Rich is probably the only person in Canada who is both a writer and a glass guy. With over 70 articles under his belt and a new gig as the back page columnist for Glass Canada magazine, Rich also has a long track record as a marketing consultant with the likes of Binswanger Glass, Hartung, Garibaldi Glass, PFG, the National Glass Association and others. He’s seen enough to have some opinions and isn’t shy about sharing them. We get into the exploding market in sneeze guards, the possible future of office towers, the dos and don’ts of marketing a glass business and the forces in this country that are preventing industrial development like Xinyi’s float glass proposal.

We pick the brain of Andrew Dolphin, general manager of glass operations at BV Glazing and president of the Ontario Glass and Metal Association, about some of the issues facing glass fabricators these days. Dolphin is looking with some concern at the city of Toronto’s proposals to require bird friendly patterns on surface #1 of all new windows. He thinks a float glass plant in southern Ontario would be nice, but not necessarily a game changer. He likes his new toys: automated IG lines and a big cutting table. He also likes golf tournaments, but has found some new ways to keep the OGMA relevant during the pandemic. And he likes how the Blue Jays are looking going into the 2021 season.

There’s a couple new CSA standards in town – A440.6 and S478 – and David De Rose is the man with the information on both. A440.6 is a new standard for high-exposure fenestration that covers the right way to install and seal punched windows, continuous windows and window wall above four storeys. We talk about the nifty sealant compatibility chart and maintenance appendix in the new standard. Then there’s S478, which is a durability standard that sets out a method for establishing the expected design life of a building and its components. That one is going to get more popular as more and more projects ask for life cycle analysis to meet embodied carbon standards. De Rose helped write both these standards, and he dishes on what’s in them and where they might be going in the future.

Bonny is back on Glass Talk with crucial information on changes to various federal and Ontario pandemic relief programs. Overall, eligibility is tightening, but some new programs are on the horizon. We also chat about how effective these efforts have been and what is likely to happen to them going forward.

Pandemic response expert Suzanne Bernier rejoins Glass Talk to tell us what we’ve learned in six months of pandemic about the virus, how it spreads and what businesses should do to combat it. We touch on some of the controversies around masks and lockdowns and whether surfaces are primary vectors for COVID-19. Suzanne looks ahead to the winter and the prospects for a vaccine – and the news is not all good.

Back in April, at the height of the first wave of COVID-19, we spoke to Jay McColl, a business representative for the International Union of Painters and Trades District Council 46 in southern Ontario and a journeyman glazier. McColl was at the forefront of the union’s efforts to keep its workers safe and react to the wildly changing situation at the time. He also reflects on his experiences in the industry and what the union is involved in these days to promote the glazing trade and support workers. McColl spent the early part of his career with the union going to job sites to renew cards, so he has some stories!

The Architectural Glass and Metal Technician program certifies glazier skills. But how do you test in a pandemic? Jeff and Ben join Patrick Flannery to explain how they came up with ways to test students remotely, and maintain the program’s high standards of rigor and integrity. They also cover how the North American Contractor Certification program acts as a quality assurance system for glazing contractors, and how membership could help with insurance costs.

Nothing like a major crisis to make everyone remember why industry associations are so important. In this episode, Nicole Harris and Patrick Flannery talk about the crucial role the NGA has played in keeping its members across the U.S.A. informed and connected to critical resources during the pandemic, including calling state governments to explain why float glass plants can’t just be shut down. Like everyone, the NGA has had to reach new levels of flexibility and innovation to keep providing its services and nowhere is that more evident than in the ambitious restructuring of GlassBuild into a month-long online event called GlassBuild Connect.

Haya Soghrati of UL Canada joins Patrick Flannery to share her knowledge of window wall standards and testing. The discussion ranges across the relevant standards governing window wall today, the implications for design and testing, requirements for energy efficiency and more.

