supply chain management in glass industry

1. What is Supply Chain Management?2. Importance of SCM in today’s millennium3. Supply Chain Management with Value Chain Management4. Supply Chain Management in Glass Industry5. Evolution of Glass Industry6. Uses and Types of Glass7. Production Process 8. Material Handling Norms9. Comparison with Chinese Dragon10. National and International Players11. Sejal Architectural Glass Ltd: ‘The Inside Story’12. Innovative Projects13. Future of Indian Infrastructure14. Bibliography

Executive Summary

Supply Chain Management in Fragile Industry

The purpose of this project was to get an insight in the current trends and future prospects in Indian Glass Industry. It gives me immense pleasure to present this thoroughly researched project on Supply Chain Management in Fragile Industries of India. This will also help in enlightening our knowledge about the latest happenings in the Supply Chain Management and its integrated factors.

This report has been designed to eliminate the queries and doubts of common public about the Indian commercial Glass Industry. Therefore by considering certain norms, I have made an attempt to make it as simple as possible.

The research work has been carefully presented and also appropriately evaluated by some of the respectful industrial dignitaries just to ensure the perfection of information laid down in this project.

It mentions about how Supply Chain Management could be one of the most lucrative profit generating center of an organization. It also mentions about certain latest modified theories and experiments which could improve the efficiency of the organization.

The new century has seen phenomenal growth in the development and application of safety glass in India. New market trends in architectural glazing point very clearly in the direction of increasingly sophisticated products with entirely new functions. The glazing of 21st century will provide energy economy, solar control, intelligence and many other new features. When we talk about the Glass Industry, it’s mainly about commercial float glass technology which possesses immense potential in future of Indian Infrastructural Economy.

1. WHAT IS SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT?


Overview:

Nowadays, one of the few outcomes in the constantly changing business world is that organizations can no longer compete solely as individual entities. Increasingly, they must rely on effective supply chains, or networks, to successfully compete in the global market and networked economy (Baziotopoulos, 2004). Peter Drucker’s (1998) management’s new paradigms, this concept of business relationships extends beyond traditional enterprise boundaries and seeks to organize entire business processes throughout a value chain of multiple companies.

During the past decades, globalization, outsourcing and information technology have enabled many organizations such as Dell and Hewlett Packard, to successfully operate solid collaborative supply networks in which each specialized business partner focuses on only a few key strategic activities (Scott, 1993). This inter-organizational supply network can be acknowledged as a new form of organization. However, with the complicated interactions among the players, the network structure fits neither “market” nor “hierarchy” categories (Powell, 1990). It is not clear what kind of performance impacts different supply network structures could have on firms, and little is known about the coordination conditions trade-offs that may exist among the players. From a system’s point of view, a complex network structure can be decomposed into individual component firms (Zhang and Dilts, 2004). Traditionally, companies in a supply network concentrate on the inputs and outputs of the processes, with little concern for the internal management working of other individual players. Therefore, the choice of internal management control structure is known to impact local firm performance (Mintzberg, 1979).

In the 21st century, there have been few changes in business environment that have contributed to the development of supply chain networks. First, as an outcome of globalization and proliferation of multi-national companies, joint ventures, strategic alliances and business partnerships were found to be significant success factors, following the earlier “Just-In-Time”, “Lean Management” and “Agile Manufacturing” practices (MacDuffie and Helper, 1997; Monden, 1993; Womack and Jones, 1996; Gunasekaran, 1999). Second, technological changes, particularly the dramatic fall in information communication costs, a paramount component of transaction costs, has led to changes in coordination among the members of the supply chain network (Coase, 1998).

Many researchers have recognized these kinds of supply network structure as a new organization form, using terms such as “Keiretsu”, “Extended Enterprise”, “Virtual Corporation”, Global Production Network”, and “Next Generation Manufacturing System” (Drucker, 1998; Tapscott, 1996; Dilts, 1999). In general, such structures, can be defined as “a group of semi-independent organizations, each with their capabilities, which collaborate in ever-changing constellations to serve one or more markets in order to achieve some business goal specific to that collaboration” (Akkermans, 2001).

Definition:Supply chain management (SCM) is the process of planning, implementing, and controlling the operations of the supply chain with the purpose to satisfy customer requirements as efficiently


as possible. Supply chain management spans all movement and storage of raw materials, work-in-process inventory, and finished goods from point-of-origin to point-of-consumption. The term supply chain management was coined by consultant Keith Oliver, of strategy consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton in 1982.

According to the CSCMP, a professional association that developed a definition in 2004, Supply Chain Management encompasses the planning and management of all activities involved in sourcing and procurement, conversion, and all logistics management activities. Importantly, it also includes coordination and collaboration with channel partners, which can be suppliers, intermediaries, third-party service providers, and customers. In essence, Supply Chain Management integrates supply and demand management within and across companies."[1]

Some experts distinguish supply chain management and logistics management, while others consider the terms to be interchangeable. From the point of view of an enterprise, the scope of supply chain management is usually bounded on the supply side by your supplier's suppliers and on the customer side by your customer's customers.

Supply chain management is also a category of software products.

Supply chain management problems

Supply chain management must address the following problems:

Distribution Network Configuration: Number and location of suppliers, production facilities, distribution centers, warehouses and customers.

Distribution Strategy: Centralized versus decentralized, direct shipment, cross docking, pull or push strategies, third party logistics.

Information: Integrate systems and processes through the supply chain to share valuable information, including demand signals, forecasts, inventory and transportation.

Inventory Management: Quantity and location of inventory including raw materials, work-in-process and finished goods.

2. IMPORTANCE OF SCM IN TODAY’S MILLENNIUM

The following strategic and competitive areas can be used to their full advantage if a supply chain management system is properly implemented.

Fulfillment. “Ensuring the right quantity of parts for production or products for sale arrive at the right time.”(Haag, Cummings, McCubbrey, et al., 2006, p. 46). This is enabled through efficient communication, ensuring that orders are placed with the


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inventory

appropriate amount of time available to be filled. The supply chain management system also allows a company to constantly see what is on stock and making sure that the right quantities are ordered to replace stock.

Logistics. “Keeping the cost of transporting materials as low as possible consistent with safe and reliable delivery.” (Haag, Cummings, McCubbrey, et al., 2006, p. 46). Here the supply chain management system enables a company to have constant contact with its distribution team, which could consist of trucks, trains, or any other mode of transportation. The system can allow the company to track where the required materials are at all times. As well, it may be cost effective to share transportation costs with a partner company if shipments are not large enough to fill a whole truck and this again, allows the company to make this decision.

Production. “Ensuring production lines function smoothly because high-quality parts are available when needed.” (Haag, Cummings, McCubbrey, et al., 2006, p. 46). Production can run smoothly as a result of fulfillment and logistics being implemented correctly. If the correct quantity is not ordered and delivered at the requested time, production will be halted, but having an effective supply chain management system in place will ensure that production can always run smoothly without delays due to ordering and transportation.

Revenue & profit. “Ensuring no sales are lost because shelves are empty.”(Haag, Cummings, McCubbrey, et al., 2006, p. 46). Managing the supply chain improves a company’s flexibility to respond to unforeseen changes in demand and supply. Because of this, a company has the ability to produce goods at lower prices and distribute them to consumers quicker than companies without supply chain management thus increasing the overall profit.

Costs. “Keeping the cost of purchased parts and products at acceptable levels.” (Haag, Cummings, McCubbrey, et al., 2006, p. 46). Supply chain management reduces costs by “… increasing inventory turnover on the shop floor and in the warehouse” (&ldquo Supply chain management,” 2006) controlling the quality of goods thus reducing internal and external failure costs and working with suppliers to produce the most cost efficient means of manufacturing a product.

Cooperation. “Among supply chain partners ensures 'mutual success.'” (Haag, Cummings, McCubbrey, et al., 2006, p. 46). Collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment (CPFR) is a “longer-term commitment, joint work on quality, and support by the buyer of the supplier’s managerial, technological, and capacity development.” (Klassen, Krajewski, Ritzman, 2004, p.293) This relationship allows a company to have access to current, reliable information, obtain lower inventory levels, cut lead times, enhance product quality, improve forecasting accuracy and ultimately improve customer service and overall profits. The suppliers also benefit from the cooperative relationship through increased buyer input from suggestions on improving the quality and costs and though shared savings. Consumers can benefit as well through the higher quality goods provided at a lower costs.


Activities/Functions

Supply chain management is a cross-functional approach to managing the movement of raw materials into an organization and the movement of finished goods out of the organization toward the end-consumer. As corporations strive to focus on core competencies and become more flexible, they have reduced their ownership of raw materials sources and distribution channels. These functions are increasingly being outsourced to other corporations that can perform the activities better or more cost effectively. The effect has been to increase the number of companies involved in satisfying consumer demand, while reducing management control of daily logistics operations. Less control and more supply chain partners led to the creation of supply chain management concepts. The purpose of supply chain management is to improve trust and collaboration among supply chain partners, thus improving inventory visibility and improving inventory velocity.

Several models have been proposed for understanding the activities required to manage material movements across organizational and functional boundaries. SCOR is a supply chain management model promoted by the Supply Chain Management Council. Another model is the SCM Model proposed by the Global Supply Chain Forum (GSCF). Supply chain activities can be grouped into strategic, tactical, and operational levels of activities.

A) Strategic Strategic network optimization, including the number, location, and size of warehouses,

distribution centers and facilities. Strategic partnership with suppliers, distributors, and customers, creating

communication channels for critical information and operational improvements such as cross docking, direct shipping, and third-party logistics.

Product design coordination, so that new and existing products can be optimally integrated into the supply chain, load management

Information Technology infrastructure, to support supply chain operations. Where to make and what to make or buy decisions Align Overall Organisational Strategy with supply strategy

B) Tactical Sourcing contracts and other purchasing decisions. Production decisions, including contracting, locations, scheduling, and planning process

definition. Inventory decisions, including quantity, location, and quality of inventory. Transportation strategy, including frequency, routes, and contracting. Benchmarking of all operations against competitors and implementation of best

practices throughout the enterprise. Milestone Payments

C) Operational Daily production and distribution planning, including all nodes in the supply chain. Production scheduling for each manufacturing facility in the supply chain (minute by

minute).


Demand planning and forecasting, coordinating the demand forecast of all customers and sharing the forecast with all suppliers.

Sourcing planning, including current inventory and forecast demand, in collaboration with all suppliers.

Inbound operations, including transportation from suppliers and receiving inventory. Production operations, including the consumption of materials and flow of finished

goods. Outbound operations, including all fulfillment activities and transportation to

customers. Order promising, accounting for all constraints in the supply chain, including all

suppliers, manufacturing facilities, distribution centers, and other customers. Performance tracking of all activities

3. SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT WITH VALUE CHAIN MANAGEMENT

The primary focus in value chains is on the benefits that accrue to customers, the interdependent processes that generate value, and the resulting demand andfunds flows that are created. Effective value chains generate profits.

value is an experience, and it flows from the person (or institution) that is the recipient of resources – it flows from the customer. This is a key difference between a value chain and a supply chain – they flow in opposite directions. Many views of Value Chains can be created. Examples of Value Chains are:

• One that takes an order from a customer• One that fulfills a customer requirement• One that defines a product or service• And many others


In 1927, Henry Ford's Rouge complex near Detroit began churning out a ceaseless stream of Model A cars. The Rouge facility was perhaps the ultimate expression of mass production and "vertical integration," in which a company tries to cushion itself from the vagaries of the market by owning or controlling virtually every aspect of its business, from the mines that provide the ore to the factories that make the glass. Raw materials—iron ore, coal, and rubber, all from Ford-owned mines and plantations—came in through one set of gates at the plant while finished cars rolled out the other.

