may be subjected to lower temperatures. The Note 68 should be considered.
maximum temperature that the glass is likely to The normal solution for a glazing unit would be a
reach during maintenance work should be toughened upper pane and a laminated lower
evaluated and the glass should be tested at this pane.
temperature.

Pvb interlayers soften with increasing temperature Reducing slippages

and at 40°C are much softer than at lower
temperatures. Pvb is available in different grades If it is intended to walk on a glass roof for
and stiffer grades used for structural applications maintenance it is necessary to ensure that the
should give better performance. Increasing the surface provides adequate slip resistance to
thickness of the interlayer will also improve reduce the risk of slips.
performance. Even so it may be difficult to meet
the requirement of the static load test for large Guidance on the evaluation of slip resistance is
panes of glass laminated with a pvb interlayer. given in CIRIA Report C652 Safer surfaces to walk
on; reducing the risk of slipping.

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Slip resistance depends on the nature of the glass Summary

surface, the slope of the glass pane and the nature
of footwear used. It is unlikely that normal The designer of a building with a glass roof should
footwear will provide adequate slip resistance on consider the maintenance requirements for the
untreated glass in external situations where the roof and any other equipment sited on adjacent
glass surface may be wet. areas of solid roofing to establish whether there is
a risk that people may walk, fall or drop things on
Restricting access to people with specially the glass and hence the appropriate non fragility
selected footwear may be acceptable but it will be performance required for the glazed roof.
necessary to evaluate footwear at the design stage
to ensure that adequate footwear is available. This Technical Note gives a classification system
for glass roofs which can be used as part of this
The slip resistance of glass surfaces can be process. The required class of roof must be stated
increased by fritting and other processes such as in the specification so that the roof can be
sandblasting or etching. All of these processes will designed for the appropriate performance.
increase the retention of dirt and increase the
difficulty of cleaning the glass which may make Where a glazed roof is required to be non-fragile it
their use impractical. should be tested for fragility.

Signage A CWCT fragility test sequence has been devised

to provide a standard industry approach to the
The work at height regulations state: testing of glazed roofs. The test sequence
includes the following elements
‘Where any person at work may pass across or
near, or work on, from or near, a fragile surface, • A soft body impact test to represent impacts
every employer shall ensure that: from people.
• A hard body impact test to represent impacts
a) prominent warning notices are as far as is from tools and equipment.
reasonably practicable affixed at the approach to • A static load test to demonstrate residual
the place where the fragile surface is situated; or strength of the glazing if the glass breaks.

b) where that is not reasonably practicable, such The test may need modification if it does not reflect
persons are made aware of it by other means’. the circumstances in which the glazed roof is to be
used and a competent person is required to review
Where a glazed roof is designed to be walked on it the test sequence for each application.
must be clearly labelled as such, as it may
otherwise give the impression to onlookers that it is Where fragile glazing is used in roofing warning
safe to walk on all other glazed roofs. Signage notices should be provided and it should be
should also indicate limitations to the permitted protected by suitable barriers to prevent access.
access and may take the form of ‘Access permitted Additional safety precautions will be required
in accordance with maintenance manual only’. during maintenance work.

It is not normally considered good practice to mix

walk-on and non-walk on glass in a single roof. In References
the event that a glazed roof is not labelled it should
be assumed that it is not safe to walk on.
BS 6399 Loading for buildings -
Part 1:1996 Code of practice for dead and
Risk assessment imposed loads
Part 3:1998 Code of practice for imposed roof
This Technical Note considers the safety risks loads
arising from maintenance work on glazed roofing.
The design and selection of glass for glazed roofs The Construction (Design and Management)
should also involve the preparation of a risk Regulations 2007, available from www.opsi.gov.uk.
assessment, to consider safety issues arising at all
stages in the life of the roof including, construction, BS 6206:1981: Specification for impact
operation, maintenance and deconstruction. This performance requirements for flat safety glass and
is considered in Technical Note 68. safety plastics for use in buildings.

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Safety and fragility of glazed roofing: guidance on specification TN 66

The Work at Height Regulations 2005, available

from www.opsi.gov.uk.

