Industry technical leaders met in Long Beach, Calif. for the NGA Glass Conference: Long Beach. Key topics on the agenda included school security, daylighting and how light affects the development of human eye health, current and future IGU technology to meet and exceed increasing model energy code stringency, glass recycling and sustainability, and the 2022 International Year of Glass.

The three-day conference, held Jan. 24-26, included meetings of the NGA Advocacy, Forming and Fabricating Committees, which made progress on many of their current projects and resources under development. The Installing Committee will gather in March at the BEC Conference in Nashville. 

In addition to committee work, conference attendees participated in several optional networking events including a golf scramble at Skylinks at Long Beach golf course and the 7th Annual Fun Run/Walk. The Conference also featured a welcome reception at the Aquarium of the Pacific, a hands-on glass-cutting demonstration, new professionals networking beer break, an educational wine tasting event as well as the Volunteer Celebration Dinner. The Volunteer Celebration Dinner is the association’s opportunity to recognize all who offer their time and expertise to the betterment of the industry through participation in NGA committees and task groups. In addition to recognizing the top performers from the golf scramble at Skylinks, the NGA presented two awards:

• Volunteer of the Year 2022: Chuck Knickerbocker, Technical Glass Products 
• C. Gregory Carney Award: Thomas Zaremba, Roetzel & Andress

Join your peers at NGA Glass Conference: Chicago, July 18-21, 2022 for the next meeting of NGA’s committees. 

Committee Updates from Glass Conference: Long Beach 2022

Forming

The Forming Committee presented updates on several sustainability initiatives, including refining the reporting of glass products in Health Product Declarations, developing the Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator as a tool for benchmarking sustainability data, ASHRAE 189.1 global warming potential discussions and new implementation dates and metrics for the Buy Clean California Act. 

Advocacy

The Advocacy Committee works to promote codes, standards and regulations that positively affect glass in the built environment; educate the industry, stakeholders and consumers about the benefits of glass; and increase communication and education about the importance of NGA advocacy initiatives.

The meeting began with a discussion on the presentation Physiological Impacts of Light on Human Health & the Implications of Glazing. A task group was established to discuss next steps on how to engage the glazing industry given new research showing the importance of daylight on children’s eye development.

New and proposed legislation with funding allocated for infrastructure energy efficiency initiatives was reviewed, including the Build Back Better Blueprint, Energy & Covid Relief Act of 2020, American Rescue Plan Act, and the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act.

Committee members are discussing plans for the upcoming NGA Glass & Glazing Advocacy Day in April in Washington, DC. This event is being held as part of NGA’s International Year of Glass 2022 initiatives and will occur alongside the “National Day of Glass” hosted by the American Ceramics Society’s Glass and Optical Materials Division. NGA is organizing a “fly-in” to connect member companies by invitation with members of Congress, as well as representatives from the DOE and EPA, to make a positive connection for glass to legislators. Topics of importance include building envelope opportunities using advanced glazing for existing and new buildings, protective glazing for enhanced school and building security, and bird-friendly glazing.

Fabricating

Within the Fabricating Committee, the GANA Glazing Manual 50th anniversary edition is undergoing review to be republished at the end of 2022. A new NGA Glossary of Architectural Glass & Glazing Terms has been developed and will be available for download from the NGA website in April. This resource consolidates glossaries from across NGA’s and other industry resources to standardize terms and definitions. 

The tempering segment reviewed updates to glass-related ASTM standards from the last year, including two new standards, C1908-21 Standard Test Method for Pummel Adhesion Testing of Two-ply Laminated Architectural Glass and C1914-21 Standard Test Method for Bake and Boil Testing of Laminated Glass. The ASTM E1300 E06.52 sub-committee expects to release updates for printing on glass, which may include information related to the use of ceramic frits on monolithic glass and on lites as part of an IG unit. The desire to determine if surface polishing and/or edge grinding following tempering reduces the glass strength was re-ignited, and a proposal for testing and calculations will be developed for review. Finally, a new resource, Best Practices for Heat Soaking, will be developed. 
 
The Mirror segment is working on a new Mirror Design Guide, which will cover types of mirrors, fabrication, handling, storage, installing, cleaning, recyclability, sustainability, and the potential for LEED credits. The Decorative segment continues to develop resources towards publication of a new Decorative Glazing Manual. In addition, new work will begin on defining terminology as technology evolves to identify coatings and frits with clarity and consistency.

Within the Protective Glazing segment, the School Security task group drafted a new Active Shooter test standard for glazing, which is currently at ballot at ASTM. The ICC Ad Hoc Building Safety & Security Committee is expected to release a report for public comment in March 2022 for all occupancies considered high risk. The NGA Best Practices for Bird Friendly Glazing Design Guide is now referenced within GSA P100 Facilities Standards for the Public Buildings Service, updated October 2021. The existing NGA technical paper Proper Procedures for Cleaning Architectural Glass Products will be updated with a new section on specific guidelines for protective glazing products. The Fire-Rated Glazing segment is reviewing a new technical paper on the additional challenges faced by fire-rated glazing beyond fire resistance and fire protection. 

The Laminating segment is pursuing the enhancement of laminated glass deflection tables as published in the NGA Engineering Standards Manual to reflect laminated glass deflection calculations for interior wall partitions. The content will eventually be added to the NGA Heavy Glass Door Design Manual and potentially the NGA Laminated Glazing Reference Manual.  

The Energy segment discussed possibilities for new educational resources based on the Thermal Bridging Considerations at Interface Conditions Design Guide, including recommending the Installing Committee’s Specifications task group consider how thermal bridging should be addressed in specifications. New resources will be developed on the topics of thermal comfort and the status of code adoptions across the states, comparing historical and current versions of ASHRAE vs IECC model energy codes. The Windows PCR will be extended based on discussion that it is still important and relevant to the industry. 

The Insulating segment began with a presentation on New IGU Technologies for Carbon Reduction and Zero Net Energy. New insulating glazing task groups were formed to address a number of timely topics that impact application use and challenges, including bent IGUs and secondary sealants in IGUs.

Finally, the Installing Committee leadership presented updates on the Specifications task group, which is coordinating with MasterSpec to update the Division 08 section. The Frameless Shower Enclosures Installation task group has begun work to build upon the recently-published Design Guide. These projects are two examples of bridging the work efforts between the Forming, Fabricating, Advocacy, and Installing Committees to ensure the entire supply chain is reflected in the resources created. 

Newly Published Materials

NGA’s various task groups have been busy creating resources for the industry. Below is a summary of newly published and updated materials in 2021, available for download and/or purchase in NGA’s online store:

Glass Technical Papers

• New! FB71-21 School Security Glazing
• New! FB72-21 Introduction to Hybrid VIG Fabrication
• New! FM07-21 Flat Glass Environmental Transparency Documents
• Updated! FB38-14 (2021) The Reusability and Recyclability of Mirror Products
• Updated! FB21-09 (2021) Installation Techniques Design to Prolong the Life of Flat Glass Mirrors
• Updated! FB40-14 (2021) Recyclability of Architectural Glass Products
• Updated! FB47-15 (2021) Considerations When Installing Interior-Mounted Back-Painted Glass
• Updated! FB04-03 (2021) Design Considerations for Laminated Glazing

Design Guides

New! DG01-21 Best Practices for Bird-Friendly Glazing Design Guide
New! DG02-21 Frameless Shower Enclosures Design Guide

Technical Manuals

New! Commercial Fenestration Systems Manual
Updated! Guide to the Glass and Glazing Requirements of the Model Building Codes

AIA Presentations

Updated! Fire-Rated Glazing Today