The original focus was the “management of a chain of supply as though it were a single entity, not a group of disparate functions,” with the primary objective of fixing the suboptimal deployment of inventory and capacity caused by conflicts between functional groups within the company (8).

SCM evolved quickly in the 1990s with the advent of rapid response initiatives in textile and a supply chain and a value chain are complementary views of an extended enterprise with integrated business processes enabling the flows of products and services in one direction, and of value as represented by demand and cash flow in the other (3).

Both chains overlay the same network of companies. Both are made up of companies that interact to provide goods and services. When we talk about supply chains, however, we usually talk about a downstream flow of goods and supplies from the source to the customer. Value flows the other way. The customer is the source of value, and value flows from the customer, in the form of demand, to the supplier. That flow of demand, sometimes referred to as a “demand chain” (10),is manifested in the flows of orders and cash that parallel the flow of value, and flow in the opposite direction to the flow of supply. Thus, the primary difference between a supply chain and a value chain is a fundamental shift in focus from the supply base to the customer. Supply chainsfocus upstream on integrating supplier and producer processes, improving efficiency and reducing waste, while value chains focus downstream, on creating value in the eyes of the customer. This distinction is often lost in the language used in the business and research literature.


Supply Chain Business Process Integration

Successful SCM requires a change from managing individual functions to integrating activities into key supply chain processes. An example scenario: the purchasing department places orders as requirements become appropriate. Marketing, responding to customer demand, communicates with several distributors and retailers, and attempts to satisfy this demand. Shared information between supply chain partners can only be fully leveraged through process integration.

Supply chain business process integration involves collaborative work between buyers and suppliers, joint product development, common systems and shared information. According to Lambert and Cooper (2000) operating an integrated supply chain requires continuous information flows, which in turn assist to achieve the best product flows. However, in many companies, management has reached the conclusion that optimizing the product flows cannot be accomplished without implementing a process approach to the business. The key supply chain processes stated by Lambert (2004) are:

Customer relationship management Customer service management Demand management Order fulfillment Manufacturing flow management Supplier relationship management Product development and commercialization Returns management

One could suggest other key critical supply business processes combining these processes stated by Lambert such as:

a. Customer service Management b. Procurement c. Product development and Commercialization d. Manufacturing flow management/support e. Physical Distribution f. Outsourcing/ Partnerships g. Performance Measurement


a) Customer service management process

Customer service provides the source of customer information. It also provides the customer with real-time information on promising dates and product availability through interfaces with the company’s production and distribution operations.

b) Procurement process

Strategic plans are developed with suppliers to support the manufacturing flow management process and development of new products. In firms where operations extend globally, sourcing should be managed on a global basis. The desired outcome is a win-win relationship, where both parties benefit, and reduction times in the design cycle and product development is achieved. Also, the purchasing function develops rapid communication systems, such as electronic data interchange (EDI) and Internet linkages to transfer possible requirements more rapidly. Activities related to obtaining products and materials from outside suppliers. This requires performing resource planning, supply sourcing, negotiation, order placement, inbound transportation, storage and handling and quality assurance. Also, includes the responsibility to coordinate with suppliers in scheduling, supply continuity, hedging, and research to new sources or programmes.

c) Product development and commercialization

Here, customers and suppliers must be united into the product development process, thus to reduce time to market. As product life cycles shorten, the appropriate products must be developed and successfully launched in ever shorter time-schedules to remain competitive. According to Lambert and Cooper (2000), managers of the product development and commercialization process must:

1. coordinate with customer relationship management to identify customer-articulated needs;

2. select materials and suppliers in conjunction with procurement, and 3. develop production technology in manufacturing flow to manufacture and integrate into

the best supply chain flow for the product/market combination.

d) Manufacturing flow management process

The manufacturing process is produced and supplies products to the distribution channels based on past forecasts. Manufacturing processes must be flexible to respond to market changes, and must accommodate mass customization. Orders are processes operating on a just-in-time (JIT) basis in minimum lot sizes. Also, changes in the manufacturing flow process lead to shorter cycle times, meaning improved responsiveness and efficiency of demand to customers. Activities related to planning, scheduling and supporting manufacturing operations, such as work-in-process storage, handling, transportation, and time phasing of components, inventory at manufacturing sites and maximum flexibility in the coordination of geographic and final assemblies postponement of physical distribution operations.


e) Physical Distribution

This concerns movement of a finished product/service to customers. In physical distribution, the customer is the final destination of a marketing channel, and the availability of the product/service is a vital part of each channel participant’s marketing effort. It is also through the physical distribution process that the time and space of customer service become an integral part of marketing, thus it links a marketing channel with its customers (e.g. links manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers).

f) Outsourcing/Partnerships

This is not just outsourcing the procurement of materials and components, but also outsourcing of services that traditionally have been provided in-house. The logic of this trend is that the company will increasingly focus on those activities in the value chain where it has a distinctive advantage and everything else it will outsource. This movement has been particularly evident in logistics where the provision of transport, warehousing and inventory control is increasingly subcontracted to specialists or logistics partners. Also, to manage and control this network of partners and suppliers requires a blend of both central and local involvement. Hence, strategic decisions need to be taken centrally with the monitoring and control of supplier performance and day-to-day liaison with logistics partners being best managed at a local level.

g) Performance Measurement

Experts found a strong relationship from the largest arcs of supplier and customer integration to market share and profitability. By taking advantage of supplier capabilities and emphasizing a long-term supply chain perspective in customer relationships can be both correlated with firm performance. As logistics competency becomes a more critical factor in creating and maintaining competitive advantage, logistics measurement becomes increasingly important because the difference between profitable and unprofitable operations becomes more narrow. A.T. Kearney Consultants (1985) noted that firms engaging in comprehensive performance measurement realized improvements in overall productivity. According to experts internal measures are generally collected and analyzed by the firm including

1. Cost 2. Customer Service 3. Productivity measures 4. Asset measurement, and 5. Quality.

External performance measurement is examined through customer perception measures and “best practice” benchmarking, and includes 1) Customer perception measurement, and 2) Best practice benchmarking.


4. EVOLUTION OF GLASS INDUSTRY

The Egyptian and Mesopotamian regions (particularly ancient Assyria) had glass-makers even in the third millennium BC. There is evidence of glass beads from the cemeteries of Ur III (c. 2100 BC) and also from Assur under the Ziggurat (c. 1800 BC) in Mesopotamia.

Some archaeological evidence indicates that there were glass-producing factories in Egypt during the XVIII Dynasty in the reign of Amenhotep II (1448-1420 BC). Some remains of a glass house and fragments of glass in several stages of manufacture have been found at Tell el Amarna (1450-1400 BC). A series of Assyrian clay tablets, which are now preserved in the British Museum, London, also provide some details of glass making at that time. However, glass industry began to be developed only during the Graeco-Raman times, especially by the Romans who were well versed in the art of glass blowing and sheet making. Glass also started to be used as a medium of artistic objects, from about the 11th to 16th century AD in Europe. Venice was regarded as the home of the art of fabricating exquisite glassware and art objects.

It seems that the Indus Valley Civilization or Harappan settlements did not have glass, although Harappans had contacts with the Mesopotamian region. Perhaps the Harappans preferred faience, which was a type of proto-glass. The Painted Grey Ware (PGW) Culture of the Ganga valley (c.1000 BC) did have elegant glass beads. There is some archaeological evidence in the


form of glass beads found at Maski, a Chalcolithic site in the southern Deccan; it is older than the beginning of the first millennium BC. Kaca is a Sanskrit term used for glass by the Vedic text, Satapatha Brahmana. It was, however, in the three or four centuries before and after the Christian era that Indian glass industry began to gain momentum, although its knowledge being limited to beads, bangles, ear-reels, 'eye-beads' and various types of similar small objects. About 30 archaeological excavated sites in different regions of India have produced several glass objects in different colours such as green, blue, red, white, orange and some other shades. In certain places, a few tiles and fragmented parts of vessels also have been found.

Black and brownish coloured glass beads found at Hastinapur (c. 1000 BC) are mainly of soda-lime-silicate composition with traces of phosphates and potassium, as well as with varying amounts of iron compounds which are responsible for their colour. A number of glass beads of different shapes and colours like blue, red, green, amber, orange and black, dark green, ear-reels with a floral design, 'eye-beads', bangles and seals have been found in the Bhir mound at Takshashila (sixth-fourth century BC). Takshashila was an important centre of the North-western province of the Mauryan Empire. The later town of Sirkap in this area shows evidence of international trade in glass as it has yielded remnants of foreign glass objects like mosaic and milleflori ((it is a Latin word that stands for "thousand flowers"), lace glass, ribbed and swirled ware, blue and white cameo. The milleflori with its floral and cellular structure was generally produced by Roman glass-makers. Some glass flasks unearthed at Sirkap do not seem to be indigenous, but appear to be from the Graeco-Roman culture area. Similarly, the technique of making 'stratified eye-beads' of glass found at Sirkap, was possibly an imported one. Among the protohistoric archaeological sites, which have produced glass objects, special mention needs to be made of Ahichchhatra, Maheswar, Nasik, Nevasa, Prakash, Ter, Kaundinyapura, Ujjain, Sravasti, Nalanda and Kopia, and in South India, Brahmagiri, Maski and Arikamedu.

Glass Industry in India

The Indian glass industry is an energy-intensive industry and has been recognized by its rapid growth and modernization efforts after the economic reforms initiated by the government in 1990. It represents one of the largest markets and the manufacturing capacity for glass products in the region after China. The industry employs around half a million people and generates jobs indirectly to about one million people.

In India, projections show that energy demand could increase fourfold by 2025 and carbon emissions could therefore increase by about six times. The GOI therefore, places greater emphasis on improving the energy efficiency of the intensive user industries in the country in addressing energy security and environmental sustainability issues. This strategy poses a great challenge to the glass industry which is characterized by the diversity of scale of manufacturing capacity and with its know how of making almost all types of glass. The float glass, container glass, glass fiber and glass tableware are manufactured by about 100 large scale companies which operate with modern and large scale melting furnace technologies. They are mostly located in Gujarat, Bombay, Calcutta, Bangalore and Hyderabad. The industry, on the other hand, is also represented in the country by more than 600 medium and small-scale enterprises and cottage industry units. The historical glass making town of Firozabad in UP State is a well known location of more than 400 registered enterprises which meet the 70 per cent of demand


for glass products in the country by using outdated pot and tank furnaces. Severe environmental stress in terms of poor air and water quality is associated with the glass industry.

Traditional Systems in India

Indian glass-makers had well developed technological skills in the manufacture of beads, bangles and a few other articles. After observing the various objects excavated at different sites, it may be inferred that glass-makers employed methods such as moulding, folding, twisting and double-stripping. Perhaps, a method known as wire-winding method was also adopted for preparing beads of various types. On the basis of various beads found at Brahmapuri, it is indicated that the beads were probably made by this method by coiling the fused glass rod around a wire or spoke, and twirling it to obtain the desired shapes. The technique of preparing the 'multiple-wound beads' of opaque glass of different colours was also known. The archaeological excavations in Brahmapuri and Kolhapur in Maharashtra State (second century BC-second century AD) reveal that there was also a glass industry in that area, especially for the production of lenticular beads. Some drawn cylindrical beads were also noted in the Kolhapur area. Even in the sixteenth-seventeenth century AD, the Portuguese used to trade in these glass objects with East Africa. Some Satavahana sites have produced folded beads, twisted beads as well as cane-glass beads from Arikamedu, Nevasa, Ter, Prakash etc. in the Deccan region.

Kopia, situated on the bank of the river Anoma in the Basti district of Uttar Pradesh, had perhaps a glass factory as a large number of glass objects were found there (c. third century BC to third century AD). Blocks of glass, weighing more than 50 kg and measuring 45 cm x 30 cm x 23 cm were found at Kopia. These probably give an indication about the massive scale of operations in vogue at that time.

