A glazier emergency make safe can go wrong after the broken glass has been covered. The office then discovers there are no dimensions, no frame notes and nobody assigned to get the replacement approved.
Treat the call-out and permanent replacement as two linked jobs. One controls the immediate hazard. The other specifies, quotes and completes the permanent replacement.
Set up the Australian approval chain
The emergency attendance and permanent replacement have different scopes. They also have different completion points, costs and approval decisions.
Open one work order for the make-safe. Create a provisional linked record for the possible replacement, but do not treat it as authorised permanent work until the site has been assessed, the scope has been priced and the customer has approved it. Use the work order field guide if your current job sheet does not separate the scope, authority, costs and completion notes.
The make-safe can be complete while the replacement is waiting for a survey, quote, glass order or return booking. Do not close the whole job because the opening has been boarded.
Give each work order one purpose
The emergency work order should cover the identified hazard and the boarded or otherwise protected opening you have agreed to leave. It should record the attendance, work completed, temporary materials, disposal, access and handover.
The glazier replacement work order should cover the permanent glass, frame work, access, removal, fitting, sealing, clearing and final handover. It stays provisional until permanent work is authorised, then stays open until that work has been completed.
Keep the references visible on both records. A dispatcher, estimator or fitter should be able to move from one job to the other without searching emails or somebody else's phone.
Record the Australian customer roles separately
Write down the caller, site contact, instructing customer and authorised approver. They may be different people.
An occupier can provide access without having authority to approve a quote. A strata manager might authorise the call-out while an owners corporation representative approves the permanent work. Ask who holds each decision and record the answer.
Do not treat a site signature as approval for the replacement unless that person has been named as the approver. The signature might only acknowledge the boarded opening and the instructions left with the site contact.
Capture the glazier emergency make safe details
The first call is for triage and dispatch. It is not a substitute for the glazier's site assessment.
Record the full address: unit or tenancy, street, suburb, state or territory and postcode. Add the gate, loading area, building manager, parking limits and access instructions when they affect the visit.
Then capture:
- the damaged room, elevation, floor and pane position
- whether glass is cracked, loose, hanging or already falling
- whether people can pass below or beside the opening
- the reported height and approach
- internal and external access
- weather exposure and reported water entry
- the person meeting the glazier
- public, tenant or building access restrictions
- the customer or strata work-order reference
- the person to contact if conditions differ on arrival
Ask for photos only when the caller can take them without approaching the hazard. A customer photo can help with dispatch. It does not confirm the glass specification or safe work method.
For workplace safety questions, use the state or territory workplace safety regulator, including the OHS regulator in Victoria. Find the correct body in the Safe Work Australia regulator directory (opens in a new tab), then apply its instructions to your workers, equipment and site conditions. Do not use the dispatch call to ask an occupier to handle fragments or test an unstable opening.
Agree the result, charge and stop point before dispatch
Describe what the glazier emergency make safe attendance is meant to achieve. Avoid a vague line such as “repair broken window”. That wording mixes temporary hazard control with permanent replacement.
A clear scope can authorise the glazier to assess the named opening, control loose material using the safe method selected on site, clear work-related debris from the agreed area and fit temporary protection where the assessment allows it.
Do not promise that temporary protection will be secure, weatherproof or permanent unless the glazier can assess and record that exact result. State the limit instead.
Put exclusions beside the scope
List what the attendance does not include. Choose the exclusions that match the call rather than pasting a generic paragraph.
Possible exclusions include:
- permanent replacement glass
- repairs to frames, beads, hardware or surrounding finishes
- specialist access not reported during booking
- another pane or opening
- concealed damage
- plastering, painting or other making good
- work by another trade
If the caller asks for replacement on the first visit, check whether the specification, stock, access and approval are known. If they are not, promise the make-safe attendance only.
Write down how the call-out will be charged
Record what the attendance charge covers, how labour will be charged, which temporary materials are chargeable, whether access and disposal are extra, what charge applies if the work is aborted, and who can approve spending above the agreed limit. Use your own figures. Do not invent a permanent replacement price from a telephone description.
