Glass Inspection and Handling:
Incoming and Specification InspectionAn incoming inspection station should be established to immediately detect any transit damage. This will eliminate further damage to otherwise useable glass.
If a specification inspection station is in use, care should be taken to ensure that glass is handled properly on carpeted or otherwise protected surfaces.
Glass HandlingCare must be taken when removing lites of glass from the crate. Removal that requires a lite to be slid across the face of another is not an acceptable handling practice to Cameron Glass. This practice creates susceptibility to damage from the edge of one lite of glass scraping against the surface of the part behind it.
Acceptable handling requires a system for glass removal in which the glass is pulled from the crate from the front. The lite should be tilted forward, moved away from the lite directly behind it, and then slid forward to remove it. If paper is being used as a separation medium between the individual pieces of glass, it is important to make sure the paper is properly in place after other pieces of glass are removed from the crate.
Precautions must be taken to ensure that the glass is handled very carefully whenever it is slid vertically in the storage and assembly areas.
If any additional extruded/assembled materials (frames, hinges, door handles, wipers, bolts, etc.) or primers/adhesives are to be attached or applied to the glass, a carpeted work bench arrangement should be established to accommodate this process. Special care should be taken to keep all materials from touching any part of the glass prior to their installation and/or application to the glass. Also, any tools or materials used in preparing the glass for installation must not be placed on the glass prior to or during their use. The glass itself must not be used as a workbench or for other similar utilitarian purposes.
CleaningImmediately upon removal from the crate, the glass should be cleaned if necessary. A carpeted bench should be available on which to set the glass for cleaning purposes. Care should be taken to remove any noticeably abrasive dust or metallic material from the glass prior to any spray-and-wipe type cleaning.
Once properly cleaned, the glass should be inspected.
Glass InspectionPossibly the most important part of a glass inspection program is the education of all involved personnel. This education should include both the standard inspection method and a thorough explanation of allowable defects.
To properly inspect glass, hold the lite out at arm's length (approximately three feet) and at a ninety- (90) degree angle. Then look through (not at) the glass under normal plant lighting. If the defect is not visible using these criteria and does not exceed the defect specifications outlined on the attached Standard, it is considered acceptable.
Alternatively, an inspection station consisting of two fluorescent bulbs mounted horizontally twenty-four inches (24") apart on a black background can be constructed. This creates a standard environment against which to judge all glass defects.
Action should be taken to protect rejected glass until the appropriate personnel review it. A dedicated area of the assembly area or plant should be designated as a reject station. It is imperative that the damage be marked and that the rejected glass be stacked with a proper separation medium such as paper or cardboard in order to eliminate any additional damage to the glass. This helps the inspecting party to adequately identify the original damage.
Glass Storage and TransferPrior to removal to the assembly area, under no circumstances should glass be placed in a crate other than the crate it arrived in for storage purposes.
Glass that is unused and left in the storage area should be properly secured within its crate. This glass must also be properly covered in order to avoid any foreign materials, such as metal shavings, water or an inordinate amount of dust, from entering the crate and contaminating the glass.
Caution must be used to ensure that the glass is properly secured as it is transported to and from the storage area to and from the assembly area. Failure to support and secure parts during transit invites the introduction of scratches and other damage.
If the glass is being taken to the assembly area by hand, only one piece at a time should be transferred in this manner. This will eliminate the possibility of glass being stacked for transit, scratching due to two pieces of glass in close proximity, and the obvious hazard of too much material for one person to adequately man-handle.
Under no circumstances should glass be stored outside. Water seeping into crates has the tendency to permanently etch glass once it has found its way between two lites.