Health and safety in roof work. HSG 33, HSE

1998 ISBN 978 0 7176 6250 0

ACR[M]001:2005 Test for non-fragility of profiled

sheeted roofing assemblies, available from
http://www.roofworkadvice.info >publications > the
red book

BS 8200:1985 Code of practice for design of non-

loadbearing external vertical enclosures of
buildings

BS EN 12600:2002 Glass in building. Pendulum

test. Impact test method and classification for flat
glass

BS EN 356:2000 Glass in building. Security

glazing - Testing and classification of resistance
against manual attack

Note:

This guidance may not cover all aspects of the

safety of glazed roofing due to differences in
building design and use, and to changes in good
practice, which may develop over time in light of
new product developments, methods, ideas, etc.

It is emphasized that it is the duty of all employers

and of people who have control over workplaces to
reduce building risks ‘so far as is reasonably
practicable’ under the Health and Safety at Work
1974 and ‘where necessary for reasons of health
© CWCT 2010
or safety’ under the Workplace (Health, Safety and
Welfare) Regulations 1992.
University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY
Tel: 01225 386541; Fax: 01225 386556
Email: [email protected];
www.cwct.co.uk

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Is the roof accessible to Yes Class 0 roof

building users Seek specialist advice
No
Is it intended that Yes Class 1 roof
maintenance staff will Glazing should be able to:
walk on the glass
without the use of • Resist static loads
crawler boards? • Resist hard body impacts without breaking
• Resist soft body impacts without breaking
• Resist static load with all glass plies broken
• Break safely
• Provide slip resistance

No

Is there a barrier to
prevent people walking
or falling on the glass
roof when working on a No
non glazed area of
roof?
Class 2 roof
Yes Glazing should be able to:
• Prevent penetration of hard body
When carrying out work
to the glass roof, is the • Prevent penetration of soft body
glazing required to • Break safely
protect workers from
• Resist static load with all glass plies broken
falling? Yes
(For example if
someone falls off a
crawling board)

No

When carrying out work Yes

to the glass roof could
someone fall onto the
glass causing it to fall
onto an area where
people are present?

No

When carrying out work Yes Class 3 roof

to the glass roof, could
equipment be dropped
onto the glass over an Glazing should be able to prevent penetration of hard body
area where people are
present?

No

See TN 68

Figure 1 Flowchart for selection of roof type

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Appendix 1: Commonly used soft body impact tests

Impact
Test Details Impactor(s) energy Comments
ACR[M]001:2005 The test is designed to represent the effect and impact 300 mm cylindrical 530 J This test method requires a glazing expert to assess its applicability to
energy of a person accidentally slipping/tripping and bag filled with sand glazed roofs. The test does however simulate the force that a 90kg person
falling onto a roof surface. The person being in a of mass 45 kg. would apply if he/she fell onto the roof from a standing position with a factor
standing position on the roof surface before impact. The of safety of 1.15.
impactor is dropped from a single height of 1200 mm.
Test samples are required to be ‘conditioned to ensure that they are tested in
Roofing assemblies are classified as: a condition which could reasonably exist in service and which would be the
worst case for impact strength’. These conditions, such as elevated or low
Fragile where the impactor passes through the assembly temperatures which may affect the performance of laminated glass, are not
on the first drop. defined and are left to the judgement of the competent person.

Class C non-fragile where the impactor is retained on the The impactor is left in its fallen position for a period of five minutes but this
assembly after one test. may be too short to simulate the time a person may lie on broken glazing
before being rescued.
Class B non-fragile where the impactor is retained on the
assembly after two drops. The mass of the impactor is 45 kg, which is less than the normal allowance
for a workman and will affect the validity of the assessment of load bearing
Class A non-fragile where the impactor is retained on the capacity after impact.
assembly after two drops and there is no significant
damage to the assembly that would affect long-term The test does not simulate the potential hard body impact that may occur as
strength and weather performance. a result of a workman's tools for example hitting the glass and causing
breakage before the person impacts the glass.

