The wear and tear of an auto glass installer is, in the end, the installer’s fault. But is it? Maybe it is a lack of training or a lack of having a supervisor say, “Don’t do that.” Maybe it is just a guy doing his best to finish a little quicker, so he can get to the next job. Sometimes when I get into talking about safety, a tech will speak up about how he does this or how things happen. If you used a translator, it would come out as, “I am a glass tech; therefore, I will get cut.” Really? Have you lost your mind? I cannot even imagine driving to work in the morning thinking I was going to get hurt.

At the same time, I was young and stupid too. Yes, I have pushed hundreds of windshields out with my head to be able to long knife the bottom. Yes, I have pulled on cold knives with all of my body weight and more. And yes, safety glasses are never there when you need them. Oh, and don’t forget using chemicals without nitrile gloves, or any gloves for that matter.

And then the question has to be, “Why not work safe? Why not take two more minutes on the job?” BECAUSE WE ARE REAL MEN … that are real dumb.
So for all you auto glass installers out there, please read this and make a promise to yourself to protect yourself, extend your career and get home safe tonight. Here are some simple rules to live by:

1.      Don’t text while driving or enter an address into your GPS while in motion.

2.      Wear safety gloves any time you remove glass (if you have a cut-out knife in your hand, you better have safety gloves on).

3.      If you have a chemical in your hand you should have nitrile gloves on! Yes, windshield repair resin is why your fingernails are falling out.

4.      Don’t be a hero! Who is going to care tomorrow?

5.      What if your paycheck was only good if you used safety glasses on all installs? Your eyes will not grow back.

6.      Wire cut-out tools are cool. You don’t damage yourself or the car.

7.      Cut the bottom of the windshield out first. Your head and neck were not designed to be a third hand. Your 50-year-old self will thank me for this rule.

8.      Windshield mirror glue primer causes mutilation in lab rats. No, it is not a hand cleaner.

9.       Setting glass is all about leverage. Keep your elbow against your body when lifting. Why not use a sitting stick, Lil Buddy or the CSR up front, to help set the glass? Not every job is a two-man job, in fact, I believe only about 10 auto glass jobs truly require two men.

10.     Vibration will damage the nerves in your hands. Slow down the tool and use H2O to lubricate. It’s a cut-out tool, so I am sure you have those gloves on too.

Yes, I have worked 20-hour days and put in every piece of glass in one car after another—maybe even 30 or more auto glass jobs every day for weeks. I have never gotten stitches or gone to the doctor for any work-related injury, but my neck is not right, my wrist always hurts and my head still has glass that works its way out from time to time.

Wear gloves when cutting out, always cut the bottom first and wear nitrile gloves when installing new glass. In the end, techs just need more training and supervision that says, “Let’s be safe.”

We’re trying to fix these problems at Glass Doctor®. We’ve started broadcasting weekly Glass Doctor SmarTech™ training videos to our franchise locations that include a safety topic the first week of every month.

What are YOU doing?

Having a franchise location in Waco, Texas, helps keep me closer to the real work – the frontline. It is easy to lose sight or to think you are doing something that will help the industry when you are in a corporate position, but in the end you might see that item or idea have very little impact. One of the things I ask franchisees from time to time is to push back from the desk and go ride with the techs as they need to inspect what they expect.

While in the frontline you also can gain a little clearer vision of the true challenges and joys of this business.

One of the things I have always felt I could do very well is answer the phone and schedule work. So while at our local shop recently I took a few calls and call a few quotes back that had been given out during the day. Two of the customers I talked to brought up in the conversation that the shops from which they had been given the lowest price was going to be installing “used” glass. Really? Is that even something that you would want? The customer then explained this shop even has a second location at a salvage yard. (My kids now would say OMG!)

Of course, with my skills of conversation we switched to the safety of the customer’s family and the value of this fairly new car and he changed his mind. Okay, note to industry: Why would any customer even think that used glass was a viable option? It is simple—we still have not gotten the word out to end consumers that the glass in their cars is part of the safety feature designed in today’s automobile.

So expect to hear me standing from the highest mountain in Waco screaming to the consumers: “If a glass shop has installed a used piece of glass in your car, now your family is at risk of fatal injury. I am not sleeping at night over the concern for your family, are you?”

Installing old glass in a new car is like putting new wine in used bottles; at some point the glass is going to break and the most valuable thing inside is going to be lost. (Click here for the Auto Glass Safety Council’s stance on used glass.)

I challenge every auto glass company to focus its advertising on consumer safety. If we want to change the industry we cannot allow the bottom-feeders to train customers that poor standards are okay. Last, but not least, just saying you’re certified or registered doesn’t mean anything, please promise that you are actually practicing safe installation processes.