The title is pretty funny… but the excuse is used.
Fortunately, this issue is addressed in the new TAPA FSR Standard.
This article talks about the misunderstanding of “Bomb Proof Glass” or “Blast Proof Glass”.
A few years ago, I visited a warehouse that had windows on the ground floor level. When asked about the windows, the security manager insisted that the windows were bomb proof., and therefore met the requirements of the TAPA FSR.
The security manager continued to describe the construction of the “bomb proof glass”. It is made with a clear plastic sheet with double sided adhesive inserted between two panes of window glass.
The strength of the so called “bomb proof glass” was further discussed. They explained that “bomb proof glass” is a term used to talk about a window glass that would prevent glass shards from entering the office space if a bomb exploded on the outside of the building. In short, if there was an explosion near the building with thee “bomb proof glass”, the gluey plastic sheet between the two panes of glass would hold the glass shards in place and prevent the broken glass from hurting employees inside the office area. Therefore, it was of sufficient strength to keep a thief out of the warehouse.
I was still of the opinion that this type “bomb proof glass” could still be a security vulnerability. Just because there is a gluey plastic sheet between two panes of window glass to keep shards from falling on the floor did not sound like very good security glass. In addition, the glass was normal window glass and not tempered glass with a minimum surface compression of 10,000 psi according to federal specifications.
There have been a number of improved glass types developed by various companies, but I only had limited contact within the glass industry.
Therefore, I contacted a couple companies that offer to replace normal office window glass with the “bomb proof glass”. I asked the sales person if the glass has a security value against theft. The sales person would only comment that the glass would prevent glass from being broken.
I again asked if the glass has a security value. The problem is, I was speaking with a German person and the German word for “security” and “safety” is the same. The sales person was getting frustrated and was wondering why I was asking all these questions.
The sales person explained that there is a test to evaluate the strength of the “bomb proof glass”. As I remember, a ball weighing approximately 7 kilograms is dropped on a manufactured “bomb proof” pane of glass three times from a height of one meter. If the metal ball did not go through the treated glass on the third drop, the glass was considered as being “bomb proof”.
I was still not getting a very good answer. I asked if the “bomb proof glass” is sold for the purpose of theft prevention. The sales person said no, the “bomb proof glass” is not sold as a theft prevention. The company would also not guarantee that the glass would keep thieves out of a warehouse.