The chemical analyses of glass objects from over 15 sites of different parts of India clearly indicate that Indian glass-makers knew the significance of metallic oxides and other chemical compounds in imparting the desired colours to the glass objects. They also used minerals containing iron like haematite, copper, cobalt, manganese, aluminium, and lead along with silicates in a calculated manner and in appropriate quantity for the production of various types of glass beads, bangles, tiles and bottles.

A distinct role was played by transparent glass of high quality in the history of science, especially from the 17th century onwards. We have to think about lenses and mirrors, which on one hand gave us the telescope, the use of which opened up new vistas in astronomy, while on the other, the microscope that provided rare insight into the invisible world of minute organisms. Therefore, we can say that the glass apparatus of various kinds played an important role in chemistry and enabled chemistry to become a branch of modern science, with its verifiability and reproducibility in a quantitative way.


Traditional Manufacturing Process:


The furnace there shown consists of a cylindrical casing of iron, A, lined with firebrick, B; it is divided into two chambers, the lower one, C, being provided with firebars on which the fuel rests; while the upper chamber, D, is cylindrical in form with a curved roof, having an opening at J formed in a circular piece of moulded firebrick J*, which is removed when putting in the rotating crucible H. Above the opening, J, is a suspended hood, E, which communicates with a tall chimney; the lower part of the chamber, D, is conical in form, having a small central opening, F, and four larger cylindrical openings, G, surrounding it, each of which communicates with the fire chamber, C, and allows the flame to ascend and play up and around the crucible, H. This crucible is conical in form both above and below its largest diameter, and terminates in a raised neck or mouth at H*; the furnace, A, is suspended on axes, occupying the position indicated by the letter M; these axes are fitted to a strong iron ring or hoop, N, which surrounds the furnace, and is itself supported on the axes, P, which rest on iron frames, O.

The axes, P, are placed at right angles to the axes, M, so as to allow the crucible to roll or gyrate on its axis, its upper and lower ends moving in a circular path. It will be observed that the crucible, H, rests on one of its sides on the conical floor of the chamber, D, and is kept in position by its lower spherical end, M, moving in the cylindrical opening, E. Now if the furnace be moved quietly on its axis, the crucible gravitating to the lowest inclined side of the conical surface on which it rests, will roll round on its own axis so long as the furnace is kept in motion. This motion of the furnace may be easily effected by means of a short-throw half-crank on a vertical axis passing upward through the floor in a line through the centre of the furnace, the crank-pin having a spherical end fitting into the cylindrical socket projecting downwards from the underside of the ashpit. The motion of the furnace should be very slow, so as to give about one revolution of the crucible in five or ten minutes, and thus allow a constant movement of the whole of the material to take place without dividing or breaking the continuity of the mass, preventing any subsidence of the heavier particles, and securing the perfect homogeneity of the whole. When the fusion and mixing is judged to be complete, the crucible can be pushed with a rod into an upright position, and, by drawing the fire, cooled as rapidly as possible by the current of air flowing through the furnace.


Homogenous optical glass, free from those long "wreaths" or lines of varying density, so common in ordinary glass, was also proposed to be made in the following manner. A large potful of glass of the required composition must be allowed to get cold, and then broken up, the central portions only being selected for use. These pieces are to be crushed, all the glass being reduced to absolute powder, and separated by sifting; all pieces exceeding the size of a grain of rice should be rejected. The very small and nearly equally-sized fragments that remain are then to be carefully washed in distilled water and put into a lenticular-shaped crucible, the exterior surface of which should be glazed, so as to render it impervious and air-tight. The crucible having been put into a suitable furnace and gradually heated, a small platinum pipe communicating with the upper part of the crucible is also connected with an exhaust pump, so as to remove every particle of air from the crucible and from between the granules of glass while these still retain their granular condition. As soon as the glass becomes fluid, it forms a homogenous mass, the law of diffusion equalising any minute differences in composition of continuous grains, while wholly avoiding those long "wreaths" or streaks so fatal in large masses of glass. On the strength of these crude notions a number of various-shaped clay crucibles were ordered to be made, with a view to carry on an elaborate series of experiments on the lines indicated; but as these crucibles required at least three months to dry, I had ample time to pursue some other interesting investigations relative to the production of glass for ordinary commercial purposes.

5. USES AND TYPES OF GLASS

A) USAGE OF GLASS IN INDA


Glass is normally used around the house to allow natural light to enter an area, to divide up an area without losing light or for purely decorative purposes, whichever the reason, safety must always be of paramount importance.

Design and installation of glass structures should be left to specialist contractors, the notes below are for information only and are purely intended to give the average diy person enough knowledge and awareness to have confidence in a good contractor and to detect contractors performing less than fully professionally.

If buying a piece of glass for diy installation, always tell the glass merchant what it is going to be used for - they will then be in a position to select the correct type of glass for the application.

Glass used within a building can be divided into:

Underfoot Vertical Overhead Furniture

Underfoot

Although glass is not widely used underfoot within domestic premises, there is no reason why this should be.

Unless the glass area is restricted by a surrounding barrier, the assumption must be made that the glass area needs to be strong enough to take the full load expected on the surrounding conventional floor area. For domestic premises a distributed load of 1.5kN/sq. m and a concentrated load of 1.4kN are often considered appropriate. Generally, 1 square metre is considered to be the practical maximum area for any single floor pane. Laminated glass of the appropriate specification and upwards of 30mm thick should satisfy these requirements. The support arrangement for the glass is critical, normally the support lip around the complete pane should be as wide as the thickness of the pane. Expansion joints, filled with a suitable sealant, are required between adjoining panes.

Vertical

Vertical glass usage covers a number of applications, for any application above 800mm no special safety considerations is generally required. When used for domestic use above 800mm the generally guidelines for glass thickness is as follows:

area of glass minimum thickness

0.2 sq. metre 3mm

0.5 sq. metre 4mm

0.8 sq. metre 5mm

2.5 sq. metre 6mm

The general areas where special safety consideration needs to be made are:


External and internal doors and panels adjacent to doors Low level glazing (below 800mm) Full length glazing screens

External and internal doors and panels adjacent to doors

Often doors may be slammed, either by being caught in the wind or by human force; the slamming can cause normal glass to crack or shatter. The vibrations from the door slamming can be transmitted to any adjacent glass panel with potentially similar results.

Although safety glass is only required below 800mm, it is worth considering using safety glass for all glazing in a door and any adjacent glass panels (i.e. in the same frame). The thickness and grade will depend upon the size of each panel.

Low level glazing

Glazing below about 800mm of the floor is normally considered as 'low level'. The risk with glazing at this height is that it could accidentally be knocked by furniture or people. In some locations, low level glazing can present a hazard on both sides. The thought of a child or elderly person falling against ordinary glass at low level is quite distressing, if one side faces onto a garden play area, the risk may potentially be even higher.

Low level glazing should be of an approved safety type. Again the thickness and grade depends upon the size of each particular panel.

Full length glazing screens

Full length glazed screens present the same potential risk to life and limb as low level glazing.

With any plain vertical glazing there is the risk of the glass not being recognised, generally the larger the area of glass, the larger the risk of someone trying to walk through it. To reduce the risk consider:

Using a patterned and/or coloured glass. Design the flooring so that it does not appear to be continuous, change the colour of the

floor covering on each side or add a floor boarder along each side of the glazing. Putting pictures or decorative patterns on the glass, some patterns can be etched onto

most types of glass. Putting a horizontal feature (such as a hand rail or other horizontal feature) along the

length of the glazing.

Overhead

For overhead glazing, it is generally regarded as appropriate to install glass which is retained in place if broken (e.g. wired or laminated) or which fractures into relatively harmless pieces (such as toughened).


With modern plastic materials (polycarbonates etc.), the use of any glass overhead can be avoided without too many problems and the resulting reduction in risk may be considered worth while.

Furniture

Glass can be used either as just the finish to a piece of furniture (i.e. on top of a decorative table top) or as part of the actual structure.

Where the glass is just the finish on a piece of furniture and is supported across its full area, the two main important characteristics are that the edges (if exposed) are smooth and that the glass can take any shocks (both physical and thermal) placed upon it. The minimum thickness generally recommended are as follows:

Toughened any area 4mm

Laminated any area 4.5mm

Float less than 0.5 sq. metre 4mm

less than 1 sq. metre 5mm

Less than 1.5 sq. metre 6mm

Over 1.5 sq. metre not recommended

With toughened glass, remember that the untreated float glass needs to be cut to size and the edges finished before it is heat treated.

B) TYPES OF GLASSES

Glass should not be thought of as just a functional material to let light into an area; it can also be used to add decorative effect. But it is important to choose the right kind of glass for the right place so the final job is effective, attractive and safe. The wrong type of glass used in the wrong position can be unsatisfactory and present a serious hazard to personnel safety.

There are a number of different types of glass, in a range of patterns and tints, and it is important to decide which is most suited for a particular job.

1. 'Ordinary' sheet glass

This glass is made by passing the molten glass through rollers; this process gives an almost flat finish but the effects of the rollers upon the molten glass makes some distortion inevitable. The glass can be used in domestic windows etc. but the relatively low cost of float glass (with its lack of distortion) has tended to restrict ordinary sheet glass to glazing greenhouses and garden sheds where the visual distortions do not matter.


Sheet glass can be cut a glass cutter and no special equipment is necessary. The glass is often available in standard sizes to suit 'standard' glasshouses, these sizes tend to be comparatively cheaper than glass cut to size.

2. Float glass (plate)

Float glass gets its name from the method of production used to manufacture it. The molten glass is 'floated' onto a bed of molten tin - this produces a glass which is flat and distortion free.

Float glass can be cut using a glass cutter and no special equipment is necessary. Float glass is suitable for fixed and opening windows above waist height.

3. Energy efficient glass

Some manufacturers produce float glass with a special thin coating on one side which, allows the suns energy to pass through in one direction while reducing the thermal transfer the other way. The principle behind this is the difference in thermal wavelength of energy transmitted from the sun and that transmitted from the heat within a room.

The special coating often gives a very slight brown or grey tint to the glass. The coating is not very robust and would not last very long if subjected to normal cleaning or external weather conditions - for these reasons, this type of glass is normally only used in sealed double (or triple) glazed units with the special coating on the inside.

4. Patterned (obscured glass)

Made from flat glass, this type has a design rolled onto one side during manufacture. It can be used for decorative effect and/or to provide privacy. Patterned glass is available in a range of coloured tints as well as plain.

A variety of pattern designs are available, each pattern normally has an quoted distortion number, from 1 to 5, 1 being very little distortion, 5 being a high level of diffusion.

On external glazing, the patterned side is usually on the inside so that atmospheric dirt can easily be removed from the relatively flat external face.

5. Toughened (Safety glass)

Toughened glass is produced by applying a special treatment to ordinary float glass after it has been cut to size and finished. The treatment involves heating the glass so that it begins to soften


(about 620 degrees C) and then rapidly cooling it. This produces a glass which, if broken, breaks into small pieces without sharp edges. The treatment does increase the surface tension of the glass which can cause it to 'explode' if broken; this is more a dramatic effect than hazardous.

It is important to note that the treatment must be applied only after all cutting and processing has been completed, as once 'toughened', any attempt to cut the glass will cause it to shatter.

Toughened glass is ideal for glazed doors, low level windows (for safety) and for tabletops (where it can withstand high temperature associated with cooking pots etc.

6. Laminated glass

As the name suggests, laminated glass is made up of a sandwich of two or more sheets of glass (or plastic), bonded together by a flexible, normally transparent material.

If the glass is cracked or broken, the flexible material is designed to hold the glass fragments in place.

The glass used can be any of the other basic types (float, toughened, wired etc.) and they retain their original breaking properties.

Some laminated glass is laminated for other reasons than just keeping any broken glass in place, some provide decorative internal finishes to the glass while others act as fire breaks.

