Commercial buildings benefit greatly from the expansive use of glass. Natural light, retail exposure, positive work environment and many other factors have dictated the ever-increasing use of glass in the workplace. However, one consideration that is often overlooked is the danger present in all glass when it is compromised – potential breakage. Although the tempered safety glass in commercial buildings is stronger than conventional windows and doors, it still possesses this weakness. Once shattered, glass windows and doors can no longer serve their primary purpose as a barrier to the outside world. Commercial Security film offers a method to treat this problem and provide an invisible shield, reinforcing doors and windows without replacing any glass or altering the appearance of the building.

Crime is also a major factor when considering the installation of Commercial security film. Alarms and video surveillance are pretty useless in deterring burglars who smash their way through windows, grab what is the vicinity and quickly flee. The nature of tempered glass only adds to the effectiveness of this technique because, once broken, the entire pane falls away to the floor allowing for immediate access and egress at any point of the building with glass.

Commercial security film also allows the building owner to reduce the possible liability they may incur by protecting building occupants from coming into contact with broken glass.

Home is a special place. Whether we live in a house, anapartment or condominium, our homes offer us the essential shelter that we all need. Home is a familiar place that we try to make as safe as possible; securing doors and windows with locks, protecting children from dangerous chemicals and even putting down traction to avoid slipping in the bathtub. These and other common sense efforts seem like second nature to us, however most of the time we fail to think about what could be one of the most dangerous conditions that exist in our homes, right before our eyes – unprotected glass. Statistics developed by the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System showed that roughly 250,000 people were injured annually in the U.S. from accidental impacts with ordinary glass.

All around us glass brightens our homes in the form of doors and windows. This material is so commonplace that we forget the very real threat it poses to cause serious, even lethal injuries. By far, the majority of glass used in residential construction is annealed or non-safety glass. Non-safety glass is responsible for thousands of serious injuries each year and many deaths. Ordinary glass can break into dangerous shards that can cause horrific lacerations and piercing injuries. Non-safety glass is inherently dangerous; that is, the danger of injury from this glass arises from the nature of the material itself and not from any defect or design flaw – all glass is potentially dangerous.

Most serious injuries could have been avoided had the glass been coated with 4 mil safety film. This film application not only brings the window or door up to the same code as tempered glass, but also if broken, holds the glass together shielding the person on the impact side and preventing the shattered pieces from scattering all over the area. In fact, several codes have been developed to test and verify the benefits of safety film as a protective measure. Most notable of these are the 16 CFR 1201 a Federal Code, BS 6206 a standard developed in the United Kingdom and the ANSI Z97.1 which is the American building code for safety glass.