GBC News Blog: Contractors, Architects, and General Public

Posted on June 5, 2017 April 9, 2018 by Emily GBC

Safety Solutions- Tape vs Stair Tread

IBC and IFC 2009, 2012, and 2015 have introduced new egress system component requirements. Only quality rigid components meet the high safety evaluation standards set out in UL 1994 for photo-luminescent egress system components.

Tape for emergency egress is non-compliant with IBC/IFC 2009, 2012, and 2015 standards and is not code compliant with UL 1994 listings, however, many companies still utilize the old method of tape. This is unsafe! Tapes do not have the capacity to glow as bright or as long as the required rigid or semi-rigid components. After a little bit of wear, tape will get slippery, dirty, and start to peel off, unstick, and tear. Tape needs to be reapplied often and is not durable or made for long wear.

GBC has the code compliant answer for your emergency egress system needs.

Instead of tape, use GBC Safety Glow’s Bull Nose Stair Treads. Constructed of extruded aluminum, the treads were built with durability and longevity in mind. Treads utilize proprietary polymer fusion technology and proprietary anti-skid black substrate with embedded aggregate that allows for heavy traffic and extended longevity. These treads hold up in ice, rain, or snow in any lighting conditions. Bull Nose Stair Treads have a wrap around edge that is ideal for use over carpet or for covering up rough edges to help the appearance of step damage. Stair tread is available in aluminum, bronze, black, and gold finish.

Posted on June 5, 2017 April 9, 2018 by Emily GBC

PL Egress Lighting Performance

Photo-luminescent (PL Egress) systems should be UL listed in accordance with national codes IBC/IFC 2009, 2012, and 2015. The minimum requirements of the performance characteristics for the glow are as follows:

1006.4 Performance of System
Emergency lighting facilities shall be arranged to provide initial illumination that is at least an average of 1 foot-candle (11 lux) and a minimum at any point of 0.1 foot-candle (1 lux), measured along the path of egress at floor level. Illumination levels shall be permitted to decline to 0.6 foot-candle (6 lux), average and a minimum at any point of 0.06 foot-candle (0.6 lux) at the end of the emergency lighting time duration. A maximum-to-minimum illumination uniformity ratio of 40 to 1 shall not be exceeded.

There are many other requirements of the performance relating to ADA and NFPA 101. The specifications set out by UL 1994 are the testing requirements for all of the components which make up the emergency egress system. PL Egress is quickly becoming the standard for Emergency egress in stairwells of high rise public facilities all over the world! The U.S standard for PL Egress systems is one of the best in the world and other countries are quickly following suit. GBC Safety Glow has long been at the forefront of PL Egress technology. The dedicated team of Safety Glow professionals have the desire to put people first! “People Helping People” is our approach to public safety.

Posted on June 5, 2017 April 9, 2018 by Emily GBC

Safety Solutions: High Rise Buildings

Per the IBC and IFC, any high rise building over 75ft is required to implement a low location photo-luminescent emergency egress system except for apartment buildings. Between 2005 and 2009, an estimated 15,700 reported high-rise structure fires per year resulted in associated losses of 53 civilian deaths, 546 civilian injuries, and $235 million in direct property damage per year. An estimated 2.6% of all 2005-2009 reported structure fires were in high-rise buildings. According to reports, 4 property classes account for roughly half of high-rise fires: apartments, hotels, offices, and facilities that care for the sick. In these four property classes combined, there were 7,800 reported high-rise structure fires per year and associated losses of 30 civilian deaths, 352 civilian injuries, and $99 million in direct property damage per year.

The fraction of 2005-2009 high-rise fires that began on the 7th floor or higher was 32% for apartments, 22% for hotels, 39% for office buildings, and 21% for facilities that care for the sick. Most high-rise building fires begin on floors no higher than the 6th story. The risk of a fire starting on a lower level is great for all instances except offices where it is reports more fires start on the upper levels. The requirements of Photo-Luminescent Life safety evacuation systems do not apply to high rise apartment complex or R-2 facilities, yet an average of 12% more fires occur in apartment buildings than any other class of facility.

GBC Safety Glow wants to keep everyone safe by adding simple emergency egress components in every building. Your safety in a high rise apartment is just as important as those in a high rise office building. Isn’t it? Voice this concern to your local fire department. Stand up for safety in the place you live and be proactive to help make a change and save lives! Contact Us today to learn more!

Posted on June 5, 2017 April 9, 2018 by Emily GBC — 1 Comment

Path Marking – Section 4604.23 Requirements

In some areas, path marking for existing buildings is required. To know if this is required for structures near you, the requirements for such path markings are stated in the IFC; Section 4604.23 Egress Path Markings.

Minimum compliance requirements:
Existing buildings of Groups A, B, E, I, M and R-l having occupied floors located more than 75 feet (22,860 mm) above the lowest level of fire department vehicle access shall be provided with luminous egress path markings in accordance with IBC; Section 1024 Luminous Egress Path Markings.

Posted on June 2, 2017 April 9, 2018 by Emily GBC

GBC Partners with Sky Zone Trampoline Parks

After a recent conference in Chicago, GBC Safety Glow has partnered with Sky Zone Trampoline Parks to provide quality UV-Reactive products throughout Sky Zone franchises nationwide.

“Trampoline parks are everywhere nowdays. Kids love trampoline parks, especially Glow Nights when the lights are off and everything glows. With decreased visibility, parks need to set up appropriate safety precautions,” says GBC owner, Jason Doran. “Many parks utilize the tape method, but this is old technology that provides a short solution to an ongoing problem.”