7. Wired glass

Wired glass incorporates a wire mesh (usually about 10mm spacing) in the middle of the glass. Should be glass crack or break, the wire tends to hold the glass together. It is ideal for roofing in such areas as a garage or conservatory where its 'industrial' look is not too unattractive.

Wired glass is generally not considered a Safety glass as the glass still breaks with sharp edges.

Wired glass is available as clear or obscured.

8. Mirrors

Mirrors are usually made from float glass 4-6mm thick, and silvered on one side. Mirrors are available for use without a surrounding frame, these usually are made from a type of safety glass. Old mirrors, and modern mirrors supplied within a frame, should not be used unframed as any damage to them might cause the glass to shatter dangerously.


9. Picture frame glass

Glass (and plastics) are available specifically for picture framing, these tend to be referred to as 'diffused reflection' glass or plastic. They have high transparency but low reflective properties to reduce reflections when the picture or photograph is viewed.

Most of these materials can easily be cut by the average diy person providing suitable tools and safety precautions are taken.

10. Commercial GlassMost of the glass we see around us in our everyday lives in the form of bottles and jars, flat glass for windows or for drinking glasses is known as commercial glass or soda-lime glass, as soda ash is used in its manufacture.

The main constituent of practically all commercial glass is sand. Sand by itself can be fused to produce glass but the temperature at which this can be achieved is about 1700oC. Adding other minerals and chemicals to sand can considerably reduce the melting temperature.

The addition of sodium carbonate (Na2CO3), known as soda ash, to produce a mixture of 75% silica (SiO2) and 25% of sodium oxide (Na2O), will reduce the temperature of fusion to about 800oC. However, a glass of this composition is water-soluble and is known as water glass. In order to give the glass stability, other chemicals like calcium oxide (CaO) and magnesium oxide (MgO) are needed. These are obtained by adding limestone which results in a pure inert glass.

Commercial glass is normally colourless, allowing it to freely transmit light, which is what makes glass ideal for windows and many other uses. Additional chemicals have to be added to produce different colours of glass such as green, blue or brown glass.

Most commercial glasses have roughly similar chemical compositions of:

70% - 74% SiO2 (silica)12% - 16% Na2O (sodium oxide)5% - 11% CaO (calcium oxide)1% - 3% MgO (magnesium oxide)1% - 3% Al2O3 (aluminium oxide)

Flat glass is similar in composition to container glass except that it contains a higher proportion of magnesium oxide.

Within these limits the composition is varied to suit a particular product and production method. The raw materials are carefully weighed and thoroughly mixed, as consistency of composition is of utmost importance in making glass.


Nowadays recycled glass from bottle banks or kerbside collections, known as cullet, is used to make new glass. Using cullet has many environmental benefits, it preserves the countryside by reducing quarrying, and because cullet melts more easily, it saves energy and reduces emissions.

Almost any proportion of cullet can be added to the mix (known as batch), provided it is in the right condition, and green glass made from batch containing 85% to 90% of cullet is now common.

Although the recycled glass may come from manufacturers around the world, it can be used by any glassmaker, as container glass compositions are very similar. It

is, however, important that glass colours are not mixed and that the cullet is free from impurities, especially metals and ceramics.

11. Lead GlassCommonly known as lead crystal, lead glass is used to make a wide variety of decorative glass objects.

It is made by using lead oxide instead of calcium oxide, and potassium oxide instead of all or most of the sodium oxide. The traditional English full lead crystal contains at least 30% lead oxide (PbO) but any glass containing at least 24% PbO can be described as lead crystal. Glass containing less than 24% PbO, is known simply as crystal glass. The lead is locked into the chemical structure of the glass so there is no risk to human health

Lead glass has a high refractive index making it sparkle brightly and a relatively soft surface so that it is easy to decorate by grinding, cutting and engraving which highlights the crystal's brilliance making it popular for glasses, decanters and other decorative objects.

Glass with even higher lead oxide contents (typically 65%) may be used as radiation shielding because of the well-known ability of lead to absorb gamma rays and other forms of harmful radiation.

12. Borosilicate GlassMost of us are more familiar with this type of glass in the form of ovenware and other heat-resisting ware, better known under the trade name Pyrex.

Borosilicate glass, the third major group, is made mainly of silica (70-80%) and boric oxide (7-13%) with smaller amounts of the alkalis (sodium and potassium oxides) and aluminium oxide. This type of glass has a relatively low alkali content and consequently has good chemical durability and thermal shock resistance (it doesn't break when changing temperature quickly). As a result it is widely used in the


chemical industry, for laboratory apparatus, for ampoules and other pharmaceutical containers, for various high intensity lighting applications and as glass fibres for textile and plastic reinforcement.

13. Glass Fibre

Glass fibre has many uses from roof insulation to medical equipment and its composition varies depending on its application.

For building insulation and glass wool the type of glass used is normally soda lime. For textiles, an alumino-borosilicate glass with very low sodium oxide content is preferred because of its good chemical durability and high softening point. This is also the type of glass fibre used in the reinforced plastics to make protective helmets, boats, piping, car chassis, ropes, car exhausts and many other items.

In recent years, great progress has been made in making optical fibres which can guide light and thus transmit images round corners. These fibres are used in endoscopes for examination of internal human organs, changeable traffic message signs now on motorways for speed restriction warnings and communications technology without which telephones and the internet would not be possible.

14. Vitreous SilicaSilica glass or vitreous silica is of considerable technical importance as it has a very low thermal expansion. This difficult to make glass contains tiny holes created using acids and is used for filtration. Porous glasses of this kind are commonly known as Vycor.


15. Aluminosilicate GlassA small, but important type of glass, aluminosilicate, contains 20% aluminium oxide (alumina-Al2O3) often including calcium oxide, magnesium oxide and boric oxide in relatively small amounts, but with only very small amounts of soda or potash. It is able to withstand high temperatures and thermal shock and is typically used in combustion tubes, gauge glasses for high-pressure steam boilers, and in halogen-tungsten lamps capable of operating at temperature as high as 750oC.

16. Alkali-barium Silicate GlassWithout this type of glass watching TV would be very dangerous. A television produces X-rays that must be absorbed, otherwise they could in the long run cause health problems. The X-rays are absorbed by glass with minimum amounts of heavy oxides (lead, barium or strontium). Lead glass is commonly used for the funnel and neck of the TV tube, while glass containing barium is used for the screen.

6. PRODUCTION PROCESS

A) Float Glass Production Process

Float glass is produced by floating a continuous stream of molten glass onto a bath of molten tin. The molten glass spreads onto the surface of the metal and produces a high quality, consistently level sheet of glass that is later heat polished. The glass has no wave or distortion and is now the standard method for glass production and over 90% of the world production of flat glass is float glass.

Production ProcessThe basic science:If molten glass is poured onto a bath of clean molten tin, the glass will spread out in the same way that oil will spread out if poured onto a bath of water. In this situation, gravity and surface tension will result in the top and bottom surfaces of the glass becoming approximately flat and parallel. The molten glass does not spread out indefinitely over the surface of the molten tin. Despite the influence of gravity, it is restrained by surface tension effects between the glass and the tin. The resulting equilibrium between the gravity and the surface tensions defines the equilibrium thickness of the molten glass (T). The resulting pool of molten glass has the shape as the given picture.The equilibrium thickness (T) is given by the relation:Sand Soda Ash Limestone Dolomite Alumina Others Sand Soda Ash Limestone DolomiteAlumina Others where Sg, Sgt, and St are the values of surface tension at the three interfaces shown in the diagram. For standard soda-lime-silica glass under a protective atmosphere and on clean tin the equilibrium thickness is approximately 7 mm. Others 1.0

Process Details:The batch of raw materials is automatically weighed and mixed and thencontinuously added to the melting furnace where it is taken to around1050oC using gas fired burners. The mix then flows over a ‘dam’ where thecontinuous stream of molten glass flows onto the bath of molten tin. Thestream of glass is pulled along the top of the molten tin by haul-off conveyorst the end of the float area which transport the glass into the annealing lehr. a


At the start of the float area the molten glass spreads outwards with flat top and bottom surfaces and The thickness decreases towards the equilibrium thickness (T). The thickness can then be further controlled by the stretching effect of the conveyors as it cools until it reaches 600oC when it exits the float area and enters the annealing lehr. Whilst the equilibrium thickness is approximately 7 mm the process has been developed to allow the thickness to be ontrolled between 0.4 mm and 25 mm.

For thin sheets, the exit conveyor speed can be increased to draw the glass down to thinner thicknesses. This drawing will also result in a decrease in the sheet width and to prevent unacceptable sheet width decreases edge rolls are used. Edge rolls grip the outer top edge of the glass and not only reduce decrease in width but also help to reduce the thickness even further.

For thick sheets, the spread of the molten glass is limited by using non-wetted longitudinal guides.

The glass temperature allows the spread to remain uniform and is reduced until the ribbon can leave the guides without changing dimensions

Low-e coatingsMuch of the architectural glass produced is now coated with low-e (for low emissivity) coatings to enable the production of more energy efficient windows. As with any advanced technology, there are several different production methods and the products have different properties.

The two basic methods of producing low-e coatings are sputtering and pyrolytic deposition:

Sputtering - Soft coat and off-line coating: Sputtering uses a vacuum chamber to put several layers of coating on the basic glass and the total thickness of the coatings is around ten thousand times thinner than a human hair. Sputtered coatings are referred to as 'soft coats' and must be protected from humidity and contact. The sputtered coatings are very soft but inside a sealed unit, they will easily last for the life of the unit.

These sputtered 'soft coat' products can have emissivities ranging from 0.05 to 0.1 compared touncoated glass that has a typical emissivity of 0.89. This means that 'soft coat' products will reflect between 95 and 90% of the long-wavelength radiant energy from the surface where uncoated glass will only reflect 11% of the radiant energy received by the surface.

Pyrolytic Deposition - Hard coat and on-line coating: Pyrolytic coating deposits a metallic oxide directly onto the glass surface whilst it is still hot. The low-e coating is effectively 'baked-on' to the surface and the resulting low-e coating is very hard and durable.

The pyrolytic coatings are often referred to as 'hard coats'. Pyrolytic coatings can be up to 20 times thicker than sputtered coatings (they are still 500 times thinner than a human hair) and the baking process makes them much harder and resistant to wear.Pyrolytic 'hard coats' have a low emissivity but this is higher than those achieved for soft coats. Hard coat products have emissivities ranging from 0.15 to 0.2.


The ability to apply 'hard coats' whilst the glass is still hot means that hard coated products are cheaper than soft coated products.

B) Manufacturing Process of Stained Glass

Background

The technology for making glass dates back at least 5,000 years, and some form of stained glass was used in European Christian churches by the third or fourth century A.D. The art of stained glass flowered in the 12th century with the rise of the Gothic cathedral. Today only 10% of all stained glasses are used in churches and other religious buildings; the rest are used in residential and industrial architecture. Though stained glass has traditionally been used in windows, its use has expanded to lamp shades, Christmas ornaments, and even simple objects a hobbyist can make. Stained glass has had various levels of popularity throughout history. The 12th and 13th centuries in Europe have been designated as the Golden Age of Stained Glass. However, during the Renaissance period, stained glass was replaced with painted glass, and by the 18th century it was rarely, if ever, used or made according to medieval methods. During the second half of the 19th century, European artists rediscovered how to design and work glass according to medieval principles, and large quantities of stained glass windows were made.

In America, the stained glass movement began with William Jay Bolton, who made his first window for a church in New York in 1843. But he was to be in the business for only six or seven years before returning to his native England. No other American practiced the art professionally until Louis Comfort Tiffany and John La Farge began working with stained glass near the end of the 19th century. In fact, the art of stained glass in the United States languished until the 1870s, and did not undergo a true revival until the turn of the century. At this time, American architects and glassmen journeyed to Europe to study medieval glass windows, returning to create similar art forms and new designs in their own studios.