Write down the authorised scope, spending limit and stop point. Tell the glazier what to do if the hazard, access or required method differs from the booking: stop, record the difference and contact the authorised person before going beyond the agreed work.
A separate escalation contact may not be available. The essential point is authority to incur the agreed charge. If nobody has authority to instruct paid work, do not dispatch it as an approved customer job.
For questions about a glazing or contractor licence, ask the licensing regulator for the state or territory where the job will be performed. Write down which licence class covers the proposed work before assigning it. Do not assume that the same answer applies across Australia.
Assess and isolate the opening before touching it
Start with the approach and the area around the opening. Do not start with the nearest loose fragment.
Isolate the drop zone and record the exclusion area. Assess the remaining glass, frame, beads and surrounding material from a safe position. Record the access method and the controls selected for the job. Do not touch the opening until the safe method is set.
Check the floor, area below, obstructions and public access. Compare the actual approach and working height with the dispatch notes. Move people away from the exclusion area before handling starts.
Inspect the opening from a safe position. Record the frame material and visible condition, opening type, glass markings, surrounding damage and anything that could change the make-safe method.
Stop when the site changes the job
Contact the authorised approver if the condition changes the scope, access, method or charge. Give them clear options: approve the changed work, approve a limited temporary action, or pause the attendance.
Put the decision on the work order. Include the person's name, the decision, the time and the communication method. Do not leave the approval inside a private text thread.
If the work cannot proceed safely, record why and state which area must remain clear. An aborted attendance is not a completed make-safe. Give it a status that sends it back to the office for action.
Close the make-safe with a usable site record
Take before photos when it is safe. Add photos during the work where they explain the method, then record the boarded or otherwise protected opening.
Tie every photo to a named opening. “Front left pane, ground-floor shopfront, viewed from outside” is useful. “Window photo” is not.
Write what was removed, what temporary protection was fitted, what remains damaged and which area must stay clear. Photos support these notes. They do not replace them.
Record the actual labour, temporary materials, access and disposal against the emergency work order. Do it before closing the call-out. Reconstructing those costs later turns job costing into guesswork.
Use a copy-ready make-safe work order
Emergency work order: [Reference] Linked provisional replacement work order: [Reference or pending] Site address: [Unit or tenancy, street, suburb, state or territory, postcode] Customer work-order or strata reference: [Reference] Caller: [Name, number and connection to site] Instructing customer: [Name and organisation] Site contact: [Name and number] Replacement approver: [Name, organisation and contact details] Damaged opening: [Room, elevation and floor] Pane position: [Position within the opening] Reported hazard: [Description] Reported access: [Internal, external, height and restrictions] Authorised make-safe scope: [Temporary work authorised] Charging basis: [Attendance, labour, materials, access, disposal and aborted work] Spending limit and stop point: [Instruction] Exclusions: [Permanent work and other exclusions] Arrival assessment: [Approach, exclusion area, drop zone, glass, frame and public access] Selected controls and access method: [Method] Pane or opening dimensions: [Measurements] How each measurement was taken: [Method and reference points] Visible glass markings: [Markings or unknown] Frame and bead observations: [Material, condition and damage] Second survey required: [Yes or no, reason and owner] Conditions different from booking: [None or description] Decision and approval: [Name, time, method and instruction] Work completed: [Temporary work] Labour used: [Actual record] Materials used: [Actual record] Access and disposal: [Actual record] Opening left as: [Plain description] Temporary limits: [Limits] Area to remain clear: [Location] Photos: [Before, during and completion references tied to pane position] Handover recipient: [Name and method] Next action: [Survey, quote, approval, order or return booking] Action owner: [Name] Follow-up point: [Business record]
The work order template gives you a clean starting document if the current job sheet cannot hold these fields.
Build the replacement specification from the site record
Build the replacement record from the make-safe notes. Do not open a blank job and ask the next tradie to start again.