BS 8200:1985 This is a standard test for ensuring the safety of people 400 mm 350 or 500 J This test method is not specifically designed for glazing and may therefore
who may accidentally impact wall cladding. In the test an spheroconical bag require a glazing expert to assess its applicability to glazed roofs.
impactor is allowed to swing against the cladding surface filled with glass
from different heights and locations. To pass the test the spheres of mass 50 The test does not have a provision for assessing the load bearing capacity of
structural safety of the building should not be affected by kg. the assembly after impact/breakage.
damage, cladding should not have the potential to fall or
to cause serious injury to people inside or outside the The test does not simulate the potential hard body impact that may occur as
building and the impactor should not pass through the a result of a workman's tools for example hitting the glass and causing
cladding. breakage before the person impacts the glass.

Note that there is also a serviceability test which has an

impact energy of 120J.
cont’d

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Appendix 1: Commonly used soft body impact tests (cont’d)

Impact
Test Details Impactor(s) energy Comments

BS 6206:1981 The purpose of the test is to categorise safety glasses for 300mm leather bag 135, 202 or This test assesses the soft body impact strength of a pane of glass of
situations where glass may be subjected to human impact. In filled with lead of 538 J standard size and not the roofing assembly.
the test an impactor is allowed to swing against the glass from mass 45 kg.
three different heights (305, 457 and 1219 mm). The test is The test does not simulate the potential hard body impact that may occur as
intended to represent the impact energies of a running child. a result of a workman's tools for example hitting the glass and causing
The glass must break safely or not break at all if it is to pass breakage before the person impacts the glass.
the test at each drop height.
Glass which breaks safely and therefore passes the test (e.g. monolithic
toughened glass) can have little or no residual strength. This may allow a
person to fall through on impact if the glass breaks.

Glass which resists breakage and therefore passes the test (e.g. thick
monolithic annealed and heat strengthened glass) can have little residual
strength if broken such as by a hard body impact. This may allow a person
to fall through on impact if the glass breaks.

The test does not have a provision for assessing the load bearing capacity of
the assembly after impact/breakage.

This test will be superseded by BS EN 12600, but plastics sheet glazing

materials will still be tested in accordance with BS 6206.

BS EN The test has been developed to serve the same purpose as Double tyre with 93, 221 or This test assesses the soft body impact resistance of a glass pane of
12600:2002 BS 6206. The test will supersede BS 6206 as a common added steel 588 J standard size and not the roofing assembly.
European standard for testing the impact safety of glasses. weights of mass
The impactor is allowed to swing from three different heights 50 kg. The test does not simulate the potential hard body impact that may occur as
(190, 450 and 1200 mm). The glass is classified into both a result of a workman's tools for example hitting the glass and causing
impact classes and breakage classes. breakage before the person impacts the glass.

The test does not have a provision for assessing the load bearing capacity of
the assembly after impact/breakage.

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Appendix 2: Commonly used hard body impact tests

Impact
Test Details Impactor(s) energy Comments

BS 8200:1985 This is a standard test for assessing the impact resistance of wall cladding. 50 mm steel ball of 3, 6 or 10 J This test method is not specifically designed for
The impactors are used by dropping them onto a horizontal test specimen - in mass 0.5 kg or glazing and may therefore require a glazing expert
each case the impact energy is a function of the height through which the 62.5 mm steel ball of to assess its applicability to glazed roofs.
impactor travels before it strikes the specimen. The test requires that the mass 1.0 kg.
cladding should not sustain damage which is not easily repairable and which The test does not simulate the potential soft body
does not cause deterioration of performance. There should also be no impact from a person impacting the glass.
indentation marks that are visually unacceptable from the impacts.
The test does not have a provision for assessing the
load bearing capacity of the assembly after
impact/breakage.

BS EN 356:2000 Test is used to categorise the resistance to manual attack of glazing. The 100 mm steel ball of 60 to 363 J This test does not simulate the potential soft body
impactor is dropped from several heights, between 1500 mm and 9000 mm mass 4.11 kg. impact from a person impacting the glass.
depending upon level of performance being tested. To pass the test the glass
must resist penetration of the impactor. The test does not have a provision for assessing the
load bearing capacity of the assembly after
impact/breakage.

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