A leaded stained glass window or other object is made of pieces of glass, held together by lead. The pieces of glass are about 1/8-inch (3.2 mm) thick and bound together by strips, called "cames" of grooved lead, soldered at the joints. The entire window is secured in the opening at regular intervals by metal saddle bars tied with wire and soldered to the leads and reinforced at greater intervals by tee-bars fitted into the masonry. A faceted glass panel differs slightly from traditional leaded stained glass in that it is made up of pieces of slab (dalle) glass approximately 8 inches square, or in large rectangular sizes, varying in thickness from 1-2 inches (2.5-5 cm). These slabs are not held together with lead; rather they are embedded in a matrix of concrete, epoxy, or plastic.

Raw Materials

Glass is made by fusing together some form of silica such as sand, an alkali such as potash or soda, and lime or lead oxide. The color is produced by adding a metallic oxide to the raw


materials.

Copper oxide, under different conditions, produces ruby, blue, or green colors in glass. Cobalt is usually used to produce most shades of blues. Green shades can also be obtained from the addition of chromium and iron oxide. Golden glass is sometimes colored with uranium, cadmium sulfide, or titanium, and there are fine selenium yellows as well as vermilions. Ruby colored glass is made by adding gold.

The Manufacturing Process

Stained glass is still made the same way it was back in the Middle Ages and comes in various forms. For the glass used in leaded glass windows, a lump of the molten glass is caught up at one end of a blow pipe, blown into a cylinder, cut, flattened and cooled. Artisans also vary this basic process in order to produce different effects. For example, "flashed glass" is made by dipping a ball of molten white glass into molten colored glass which, when blown and flattened, results in a less intense color because it will be white on one side and colored on the other. So-called "Norman slabs" are made by blowing the molten glass into a mold in the shape of a four-sided bottle. The sides are cut apart and form slabs, thin at the edges and as much as 0.25 inch (0.6 cm) thik) at the center. Another form of glass, known as cathedral glass, is rolled into flat sheets. This results in a somewhat monotonous regularity of texture and thickness. Other similarly made glasses are referred to as marine antique, but have a more bubbly texture. Processing the stained glass Large manufacturers of stained glass mix the batch of raw materials, including alkaline fluxes and stabilizing agents, in huge mixers. The mix is then melted in a modern furnace at 2500°F (1371°C). Each ingredient must be carefully measured and weighed according to a calculated formula, in order to produce the appropriate color. For cathedral glass, the molten glass is ladled into a machine that rolls the glass into 1/8-inch (3.2mm) thick sheets. The sheets are then cooled in a special furnace called an annealing lehr. The glass is then inspected, trimmed to standard size, and packed into cases.

At a typical factory, eight to ten different color runs are made per day. Some manufacturers cut a small rectangle of glass from each run in order to provide a sample of each color to their customers. There are hundreds of colors, tints, and patterns available, as well as a number of different textures of cathedral glass. Different textures are produced by changing the roller to one having the desired texture. Glass manufacturers are continuously introducing new colors and types of glass to meet the demands of their customers.

Creating the window pattern

Though some of the tools to make stained glass windows have been improved, the windows are still hand crafted as they were centuries ago. The first step of the process involves the artist creating a small scale version of the final design. After the design has been approved, the craftsperson takes measurements or templates of the actual window openings to create a pattern. This pattern is usually drawn on paper or cardboard and is the actual size of the spaces


to be filled with glass.

Next a full-sized drawing called the cartoon is prepared in black and white. From the cartoon, the cutline and pattern drawings are made. The modern cutline drawing is a careful, exact tracing of the leadlines of the cartoon on heavy paper. The leadlines are the outlines of the shapes for patterns to which the glass is to be cut. This drawing serves as the guide for the subsequent placing and binding with lead of the many pieces of glass. The pattern-drawing is a carbon copy of the cutline drawing. It is cut along the black or lead lines with double-bladed scissors or a knife which, as it passes through the middle of the black lines, simultaneously cuts away a narrow strip of paper, thus allowing sufficient space between the segment of glass for the core of the grooved lead. This core is the supporting wall between the upper and lower flanges of the lead.

Cutting and painting

Colored glass is then selected from the supply on hand. The pattern is placed on a piece of the desired color, and with a diamond or steel wheel, the glass is cut to the shape of the pattern. After the glass has been cut, the main outlines of the cartoon are painted on each piece of glass with special paint, called "vitrifiable" paint. This becomes glassy when heated. The painter might apply further paint to the glass in order to control the light and bring all the colors into closer harmony. During this painting process, the glass is held up to the light to simulate the same conditions in which the window will be seen. The painted pieces are fired in the kiln at least once to fuse the paint and glass.

Glazing and leading

The next step is glazing. The cutline drawing is spread out on a table and narrow strips of wood called laths are nailed down along two edges of the drawing to form a right angle. Long strips of grooved lead are placed along the inside of the laths. The piece of glass belonging in the angle is fitted into the grooves. A strip of narrow lead is fitted around the exposed edge or edges and the next required segment slipped into the groove on the other side of the narrow lead. This is continued until each piece has been inserted into the leads in its proper place according to the outline drawing beneath.

Finishing

The many joints formed by the leading are then soldered on both sides and the entire window is waterproofed. After the completed window has been thoroughly inspected in the light, the sections are packed and shipped to their destination where they are installed and secured with reinforcing bars.


Faceted glass

For faceted glass windows, the process begins the same way, with the cutline and pattern drawings being made with carbons in a similar manner. The pattern drawing is then cut to the actual size of the piece of glass with ordinary scissors since there is no core of lead to allow for. The thick glass slabs next are cut with a sharp double-edged hammer to the shape of the pattern. To give the slab an interesting texture, the worker then chips round depressions in the glass with the same hammer. This is called faceting.

Instead of glazing with lead, a matrix of concrete or epoxy is poured around the pieces of glass. The glass pieces have first been glued to the outline drawing, which is covered with a heavy coating of transparent grease so that the paper can be removed after the epoxy sets. The whole is enclosed within a wooden form, which is the exact size and shape of the section being made. The worker must wear gloves during this process, since epoxy resin is a toxic material. After hardening, the section is cleaned and cured prior to shipping and installation.

The process for making an entire stained glass window can take anywhere from seven to ten weeks, since everything must be done by hand. Cost can vary widely depending on complexity and size, though some windows can be created for a cost as low as $500. The customer can choose an existing pattern rather than create an entirely new one to minimize costs. In this case, the pattern can be customized by altering shapes or by changing the placement of the central image.

7. SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT IN GLASS INDUSTRY


8.

9. MATERIAL HANDLING NORMS


Safety concerns in handling glass cullet during production and construction include: exposure to respirable particles and potential for skin irritations, cuts, or lacerations. Glass is primarily composed of amorphous silica. Amorphous silica is not considered to be a significant health hazard. Crystalline silica, a health hazard known to cause brogenic lung disease (7), is not likely to be found, except in very low amounts, in the post-consumer glass stream used for cullet. Test results conducted-by Dames & Moore (9) indicated that cullet samples contained less than one percent crystalline silica which puts glass cullet dust in the nuisance dust category under OSHA. Skin irritations and cuts can be avoided through the use of protective clothing similar to that worn when working with natural aggregates. This includes heavy gloves, long-sleeve shirts, pants, heavy boots, hard hats, hearing protection and eye protection.

Need for Integrated concept

Having recognized the importance of the materials management function, let us now see why an integrated approach is necessary. Various functions served by materials Management include the materials planning, purchasing, receiving, stores, inventory control, scrap and surplus disposal. If some of the functions were to be separately handled, normally a conflict of interests occurs. Purchasing department, if allowed to operate independently, may take decisions, which result in sub-optimization. For example, under a separate set-up, the purchase department may treat discount as a very important factor and buy large quantities to avail of the discount without taking into account its impact on the warehousing and carrying costs. In other words, we need to balance the conflicting objectives from a total organization viewpoint so as to achieve optimum results for the organization as a whole. As expansion, for example, will require planning for the increased requirements, developing new sources, revision in inventory levels, apart from the increased load in receipt of materials, inspection and storing.

In an integrated set-up, the materials manager who is responsible for all such interrelatedfunctions is in a position to exercise control and co-ordinate with an overview that ensures proper balance of the conflicting objectives of the individual functions. Integration also helps in the rapid transfer of data, through effective and informal communication channels. This is crucial as the materials management function usually involves handling a vast amount of data.


Therefore, integrating the various functions ensures that message channels are shortened and the various functions identify themselves to a common materials management department which, in turn, result in greater co ordination and better control.

Definition and Scope

We can define materials management as the function responsible for the co ordinationof planning, sourcing, purchasing, moving, storing and controlling materials in anoptimum manner so as to provide a pre-decided service to the customer at a minimumcost.From the definition, it is clear that the scope of the materials management is vast. Wecan broadly identify the following functions:

Materials Planning and Control:Based on the sales forecast and production plans,the materials planning and control is done. This involves estimating the individualrequirements of parts. Preparing materials budget, forecasting the levels ofinventories, scheduling the orders and monitoring the performance in relation toproduction and sales.

Purchasing:This includes selection of sources of supply, finalization of terms ofpurchase, placement of purchase orders, follow-up, maintenance of smooth relationswith suppliers, approval of payments to suppliers, evaluating and rating suppliers


Material Handling in Glass Industry


Hazardous handling of chemicals: The industry uses in large quantities chemical compounds, which have detrimental effect on health and environment. Lead Oxide giving the brightness of crystal glasses used at high concentrations ranging between 24 to 36 percent and handled carelessly without due attention to its cumulative toxic properties. The industry produces coloured glass and uses compounds of Cobalt, Cadmium and Selenium, as decolourizers to mask unwanted colors. The use of these chemicals is not controlled tightly as it is done in Europe to avoid contamination of environment. The use of arsenic and antimony for glass refining poses a great danger of water contamination and health problems. The sulfates and nitrates of sodium are also used for glass refining and generate extensive emissions of NOx. Most of the industries use Na2O instead of soda due to lower cost, increasing the pollution factor considerably. Phosphates and fluorides are used more frequently as pacifiers resulting in volatile and corrosive compounds like phosphoric oxides and fluorine (ozone depleting substance).

Need for an "Industry specific" energy and environment programming: In the light of above it is concluded that there is a need for a specific program for glass industry in India, focusing on maximizing energy efficiency, pollution prevention and market competitiveness issues through integrated assessments, looking at the entire facility rather than on specific technology and process applications. Its formulation in a participatory process and approach would help to set targets to develop and demonstrate technologies and techniques that are required not only to enhance industry’s competitiveness but also ensure its full compliance with regulations and policies/goals for energy security and environment protection. Moreover, it would not only support the trend towards closer cooperation between the Government and the private sector but would also help the creation of new partnerships. Such partnerships are needed to improve R&D, accelerate the availability and commercialization of energy efficient technologies at affordable cost. Moreover, they would also facilitate the creation of the monitoring and targeting (M&T) capabilities, as well as the adoption of management tools for product life cycle assessment and TQM in larger enterprises.


Need for controlling activities causing energy loss, pollution and health problems: Although glass itself is one of the most neutral products, the fuels and quite a number of raw materials when used without adequate knowledge and equipment generate energy losses, poor quality and serious problems for environment and health.

10. COMPARISON WITH CHINESE DRAGON

Chinese Glass Industry China is universally acknowledged as one of the most dynamic countries with the fastest developing speed. Success in bidding for hosting the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008 and World Exposition in Shanghai in 2010 and achievement in China's entry to WTO, all that have been stimulating the powerful development of Chinese glass industry.