The method of using tape is inefficient because after only a small amount of wear, it will start to peel off, unstick, and tear. You will find yourself constantly replacing your tape markings. Instead, GBC offers high quality solutions that are built with durability and longevity in mind to withstand the high traffic of trampoline parks. Solutions include perimeter markings, obstacle markings, hand rail markings, and stair treads.

Thank you to Alex and the corporate Sky Zone team for inviting GBC Safety Glow to participate in the conference and choosing us for your glow needs. We look forward to future business together!

Click here for Product Information

Posted on June 2, 2017 April 9, 2018 by Emily GBC

Safety Solutions: Trampoline Park

The growing popularity of trampoline parks as a recreational hobby has grown immensely. It seems that everywhere you look there is a trampoline park. A new fad at trampoline parks is Glow Nights – the lights are turned off and kids experience the fun of the trampoline park in a UV/Blacklit environment.

Trampoline parks need durable, reliable UV-stable and photo-luminescent lighting to accommodate and provide safety and fun for jumpers.

Many franchises turn to orange tape rollers to provide illumination of obstacles, perimeters, stairs, and handrails. The issue with tape is that after a little bit of wear, it will start to peel off, unstick, and tear.

GBC Safety Glow offers a wide range of products for every UV and photo-luminescent need of trampoline parks nationwide. Learn More Here.

Posted on June 2, 2017 April 9, 2018 by Emily GBC

Safety Solutions: Churches

GBC Safety Glow’s Photo-Luminescent products work in many buildings and businesses including churches. After hearing from a safety director at a Mega Church, GBC identified a major issue across the nation’s churches. Many churches lower and dim their lights during service or song and this leads to safe paths of travel becoming invisible. Numerous people trip every year over chair legs, steps, bags, cords, because of this issue.

An easy solution to this is GBC Safety Glow’s Bull Nose Stair Treads to illuminate steps and Perimeter Demarcation Lines to illuminate perimeters and obstacles. Churches are finding these solutions very practical to incorporate into their rooms.

Posted on June 1, 2017 April 9, 2018 by Emily GBC

Attn: Architects

GBC Safety Glow is happy to assist architects with technical work regarding emergency egress system components. We understand how frustrating it can be when Emergency Egress Components are required for a building and you have questions on how to get started. We are glad to have you as part of our GBC Safety Glow team and are happy to answer questions and assist in any way that we can. If you have questions, need product information, or help designing a system, give us a call at 920-462-4242 or Contact Us. GBC Safety Glow is your information center for IBC/IFC 2009, 2012, and 2015 specifications and code compliance for UL 1994 emergency evacuation systems.

Posted on June 1, 2017 April 9, 2018 by Emily GBC

Safety Solutions: Offshore Oil Rigs

The petrochemical industry has specific challenges it faces in regards to safety, especially in offshore oil rig platforms. GBC Safety Glow, a global leader in providing photo-luminescent safety solutions for demanding environments, continues to develop unique safety systems and products for the petrochemical industry.

Safety on offshore oil rig/ drilling platforms is no accident! Worker safety starts with 100% fail proof photo-luminescent oil rig safety solutions from GBC Safety Glow. In the event of power failure on the offshore oil rig, self illuminating products provide guidance, illuminate obstacles, delineate egress, and light the path to safety. The uses for these high quality photo-luminescent products on an offshore oil rig are limitless.

Our most popular solution created for offshore oil rigs is the illumination for helicopter landing pads. Helicopter landing pads on an offshore oil rig can be extremely treacherous, especially in less than ideal situations. Even the most skilled pilot needs to see obstacles such as drill towers and cranes. With GBC Safety Glow’s Photo-Luminescent Coating, landing pads are illuminated in the dark of night making landing safer and easier.

Posted on May 31, 2017 April 9, 2018 by Emily GBC

UL 1994 Certification

GBC Safety Glow is proud to offer Emergency Egress System Components that meet all IBC/IFC 2009, 2012, 2015 requirements and are also Standards for Luminous Egress Path Marking Systems per UL Listing.

Learn More about the UL 1994 Standard for Luminous Egress Path Marking Systems

Since the conception of photo-luminescent materials for life safety systems, there have been many “CHEAP” variations of glow materials produced and sold. Obviously price drives everything, but you don’t want to risk your life with “The Cheap stuff.” Most people don’t realize that the World Trade Center towers had photo-luminescent materials. The problem was the materials made at that time were junk! This was a lesson learned the hard way. After the reports of 9/11 were completed, a large number of recommendations came to add photo-luminescent materials, but also to improve the quality by adding stringent testing requirements (UL 1994) to help insure public safety in high rise facilities.

The main objective was to mandate a uniform photo-luminescent emergency evacuation system that would be reliable and consistent. The key components of the emergency egress system were outlined in the International Building Code (IBC) and the International Fire Code (IFC) and the building code was changed in 2009. Only this time the code changes implemented a very specific testing standard through Underwriters Laboratories. The standard is known as UL 1994. The term “tested to UL 1994” is a common tactic used by foreign manufacturers. Only “listed” UL 1994 products make the cut.

WHEN CHOOSING A SYSTEM FOR YOUR FACILITY:
1. What is the warranty on materials & installation?
– Our warranty is 10 years
2. What type of materials are used?
– GBC uses only the highest quality materials to create their products
3. How will the products be fastened.
– GBC uses tested and proven secured methods of fastening
4. Ask for a copy of the UL 1994 listing for each product being installed. GBC’s UL Listings
5. Make sure the company isn’t buying and reselling you foreign made products.
– ALL GBC PRODUCTS ARE MADE IN USA
6. Make sure the installation is guaranteed to pass the fire department code inspection.
– We guarantee your safety egress system will pass fire code