Carry across the exact pane position, dimensions, frame observations, opening type, visible markings, access conditions and linked photos. Include any temporary protection that must be removed before fitting.
The responsible person must confirm the applicable glass specification, thickness, safety requirement, tint or coating, pattern and orientation, edgework, holes or cut-outs, frame or bead condition, measurement method and ordering tolerances. Tie every item to the identified pane before ordering.
For questions about the building requirements that govern the replacement glass or installation, ask the building regulator for the state or territory where the work is performed. Record the answer against the replacement job rather than relying on an assumption from another site.
Keep unknown specifications marked as unknown
Do not turn a guess from a customer photo into an order line. Mark the glass specification as unknown until the responsible person has checked it.
Before the attending glazier leaves, assign the survey, specification check, quote, approval chase, glass order or return booking to one person. Name who will confirm the glass, check frame work and arrange access.
The opening might already be boarded, but the return visit is not under control until the replacement has an owner and status. Use clear stages such as waiting for survey, waiting for specification, quote sent, waiting for approval, ordered and return booking required.
Set up the provisional replacement record with the glazing job workflow, then activate the permanent work only after the scope and approval are recorded.
Scope and price the permanent replacement
Choose the work before calculating the price. State which pane is included and what will happen to the frame, beads, seals, hardware and surrounding finish.
Include the removal method, internal and external access, fitting, sealing, clearing, disposal and glazing job handover. If another trade is needed, say whether that work is included or excluded.
Then cost the work in separate buckets:
- labour for survey, preparation, fitting, clearing and return travel
- replacement glass and glazing materials
- access equipment
- disposal
- subcontracted work
- other direct costs tied to the replacement
- overhead allocated under your normal pricing method
Add markup to the cost to reach the selling price. Markup is what you add to cost. Margin is the profit left as a share of the selling price. Mixing them produces the wrong quote.
Use the labour, materials and markup pricing framework to set the method with your own figures. Keep access and disposal visible so you can compare the quote with the finished job.
Put exclusions beside the price. Name frame repairs, concealed damage, extra panes, changed access and making good when they are outside the scope.
Control replacement extras as variations
The replacement unit is ready. The fitter removes the temporary cover and finds damaged beads or frame work that was not in the approved quote.
Stop. Describe the extra work and price its labour, materials, access and markup. Send the variation to the authorised contact and get approval before continuing.
Do not treat the person providing site access as the approver unless the job record gives them that authority. Add the approval to the replacement work order, not just the fitter's phone.
Worked example: keep changed work separate
The house example is electrical, but the approval control is the same. Quote Q-1847 for R. Chen at 14 Oak Street was 1,105 sample currency units. The ceiling was lined and the quote excluded chasing.
Extra cable and chasing were approved on site as a 160 variation. Invoice INV-1847 was then 1,265. The changed work kept its own description, value and approval trail.
Do not calculate profit against the 1,265 invoice because the costs of the variation are not given. The example is a document trail, not a glazing rate card.
Close each job and finish the Australian admin
Photograph the identified opening after fitting. Record the installed item, frame condition, sealing, clearing and any limits left for the customer or another trade.
Get the signed handover used by your business. Record who gave it and what it covers. Do not stretch a handover signature into approval for unrelated work.
Put actual replacement labour, glass, glazing materials, access and disposal against the replacement work order. Keep these costs separate from the make-safe costs. That shows which stage used the time and materials.
Close the glazier emergency make safe work order only when the boarded or otherwise protected opening, its limits, the handover recipient, linked photos, actual costs, state or territory and customer or strata reference are recorded.
Close the replacement work order only after the glass has been fitted and the final condition, signed handover, photos and actual replacement costs are on the job. Keep the authorised customer and linked emergency reference on that record.
Use the invoice document required by your tax setup. Check current GST, tax invoice and BAS record questions with the Australian Taxation Office (opens in a new tab), then use the invoice writing guide to turn the approved records into a clear customer document. Before the office sends it, match each charge to the correct work order and approval.