In 2003, the total output of flat glass was up to 252 million weight-cases in China and processed glass industry had also a swift development. Therefore, China is in need of advanced technologies and equipments from foreign countries to increase the production and enrich the varieties of products, so as to meet the demands from industries like construction, automobile, electron, electric apparatus, information, medicine.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) undertook a study in 2003 of the flat glass industry in China, in conjunction with the Stockholm and Shanghai offices of Booz Allen Hamilton, strategic management consultants. The study was sponsored by the SIDA, the Government of Sweden’s Donor and Trust Fund arm, as part of their on-going program of support for developing countries.

PERSPECTIVE ON THE INDUSTRY


The recent history of the industry has been both dynamic and tumultuous. There has been strong and steady growth of demand overall, and in particular for higher quality float glass, currently estimated at around 8 - 10% and 20 - 25% respectively. The residential construction sector has seen more, larger and better quality housing, driven by initiatives such as the government’s target of 70MM new dwellings by 2010 and greater access to affordable housing. Construction of

commercial premises has been driven by the rapid progress of the economy overall and will be further stimulated by preparations for the Olympics and World Expo in 2008. In addition, a combination of rising wealth levels and regulation have led to a demand for higher quality glass including, in some limited areas, the use of glass with more advanced thermal effiency characteristics. At the same time, strategic investments by the world’s major auto manufacturers have also resulted in very strong growth in demand for higher quality glass for car and truck windows.

On the supply side, the manufacturing base has also developed rapidly, but in contrast in a markedly less orderly fashion. On the positive side, the industry has seen the emergence of some large and dynamic domestic players that are making progress against effiency goals determined by scale and by management prowess. In addition, a core of high quality production has been established, with around 10 lines now producing glass of international quality (mostly sponsored by international players and using imported technology in whole or in part), and the quality standards of other lines based on purely domestic technology are improving. However, over-investment in lower quality lines has resulted in successive waves of overcapacity, heavily depressed market prices, industry-wide losses, closures of some of the smaller players, and a government-imposed moratorium on further line openings.

CONTENDERS AND SUCCESS FACTORS

We defined six factors that we believe will play a major role in determining the success of flat glass manufacturers in China:


End Market / Weight DemandFor Flat Glass in China 2003 est.

Other/ Specialty50 – 60MM casesGrowth rate 6%

Auto20 – 25MM casesGrowth rate >10%

Construction120 – 130 MM cases

Growth rate 8%

50~60%

27~31%

9~11%

Overall Growth ~8%+

Export22 – 26MM casesGrowth rate 40%

10~12%

• Business Scale: Ultimately the float glass industry is a cost game, and there are very significant efficiencies to be achieved by production scale (size of individual lines, co-location of lines with shared infrastructure for handling raw materials and distribution) and commercial scale (ability to obtain bulk discounts, influence local market prices). The largest Chinese manufacturers today, with 10+ lines apiece, are still a long way behind the global players.

• Strong corporate governance / management culture: Management decision making in the float glass industry is a risky business, given the very high upfront investments required and long life of a line. Excellence and discipline in the running of the business will play a major role in the success of a company

• Financial Muscle: Recent years have demonstrated that even the market leaders need sufficient reserves not only to weather difficult market conditions but also to take advantage of them by acquiring weaker players and pre-emptive expansion

• Technological capability: A significant part of the market still lacks the capability to produce higher quality output or achieve best practice efficiency levels. Those with the stronger technological capabilities are advantaged

• Specialism: While the conclusions drawn in “market perspective” hold true for the market as a whole, there are pockets of greater and lesser intensity. Companies that target areas of the market that are specialized – by geography or product – will be relatively more protected from competition

• Distribution network: Several ventures in the past have failed due to poor access to distribution networks and relationships. At the same time, larger players are increasingly locking in their competitive advantage by forming direct sales relationships with large customers. Strong distribution capabilities will be a significant factor in determining winners and losers

China is currently the main focus of float glass investment activity worldwide, with over 40 new lines planned in addition to the ~100 already in existence. Only a minority of the investment, as currently planned, will be in international quality production, due in part to manufacturers’ desire to keep investment costs low, and a lack of access to international standard technology. The result will be a relatively balanced market for higher quality float glass, but a growing over-supply of lower quality glass. Consequently, there will likely be a rapid maturing of the industry, a consolidation amongst manufacturers and the emergence of several world-scale players: The decisions taken over the next 3 – 5 years will therefore likely determine the shape of the industry for several decades. While some types of manufacturers are clearly advantaged, all will need to take action to strengthen their positions to maximize the chance of survival and success, including strengthening their financial backing and corporate governance, accessing technology, and developing international business networks.


11. NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS

ASAHI INDIAAsahi India is the largest manufacturer of automotive safety glass in India. Established in 1987, Asahi India was jointly promoted by B.M.Labroo & Associates, Asahi Glass Company Limited, Japan and Maruti Udyog Limited. Asahi India manufactures the full range of automotive safety glass. Asahi India's present product range includes laminated windshields, tempered glass for side and back lites, zone tempered glass for windshields, silver printed defogger glass, black ceramic printed flush fitting glass and PVCencapsulated fixed glass. In the non-automotive segment Asahi India's product range includes architectural laminated glass and toughened lid glass Asahi India's customers include Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Motors, Toyota Kirlosker, Mahindra & Mahindra, FordIndia, Honda Siel, Hindustan Motors, General Motors, Fiat, Daewoo Motors.

Asahi India's leading market position and strong relationship with its customers is backed by its superior technological and quality standards, cost competitiveness and its ability toprovide comprehensive and innovative services. Asahi India has a financial and technical collaboration with Asahi Glass Company Limited, Japan (AGC). In the automotive safetyglass business, the AGC group is a worldwide leader, with 25% global market share. In fiscal 2002, AGC's consolidated net sales and operating income amounted to US $ 10,337million and US $ 483 million, respectively. Asahi India continues to benefit immensely from the core technology inputs offered by AGC, Japan. During 2001-02, Asahi India acquired financial and management control in Floatglass India Ltd. - to reposition itself for continued future growth and success while focusing on the Company's core strengths.

Operating PerformanceThe major thrust that the company has got in the past year is the acquisition of Floatglass India Ltd. This will help Asahi India to move forward towards achieving its vision of emerging as an end to end player in the glass value chain. This will make it the largest player in the glass industry in India, vertically integrated from manufacturing architectural float glass to manufacture of automotive laminated and tempered glass.

It will also help the company to have a strong financial structure, facilitate resources mobilization and achieve better cash flows. The amalgamation will significantly improve the competitive advantage of the company, expand its business platform, reduce business risk and enhance its strategic position in the domestic glass industry.

SAINT GOBAIN

SAINT- GOBAIN’s NEW ACQUISITIONS


http://www.britglass.org.uk/NewsEvents/MINewsCurrent/FlatGlassSector-July2006.html#C%23C

Saint-Gobain's Building Distribution Sector has announced the acquisition of JP Corry, the leading builder's merchant in Northern Ireland, Barugel Azulay, the top-ranking distributor of sanitary ware, tiles and kitchens in the State of Buenos Aires in Argentina, and Vera-Meseguer, a leading builder's merchant in the region of Murcia in Spain. Saint-Gobain's Building Distribution Sector recorded a turnover of £15.4BN in 2005. It employs 62,000 people working in a network of 3,600 sales outlets spread over more than 20 countries

For Saint-Gobain Glass India, the caption is meant to convey several things to the buyers - heritage, innovation, reliability, and quality. And, surprisingly the caption was created in India as Saint-Gobain Glass India set up operations last year and sought to build a brand. This is one of the things developed by us and is now exportable, says B. Santhanam, Managing Director, Saint-Gobain Glass India Ltd, as he explains how the caption, along with the brand-building exercise by the company helped it achieve a fifth of the float glass market in the country.

Apart from focussing on its heritage and reliability as part of its marketing and brand-building exercise, Saint-Gobain Glass India ensured that its quality levels were even more stringent - similar to the quality of Saint-Gobains global operations - than what was required of companies here. For instance, it has defect levels of one defect per 100 sq.ft. of glass, whereas the Indian standard allows up to 10 times that, according to Santhanam

Another aspect that Saint-Gobain focussed on was the thickness of the glass. It launched a campaign called True Thick where it told its customers that if they bought glass from them, the thickness of the glass will be what it was claimed to be. For instance, a glass of 5 mm thickness would be 4.93 to 4.95 mm thick, when it was perfectly legal and acceptable to pass off glass of, say, 4.75 mm thickness as 5 mm glass.

Tests Indian Std American Std European Std.

Dimensional Tolerance on Cut Size

+- 2mm +1.6mm, -3.2mm) +-2.5mm

Fragmentation Test (minimum count)

60 particles 55 particles 40 particles

Shock Resistant Test (Allowable breakage/Total Sample Size

1/5 1/5 0.5/5

Wrap (Arc)1 0.50% 0.52% 0.30%

Wrap (Wave)2 0.30% 0.50% 0.20%

Note: The above tests are for 6mm thick clear float glass.


(Arc)1 :(Height of Arc/Length of Chord) X 100%

(Wave)2 : (Height from top bottom of Wave / Distance of top to bottom of Wave) X 100%

12. SEJAL ARCHITECTURAL GLASS LTD.: THE INSIDE STORY

Sejal vision....

“It is the vision of the Sejal Group to create a brand image for Sejal that evokes a sense

of awe, blind faith and inspiration and to achieve for itself the position of industry

leader in the field of secondary flat glass processing.”

Processes, operating systems and procedures shall be adopted with the objective of surpassing the exacting international standards for products and systems.

PROJECT LOCATION SQM

BABU KHAN MALL HYDERABAD 870

DIVYASHREE GREEN CHENNAI 1176

HCL CHENNAI 1364

WIPRO CHENNAI 646

ST. MICRO ELECTRONICS NOIDA 2444

RAHEJA MINDSPACE MUMBAI 26500

RAHEJA MINDSPACE HYDERABAD 6000

RAGHULEELA MALL MUMBAI 419

NICHOLAS PIRAMAL MUMBAI 570

NIRMAL LIFESTYLE MUMBAI 1577

DYNAMIC JUHU MUMBAI 1063


PROJECT LOCATION SQM

WHIZ ENTERPRISE MUMBAI 395

KAMALA MILL MUMBAI 384

VASANT SMRUTI MUMBAI 454

ELEGANT BUSINESS PARK MUMBAI 1521

INTL. KNOWLEDGE PARK MUMBAI 998

BOSTON MUMBAI 5000

BSEL MUMBAI 4000

SUPERMALL MUMBAI 3000

ALEMBIC BARODA 1331

KOHINOOR SOFTCON MUMBAI 2773

PIRAMAL MUMBAI 11458

VENAMBERG HYDERABAD 1208

BHARAT DIAMONG BOURSE MUMBAI 20000

YASH RAJ STUDIO MUMBAI 500

THE HUB HIGHWAY MUMBAI 446

SUPERMALL MUMBAI 2922

SUN PHARMA R & D CTR. MUMBAI 1500

SUN PHARMA R & D CTR. BARODA 1500

LEELA BUSINESS PARK MUMBAI 1039

CEE DEE ESS CHENNAI 1157

TEXAS INSTRUMENTS CHENNAI 2377

RELIANCE IPCL NEW MUMBAI 3152

GLOBE MIRRORS SRILANKA 1150

KELSEY SRILANKA 2295

Sejal's facilities....

Sejal's extensive processing facilities located at Mumbai and Vapi occupy an area of over 50,000 sq. ft. International quality; service and reliability are the market norms today. To ensure that the Sejal products consistently meet the quality standards, Sejal's facilities have been equipped with the state-of-the-art computer driven, automatic production lines and systems from select, leading manufacturers - renowned and well established in the global market. The facilities at Sejal include:


PROCESS FACILITY SOURCE

SALIENT FEATURES OF FACILITY

SPECIFICATIONS

Cutting line LISEC, AUSTRIA Automatic, Computer driven Cutting line with Li-opt cutting optimisation software, computers for file management and man-machine interface, cutting machine and breakout table.

