Why Type Test Balustrade Barriers?
Balustrades are a barrier inside and outside of building with a primary role of protection of people from falling from heights over 1 metre, as defined in the National Construction Code (NCC), the Australian Standard AS1170-1 “Structural Design Actions” and in glass balustrades the testing procedures in AS1288 “Glass in Buildings”.
Testing is the first principle building engineering qualification of proof for any compliance requirements, supporting calculated or simulated engineering solutions.
Tested performance is your assurance that the product is fit for purpose if you meet the manufacturers installation details for each substrate connection.
Tested products allows a balustrade installer to have confidence that the product will provide its primary purpose – prevention of falls from heights.
Balustrades must be fit for purpose, a balustrade protecting a common area in a building complex needs to perform at even higher levels than that of one installed in an apartment, as there is more likelihood that it needs to protect against greater forces due to crowding situations.
This is all catered for in the testing forces outline in the Australian standard AS1170-1, quantifying the performance level forces a Balustrade must meet in all locations in a building.
How can I be sure that my balustrade is fit for purpose?
Ask your balustrade provider for documented evidence of type testing by reports or technical data, from a NATA accredited testing facility.
This should put any builder, certifier, and residents mind at rest that they have a compliant product protecting against falls.
What about bespoke balustrade design?
This should all be type tested to prove compliance on project-by-project basis, to support any engineering calculations.
Azuma Design provides NATA endorsed testing, to the highest standard. We are often engaged by clients to test bespoke balustrades above and beyond the minimal standards required by the NCC.
In recent times we have had to heat a glass balustrade to very high temperatures to prove that it will meet climate conditions of the location and remain in place even when the laminated glass was deliberately broken, under loads.