The North American Safety Standard for Auto Glass Installation

When car glass windshield repair is no longer feasible, vehicle owners have no choice but to agree to car glass windshield replacement. But haven’t you ever been anxious when you have to have windshield replacement and auto glass installation for your vehicle? Perhaps you want to know if there are procedures and standards you should measure your car glass service provider against, whether for shop based windshield replacement or mobile windshield replacement.

Indeed, there is a North American safety standard for auto glass installation that can be used in car glass windshield replacement. This is the called the Automotive Glass Replacement Safety Standards (AGRSS) developed by the Automotive Glass Replacement Safety Standards Council Inc. It covers the various procedures in auto glass installation, the performance of all products involved and the education and training required for the technicians who will be doing the procedures.

The Automotive Glass Replacement Safety Standards Council Inc. is accredited as a standards development organization by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Its AGRSS is considered as the first and only North American safety standard for auto glass installation, providing detailed guidelines and steps for safe auto glass installation during car glass windshield replacement. This is seen as one of the most important developments in the area of safety in the car glass industry for the past 50 years.

The AGRSS hopes to raise public awareness on safe auto glass installation procedures in order to lower the risks of injury and death from vehicular accidents. It also aims to raise the standards of professionalism among auto glass installation technicians and other stakeholders in the auto glass installation industry.

Even before any auto glass installation is done for windshield replacement, the AGRSS instructs technicians to first assess the vehicle to rule out any condition which would compromise the safety of the car glass bonding or retention system. The presence of any such condition should be reported to the vehicle owner and the auto glass installation should not proceed until that condition is addressed properly.

According to the AGRSS, replacement car glass should correspond to original equipment specifications. Only brands such as Pilkington that comply with such original equipment specifications will qualify.

The AGRSS requires use of adhesives specified by the original equipment manufacturer, provided these are not beyond their expiration date, active shelf life or open shelf life. The manufacturer’s instructions should also be followed to the letter. The adhesive should be stored properly under specified conditions. Even the environmental conditions required during application should be complied with, including temperature and humidity requirements.

Certain adhesives have special drying and drive away time periods. The vehicle owner and driver should be informed of this and strict compliance should be ensured. In adverse weather conditions, special instructions should be followed.

Technicians are warned to be careful not to use any installation method or chemical agents that may cause the car glass retention or bonding to fail. Chemicals referred to may include lubricants, solvents, cleaners or release agents.

The AGRSS also admonishes technicians to inform the vehicle owner in case they detect any previously installed inappropriate materials. In correcting such inappropriate car glass installations, they should remove all inappropriate parts and replace them with those that adhere to the standards.

To qualify for AGRSS tasks, technicians should complete a comprehensive training and education program that covers car glass replacement safety issues, standards and procedures of original equipment manufacturer installations, knowledge of required technical specifications, specific retention systems instructions, and the application and demonstration of skills learned.

So the next time you need to have auto glass installation for windshield replacement, make sure your service provider adheres to the Automotive Glass Replacement Safety Standards or AGRSS.