Glass thickness from 3 to 19 mm.Max cut size – 3,500 mm x 2,500 mm

LISEC, AUSTRIA Automatic, Computer driven Cutting line with Li-opt cutting optimisation software, auto loader, cutting machine and breakout table.

Glass thickness from 3 to 19 mm.Max cut size – 6,000 mm x 3,000 mm

Grinding Lisec, Austria Automatic computer driven vertical arising and grinding line with washing and drying station.

Glass thickness from - 3 to 12 mm.

Grinding BAVELLONI, ITALY

2 Nos. Vertical straight-line diamond edge grinding GEMY 9 with 9 wheels. Grinding of Flat edges with arris with coarse, fine and crystal edge finish

Glass thickness from - 3 to 19 mm.Max. conveyor load – 150 kg / m

BAVELLONI, ITALY

Vertical straight-line diamond edge grinding TM 4 with 4 wheels. Grinding of Flat and profile edges with arris with coarse, fine and crystal edge finish


FUSHAN, CHINA

Vertical straight-line diamond edge grinding FZM 10 with 10 wheels. Grinding of Flat edge with arris with coarse, fine and crystal edge finish





SPECIFICATIONS

INDIA Vertical straight-line diamond edge grinding with 8 wheels.Grinding of Flat edges with arris with coarse, fine and crystal edge finish


INDIA Horizontal straight-line diamond edge grinding with 4 wheels.Grinding of Flat edges with arris and miters with coarse, fine and crystal edge finish


FUSHAN, CHINA

Corner grinding machine for rounding of glass corners

Glass thickness from – 3 to 19 mm.

NINJA, INDIA Cross belt grinding machine – 2 nos. Grinding of top and bottom arris.


NINJA, INDIA Vertical belt grinding machine for straight edge grinding with arris.


NINJA, INDIA Horizontal belt grinding machine for grinding of straight edge with arris.


Grinding and Fabrication

INTERMAC, ITALY

5 axis, CNC Work centre for external and internal grinding, bevelling, engraving, drilling, countersinking, cutting, writing

Glass thickness – 3 to 80 mmMax glass size – 6.25m x 3.35 m

Fabrication LISEC, AUSTRIA Water jet cutting machine with high speed grinding spindle for drill, countersink, cutout

Glass thickness 3 to 100 mmMax glass size 5m x 2.5 m

Drilling FUSHAN, CHINA

Twin spindle semi-automatic drilling machine.

Glass thickness from - 3 to 50 mm.Hole diameter - 4 to 220 mmDistance form hole centre to edge of glass – 1,250 mm




SPECIFICATIONS

BHAMBRA, INDIA

Twin spindle semi-automatic drilling machine.

Glass thickness from - 3 to 50 mm.Hole diameter - 4 to 200 mmDistance form hole centre to edge of glass – 600 mm

LOCAL, INDIA Portable drilling machine for drilling, counter sinking.

Glass thickness from - 3 to 50 mm.Hole diameter - 4 to 50 mm

Horizontal washing machine

MALNATI, ITALY

Automatic horizontal washing machine for clear, tinted and coated glasses

Glass thickness from - 3 to 19 mm.Max. width of glass – 2,500 mm

Horizontal tempering line

TAMGLASS, FINLAND

Automatic, Computer driven horizontal tempering line HTF 2436 BCT 10 with 2 centrefugal and 1 axial blowers and 1 compressor, heat strengthening and coated glass options.

Glass thickness from - 3 to 19 mm.Max. size of glass – 3,600 x 2,440 mmMin. size of glass – 200 x 250 mmGlass standards – ANSI Z97.1-1984 & ECE R 43 or equivalent

Heat Soak HOAF,NETHERLANDS

Heat Soak oven for testing of tempered glass as per popular international standards

Glass thickness from - 3 to 19 mm.Max. size of glass – 3,600 x 2,440 mm

Bending HOAF,NETHERLANDS

Oven for sinking, bending, fusing of glass

Max size of glass -

Laminating Line

BYSTRONIC, GERMANY

Computer driven laminating line suitable for soft coated with convection heating

Max size of glass 2.6 m x 4.5 mMax thickness of laminate – 80 mm




SPECIFICATIONS

Laminating Autoclave

Scholz, Germany Autoclave for setting of laminated glass

Max size of glass 2.6 m x 4.5 mMax thickness of laminate – 80 mm

Insulating glass line

LISEC, AUSTRIA Automatic, computer driven insulating line for double and triple glazing with 1, 2, 3 or 4 - sided steps. Automatic hydraulic pressing IGU pressing station, tiltable outlet

Max. size of glass – 3,600 x 2,440 mmUnit thickness – 12 to 52 mm

Frame Bending LISEC, AUSTRIA Automatic frame bending for rectangular and shaped glasses

Max. size of glass – 3,600 x 2,440 mmUnit thickness – 12 to 52 mm

Frame cutting MALNATI, ITALY

Precision length cutting with digital controlSmooth cut edges

------

Frame filling LISEC, AUSTRIA Simultaneous filling of frames with molecular sieves. Minimum atmospheric contact for molecular sieves

Frame size suitable for IGU as above

Butyl extruder LISEC, AUSTRIA Automatic application of PIB primary seal on frame

Frame size suitable for IGU as above

Sealing Robot LISEC, AUSTRIA Automatic application of secondary seal to the insulating glass unit.

Max glass size 2.5 m x 2.5 m

Bi-component sealing

LISEC, AUSTRIA Hydraulic two component extruder for Polysulphide secondary seal

Size suitable for IGU as above

Bi-component sealing

LISEC, AUSTRIA Hydraulic two component extruder for Silicone secondary seal

Size suitable for IGU as above

Water demineralising plant

AHURA, INDIA Cation, Anion and mixed bed units with on line conductivity measurement

DM water capacity 700 l/h




SPECIFICATIONS

Air compressor ELGI, INDIA 2 Nos. (1 redundant) Screw compressors with refrigerated drier & air filterMoisture and oil – free compressed air for process.

FAD

1) 1.6 Cu. m /min,

2) 2.61 Cu. m /min,

Pressure - 10 kg / sq. cm.

Diesel Generators

GREAVES, INDIA

Auto voltage regulation, auto synchronising & auto changeover.

Max load capacity 1680 kVA – 3 x 500 kVA + 180 kVA (100% captive power)

Sejal products....

Sejal is well equipped today to provide most appropriate solutions to meet specific glazing requirements of visibility, safety, security, thermal and acoustic insulation in architectural, decorative, industrial, transport and various other market segments. SEJAL L I T E Standard clear, body tinted, reflective – solar and high performance

coated, low-emissivity single glazing. Kool G l a s s Insulating Glass Unit with standard and high performance glazing for

sun control, UV control, for thermal insulation. This range of glazing helps in greatly reducing the heat transfer into conditioned space by 19 to 84% approx. thus resulting in considerable savings in energy consumption and operating costs.

Tone G l a s s Insulating Glass Unit for acoustic insulation with different sound characteristics. Sound attenuations up to 50 db can be achieved. The units could also be configured with high performance glasses to achieve thermal insulation with acoustic insulation.

Solid G l a s s Tempered Glass for enhanced thermal shock resistance, strength and safety. SEJAL TUFF heat strengthened (HS) glasses are recommended for thermal shock resistance and strength. Whereas, SEJAL TUFF fully toughened (FT) glasses are classified as safety glass and most suitable where human safety is of primary concern besides thermal shock resistance and strength. The risk of injury is minimal since SEJAL TUFF (FT) glass breaks into very small, blunt fragments upon heavy impact. As compared to conventional annealed glass SEJAL TUFF (HS) has twice and SEJAL TUFF (FT) has four times the strength.

Armour G l a s s Laminated Glass for safety glazing applications. Our present range of safety, laminated glasses include cast-in-place resin laminated glasses with one or more inter-layers to provide the required level of safety. When broken, the glass fragments do not become free and remain attached to the interlayer thus reducing the risk of human injury.

Fort G l a s s Laminated Glass for security glazing applications. These glasses are specifically configured with alternating layers of glass and PVB / cast-in-


place resin. The configuration of the built-up glass decides the level of security (resistance to forced entry, bullets, explosions etc.).

Decor G l a s s Range of decorative glass for interiors like furniture, wall panels, ceiling panels, decorative mirrors, design glasses with sand blasting, air brushing, chemical etching, engraving etc.

Sejal working systems....

Enquiry and order processing

Enquiries and orders received are recorded as and when they are received. Subsequently they are passed on to the Sales Support Cell, which is adequately staffed with technical and commercial personnel for scrutiny and evaluation. If found okay the quotations are forwarded to parties in response to the enquiries and in the case of orders work orders are raised and forwarded to factory for execution of the orders.

Order execution

The work orders are received at the factory by Production planning & control (PPC). The work orders are incorporated into the rolling manufacturing plan. The work orders are forwarded to the various work centres with the supporting route cards. The route cards control the movement of the goods within the factory from one work centre to another and in monitoring the manufacturing efficiency and performance. Wastages, reworks and rejections are communicated to PPC for necessary action.

Materials

Necessary material inputs required for processing the orders is estimated by the work centre heads and issued from stores for consumption. Stock statement for all direct materials is prepared on daily basis and necessary procurement action planned based on orders on hand, orders expected and historical data. Where procurement action has been initiated the purchase order copies are forwarded to factory for monitoring the receipt and quality of incoming materials. Receipt of materials at factory is recorded on Goods Receipt Notes. After acceptance by quality assurance, the materials are taken in stock.

Manufacturing completion

Completion of the manufacturing activities as per the route cards is communicated to PPC by the final manufacturing work centre. The completion of manufacturing is then checked by PPC and then the goods are passed on to the despatch department .

Dispatch

PPC informs the goods ready for despatch to Sales for commercial clearance and delivery instructions. Upon receipt of delivery instructions from Sales the despatch of the goods is arranged. The information and documents are forwarded to customer, sales and / or accounts for information and further action.


Sejal quality standards....

The following is the quality standards that are followed and maintained for Sejal products

Sl. No. Parameter SAGL std. For acceptanceQuality A Quality BCentral Area Outer

AreaCentral Area

Outer Area

1 Cracks Nil Nil Nil Nil2 Gaseous

inclusions – max. size (mm)

1 2 3 6

3 Opaque gaseous inclusions – max. size (mm)

Nil 0.5 3.0 6

4 Knots / Dirt / Stones

Nil 1 1 1

5 Min. separation between parameters 2, 3 & 4

150 mm

6 Cluster of Parameters 1, 2 & 3

Nil One cluster of (2)+(3)+(4) < 3 (2) < 2(3) < 2(4) < 1

One cluster of (2)+(3)+(4) < 3 (2) < 2(3) < 2(4) < 1

One cluster of (2)+(3)+(4) < 5 (2) < 5(3) < 5(4) < 1

7 Scratches, Rubs & Crush

Total length < 240 mm / sq. m with min = 240 mm




8 Reams, strings & lines

Light Light Light Light

9 Sulphur Stains Nil Nil Nil Nil10 Corner

breakage & chip – max. size

Not more than nominal thickness with 10 mm max. for glass thickness > 6 mm. Max. 6 mm for glass thickness < 6 mm.

For the purpose of these standards Central Area is considered to be the area of the glass lite enclosed by the oval or circle centred on the lite whose axes or diameters equal 50% of length and width of the glass. The rest of the glass area outside this circle or oval is the Outer area of the glass.


SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT AT SEJAL ARCHITECTURAL GLASS

The Supply chain Management practiced at Sejal Glass is of world class international standards with state-of-art technology. The material is brought in a ten wheel truck which carries about eight tones of load consisting of 4 wooden racks of glass. Each rack consisted of 12 sheets having size 2000 mm x 3210 mm. Each rack weighed about 2 tones. Before the truck is opened, a digital image is clicked with the identification number of the truck for record purpose. After the truck is open, another image is clicked with all the four racks in truck. Then one of the racks is lifted. Then rack form the opposite side is unloaded; another image is clicked and the truck is unloaded in this manner. The purpose behind these digital images is for insurance purpose as glass may get damaged or cracked during material handling. The unloading process is done magnificently by only three workers out of which one is the hoist operator. Racks are tied with nylon belts and with the help of hoist, an 8 tonnes loaded truck is emptied within just 30 minutes of its arrival in the warehouse.

Warehousing is internal process at Sejal. They have an open warehouse system as the size of glass is huge and bulky. The truck directly comes to the stacking racks and with the help of overhead hoist the truck is directly emptied on the racks. If any damage is formed during material handling than, that part of glass is cut and disposed off and rest of the sheet is utilized with vaccum handling.

Material handling is at par with international standards. Various material handling equipments like arm guards, rubber gloves, rubber pads, hoist, vaccum handles, nylon ropes, vaccum cranes are been used in Sejal. Each worker is given a special training for 7 days after joining on how to handle glass. Fortunately, accidents do not occur in plant as sophisticated handling material and effective training is provided to each and every worker. Sejal firmly believes that Human Resource is the biggest asset, so safety of their biggest asset is their major concern.

The machines that are used at Sejal are of internationally renowned companies. The list of machinery that’s been used in Sejal is as mentioned above. The capacity of each machine is known to the Production Planning Manger. He plans the production schedule accordingly.

Packaging of finished glass is of outmost important as glass is fragile which is to be transported over longer distances. As of today the packaging cost is of 0.50 % of the product value because the packaging materials like wooden barracks which are received with raw material are re-used. In packaging cost, major cost is labor and corrugated paper that is placed between two glass.

Inventory levels at today stand about Rs. 15 crores per quarter. Their target is to bring down their working capital to Rs. 5 crores per quarter. ABC pattern of Inventory Management is in place at Sejal. Warehouse manager maintains the inventories in co-ordination with purchase manager.


Transportation is done with special care. Packaging of material is thoroughly done and tied with the body of the truck. The vehicle in which glass is to be transported, the base contains grass and wooden pieces, so as glass doesn’t cracks during jerks during transportation. Transport vehicles are generally used only for period of 5 years and then they are replaced. Transportation is outsourced at Sejal.

Quality assurance is given due importance in the company. Each and every operator of machine is given certain standards for rejection. Tolerance level is 0.5 % if found any. There are no as such quality inspectors on the shop floor. The rejection level which reached its peek of 1 % during the year 2003 came to the lowest level of 0.27% in the year 2005 and is now being consistently maintained at 0.50 %. There are certain targets for rejection given to the each operator of the company. The number of glasses the company handles is for example 10,000/month. Out of which, cutting line can reject 5 pieces; grinding can reject 20 pieces; fabrication can reject 10 pieces; lamination: 100 pieces; trapping: 50 pieces; insulating line: 20 and dispatch: 0 pieces respectively. These standards are set according to the complexity of the process. If the number of the rejection pieces goes above the set standards, a detailed explanation is to be given by the operator in forms of report. Reports are prepared daily, weekly and monthly basis. Daily reports are inspected by the Quality Assurance executive.

Preventive maintenance is done fortnightly by a team of 5 professionals. The total need of 10 more professionals as their business is ever expanding. The total investment in machinery is about Rs. 90 crores and most of the machines are imported. So if in the unfortunate event of breakdown or stock out of materials or technical problem in machines, preventive maintenance is taken care of sufficiently.

As work order is received from the Mumbai office, the production planning manager processes it accordingly. Whatever may be the quantity, a single page data describes the order and process to be done on the glass. It is known as the bin card. Bin card consists of all the specifications and details like name of the client, place, delivery date, product details, packaging details and other useful information.

Sejal Glass believes they are the solution providers for glass needs in the country. They have created a new market for glass solution providers. They do not market themselves as glass processors. Certain systems like scheduling and production management which are used in the company took about 5-6 years to develop. Sejal stands quite ahead of its competitors pertaining to Supply Chain Management.


13. INNOVATIVE PROJECTS

14. FUTURE OF INDIAN INFRASTRUCTURE

With the advent of modern civilization and development of scientific knowledge, there has been an upsurge in demand for developing newer materials for novel applications. In fact, with the technological leaps in recent times, focus has been on developing the materials required to perform in stringent conditions - high temperature & pressure, highly corrosive environment, higher strength but without much weight implications etc. which the conventional materials failed to service. This ushered in 'engineered material', devising material properties catering to the application needs. And the innovation was not limited to developing materials with novel properties alone but it also addressed the method of manufacturing - improved processing techniques, effective use of energy while processing and more importantly with the least environmental impact. Advanced materials with combination of properties for specific end uses became a reality.

Indian Scenario


Indian efforts centre around developing cost effective building materials as well as for catering to the housing needs of urban & rural poor. With the scarcity of wood for building products, the alternative, which merits attention is to promote the manufacturing of low cost FRP building materials to meet the demands of the housing & building sectors. In this context, certain developments concerning glass fibre reinforced polymer composites, natural fibre composites, industrial waste based composites have assumed importance. Natural fibres, as a substitute for glass fibres in composite components, have gained interest in the last decade, especially in the housing sector. Fibres like flax, hemp or jute are cheap, have better stiffness per unit weight and have a lower impact on the environment. Natural fibre composites made of jute, coir, sisal, pineapple, ramie, bamboo, banana etc. can be very cost-effective structural materials especially for panels/partitions, false ceilings, flooring tiles etc. as plywood, MDF and timber substitute. It can also be used in pre-fabricated housing, cubicles, kiosks, awnings, sheds/shelters. Natural fibres due to their adequate tensile strength and good specific modulus enjoy the right potential for usage in composites thus ensuring a value-added application avenue.

Table – I : Salient Mechanical Properties of FRP Laminates

Tensile Strength(MPa)

Flexural Strength(MPa)

Impact Strength(Joules/m)

Water Absorption: 24 Hrs. Room Temp. (%)

Water Absorption:4 Hrs. Boiling (%)

88.97 175.86 609.44 0.08 0.92

Pultruded Profiles

Among a wide array of composite products, pultruded profiles such as gratings, ladders, cable trays, solid rods & other sections are used in many structural application with Class I flame retardancy. Pultrusion is the most cost-effective method for the production of fibre-reinforced composite structural profiles. It brings high performance composites down to commercial applications such as lightweight corrosion-free structures, electrical non-conductive systems, offshore platforms and many other innovative new products. Pultruded sections are well-established alternative to steel, wood and aluminium in developed countries and are fast catching up in other parts of the world. Structural sections have ready markets in oil exploration rigs, chemical industries etc. The amount of energy required to fabricate FRP composite materials for structural applications with respect to conventional materials such as steel & aluminium is lower and would work for its economic advantage in the end. The pultruded products are already being recognized as commodity in the international market for construction.

Table – II : Mechanical/Chemical Properties of FRP Pultruded Sections Vs. Other Structural Materials

Mechanical Properties

PultrudedFRP

RigidPVC

MildSteel

StainlessSteel

Wood

Polyester Vinyl


http://www.tifac.org.in/do/acm/case/pult.htm

EsterTensile Strength

(N/mm2) 382 401 44 340 340 80

Flexural Strength (N/mm2)

468 508 70 380 380 12

Flexural Modulus (N/mm2)

22489 48260 2400 196000 196000 700

Izod Impact (Kg-m/cm)

1.36 1.63 0.09 1.5 0.53 -

Specific Gravity 1.80 1.80 1.38 7.8 7.92 0.52Safe Working Temp. (° C)

120 170 55 600 600 160

Table III - Pultruded Product Characteristics

Size Forming guide system and equipment pulling capacity influence size limitation

Shape Straight, constant cross sections, some curved sections possibleLength No limitReinforcement Fibre glass, aramid fibre, carbon fibre, thermoplastic and natural fibresMechanicalStrength

Medium to high, primarily unidirectional approaching isotropic

Labor intensity Low to mediumMould cost Low to mediumProduction rate Shape and thickness related

Expected Benefits

Bamboo composite based flooring tiles, boards (used for partitions, cupboards, racks, door & window panels) and blocks (used for furniture, rails & styles for doors & windows etc.) as wood substitute would help develop & promote high value-added products from bambooBamboo composite laminates with a low-temperature curing resin system for reduced energy requirement Promotion of eco-friendly use of bamboo while building a sustainable infrastructure for plant multiplication, propagation and cultivation. Boosting the usage of bamboo based products in India towards generating good employment & income opportunities at rural level

Towards effective bamboo utilization and exploring the value-addition potential, the project on development of bamboo composite laminates was launched by the Advanced Composites Programme of TIFAC in partnership with M/s. Emmbee Forest Products Pvt. Ltd., Manabari with technology support from the Department of Polymer Science & Technology, University of


Calcutta. The project aimed at developing value-added products from bamboo with an innovative resin system for reduced processing energy requirement. Bamboo based products such as flooring tiles, laminate boards, blocks (for door & window frames, rails & styles, furniture etc.) as wood substitute are being developed under the project.

For preventing bamboo composites from any deterioration by moisture absorption and imparting long-term storage life, a water based acrylic pre-coat has been developed. This pre-coat would prevent any fungal attack during transit for the reconstituted wood sections for furniture. Further, a UV cured melamine acrylate system as the finishing coat has also been developed for flooring tiles made of bamboo composites. A water based PU resin system has also been tried for final finish of the flooring tiles.

Various stages of bamboo processing starting from cross-cutting, parallel splitting, knot removal, two-side planning, anti-fungal treatment, drying, four-side planning, glue application and hot pressing were fine tuned. Products such as flooring tiles, furniture sections, reconstituted wood, air locked sections, mat boards etc. have been developed under the project.

Table – IV : Properties of Select Natural Fibres Property E-glass Flax Hemp Jute Ramie Coir Sisal CottonDensityg/cm3

2.55 1.4 1.48 1.46 1.5 1.25 1.33 1.51

Tensile Strength* 10E6 N/m2

2400 800- 1500

550- 900 400- 800

500 220 600- 700

400

E-modulus (GPa) 73 60- 80 70 10- 30 44 6 38 12% Elongationat Failure

3 1.2- 1.6 1.6 1.8 2 15- 25 2- 3 3-10

% Moisture Absorption

- 7 8 12 12- 17 10 11 8-25

* Tensile strength strongly depends on type of fibre, being a bundle or a single filament

Conclusion

The most important feature governing the choice of material & form of construction for any component is its structural integrity. Whereas high specific strength and lightweight were often the dominant criteria to be achieved, particularly for aerospace applications, there is today an increasing emphasis on other criteria such as environmental durability, embedded energy, fire resistance.

Innovative thermoset and natural fiber composite products would go a long way in developing new application areas thus enhancing its market reach. India with an excellent knowledge-base in various resins, catalysts & curing systems coupled with an adequate availability of various raw materials can certainly carve out a niche in the upcoming technology of composite fabrication. Value-added novel applications of natural fiber composites would also ensure international market for cheaper substitutes. The products when locally manufactured would actually become cost competitive for other wood substitutes.


The Advanced Composites Programme has improved the laboratory-industry linkages towards application development & commercialization by launching 30 projects across the country. The Programme has been quite instrumental in bridging the knowledge gaps and bringing together the industries & the users for technology development, transfer & subsequent commercialization

15. BIBLIOGRAPHY


supply chain management in glass industry

Documents

supply chain management

indian glass industry

types of glass

value chain management4

new century

sejal architectural

effective supply chains

application of safety