Glass structures used in place of a banister or balustrade required under the building code to prevent people from falling are called fall prevention glazing. The spectrum of applications ranges from balustrade infill of glass by way of all-glass balustrades to glazing the full height of the room with linear or point mounts. In many countries, the security of fall-prevention glazing has to be demonstrated by a dynamic stress test such as the pendulum-impact test.

Because such testing is quite complicated, the structure should be planned so that experience from tried-and-tested constructions is applied and further stress testing can be avoided. Glazing that prevents falls can be divided into three categories:

· The first is fixed full-height glazing—that is, glazing without opening sashes, handrails, or protruding rails to support horizontal loads. Linear mount on all sides are the most effective solution from a structural perspective. If this is not possible, the free edges of the glazing have to be protected from impact in other ways, such as adjoining panes of glass or neighboring architectural elements such as walls or ceilings. Panes of lass mounted on two sides will bend considerably more in case of impact because two edges are free. Care should therefore be taken to inset the glass sufficiently, so that the pane cannot slide out of the holder. In the case of point mounting, the clamp plates must have a diameter of at least 50 mm.

· The second category includes bearing glass balustrades that have linear mounts on their bottom edge with a clamp construction. The upper edge should be protected against impact, for example, with a fitting applied with adhesive or a continuous mounted handrail. The latter should be of appropriate size to ensure that if one pane fails the horizontal load will be transferred to the next pane. The appropriate type of glass for this category is laminated safety glass (LSG) made of heat strengthened glass (HSG) or tempered safety glass (TSG).

· The third and last category is balustrade glass in facades and glass banisters in which glass is used as infill. The horizontal loads are supported by a bearing handrail or a crossbar (facade). The glazing has either point mounts or linear mounts on at least two opposite sides. The panes should be either laminated safety glass (LSG) or tempered safety glass (TSG).