As president of the Provincial Glaziers Association of Alberta and co-owner of Griffin Glass, Trevor Whyte has the big perspective on the western Canadian glass industry. In this episode, he and Glass Canada editor Patrick Flannery discuss which hockey jersey he wears, fly-by-night bidders, the PGAA’s plans for a future live event, the demise of the Master Glazier program and how to attract young talent to the glazing trades. Note: this podcast was recorded before the coronavirus outbreak.

We’re changing how we do things on jobsites: keeping workers apart, providing PPE and installing handwashing stations. But one of the big ways that coronavirus gets spread is just through people moving around. And with curbside deliveries only, the lineups and delays at the store can be significant. Luckily, there are site delivery services that can keep your crew on the job and away from the general public. Eamonn O’Rourke is the founder of one of these, and he told Glass Talk how it works and how it helps.

Pandemic response expert Suzanne Bernier joins Glass Canada Magazine editor Patrick Flannery to look back at the chaotic last couple months, assess our response to the coronavirus and forecast where the health authorities will go from here. Bernier has helped craft Ontario and the U.N.’s response to previous epidemics – there is no better person to educate us about this crazy time.

Government funding guru Bonny Koabel updates listeners on the most recent announcements from Ottawa about federal support for small businesses. Changes and clarifications to the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy, including when it will become available and how to apply. Also, discussion of the Canada Emergency Student Benefit, the Canada Student Service Grant and the Canada Summer Jobs program – all new or changed programs to help you take on summer students or help the ones you can’t.

Bonny Koabel joins Glass Talk again with the latest update on new government relief programs announced for small businesses affected by COVID-19. The news is changing daily – Bonny tells you what you need to know about who can access what funding and where to find it.

Some research is suggesting indoor humidity might affect the transmission of coronavirus and pathogens like it. That means we building façade designers and installers have a role to play in protecting people from pandemic. Experts suggest fewer than five per cent of buildings meet ASHRAE standards for humidity control. Alex McGowan of WSP in Victoria, B.C., joins Glass Talk to talk about ASHRAE and strategies for controlling humidity through better façade design.

The grim fact is some of our customers’ businesses will not survive this pandemic. Credit insurance is one way to protect your receivables and, no, it’s not too late to buy it. Veteran brokers Carl Pickett and Roch Simard explain the ins and outs of an insurance product that is sure to be getting more popular.

Government funding guru Bonny Koabel returns to update you on recently announced details of the Canadian federal government’s attempts to support small businesses through the pandemic. In this episode: wage subsidies, payment deferrals, tax deferrals, loan guarantees, CERB and more.

Bonny Koabel, our government funding expert, returns to update listeners on the latest announcements from federal and provincial governments of new financial assistance available to small and medium-sized businesses. Wage relief, cheap credit, deferred payments, tax breaks – you’ll need it all to survive the pandemic and Bonny tells you how.

In this special coronavirus episode of Glass Talk, Bonny Koabel of AKR Consulting tells you what government assistance is being offered to companies impacted by the pandemic. There’s help with wages, tax relief, credit, direct grants and more, with more to come on the horizon. Bonny has been getting companies access to government services for a long time and knows the ropes when it comes to cutting red tape.

In 2006, Suzanne Bernier developed the Ontario WSIB’s first pandemic plan in response to the SARS outbreak, which was globally recognized as the best of its time. She then led her employer’s internal response to the H1N1 pandemic after several outbreaks in their workplace. She was invited to address the UN in Switzerland to educate on pandemic response and commissioned by its New York headquarters to deliver their first-ever pandemic tabletop workshop to evaluate the effectiveness of UN pandemic action plans. Suzanne joins host Patrick Flannery in this special episode of Glass Talk to tell you how our industry should protect staff and customers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Give me an F!…give me a G!…The Insulating Glass Manufacturers Alliance (IGMA) and the American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) have merged into one organization called the Fenestration Industry and Glazing Alliance. FGIA executive director, Janice Yglesias, and FGIA director of glass products and Canadian affairs, Margaret Webb, explain the new association, talk about some industry issues and discuss how a big organization for all of North America’s residential and commercial fenestration providers might serve the market better.