The responsibility lies with both the building owner and occupier to ensure that Glass Manifestation is present in areas that require it, and that the Manifestation itself is sufficient and compliant with current legislation.
The Legislation
Document N (Building Regulations), and Regulation 14 (Workplace, Health & Safety Regulations), cover the safety of glazing. They state that manifestation must be applied to glazing in "critical locations" to increase its visibility and reduce the potential for human impact.
Document N required glass manifestation to be installed at 1500mm height to increase the safety of glazing in critical locations. However this did not take into account children, small adults, and mobility vehicle riders, which breached the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act (2005). Therefore a new regulation, Document M – Access to and Use of Buildings, was issued. This required greater manifestation at two height ranges, in order to protect those listed above.
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Document M States that:
"People with visual impairment should be in no doubt as to the location of the glass entrance doors, especially when they are within a glazed screen. The choice of a different style of manifestation for the door and the glazed screen can help to differentiate between them.
"The presence of the door should be apparent not only when it is shut but also when it is open. Where it can be held open, steps should be taken to avoid people being harmed by walking into the door."
How does it affect me?
It is the legal responsibility of the building owner and the occupier to ensure that all glazing complies with the above regulations.
Glass entrance doors and glazed screens will satisfy requirement M if;
a) they are clearly defined with manifestation on the glass at two levels, 850 to 1000mm and 1400 to 1600mm above the floor, contrasting visually with the background seen through the glass (both from inside and outside) in all lighting conditions;
b) manifestation takes the form of a logo or sign at least 150mm high (repeated if on a glazed screen), or a decorative feature such as broken lines or continuous bands, at least 50mm high;
Failing to meet Health and Safety regulations can result in severe penalties.
Glass Manifestation is the ideal solution!
Glass Manifestation is a fast, cost effective route to compliance with glass manifestation regulations which can be installed with minimum disruption to a building's occupants.
Glass Manifestation satisfies the requirement to make glass more apparent and improve safety. They can be in the form of circles, squares, stripes or even company logos.
Decorative window film can also be used to meet glass manifestation regulations, and offer a more bespoke solution.
