The dispatch board says “glazier emergency board up,” but the opening is only the first problem. The return job can disappear when nobody records the pane, the approver or the replacement action.
Treat the emergency attendance and permanent replacement as separate linked jobs. The first controls the immediate hazard and records the temporary condition. The second confirms the specification, gets approval and finishes the opening.
The shared dispatch, work-order, assessment, pricing and handover methods belong in the linked resources. This Canadian page applies them to change orders, GST/HST, cold-weather records and provincial, territorial and municipal checks.
Triage the emergency call before dispatch
The first call starts the emergency glazing workflow. It does not replace an on-site assessment.
Give the attending glazier enough detail to find the opening, plan the approach and know who can approve a changed scope. Record:
- site address, postal code, unit, entrance, floor and access route
- caller’s name, phone number and connection to the property
- person or organization instructing the emergency attendance
- site contact who will provide access
- person authorized to approve permanent replacement
- room, elevation, floor and position of the damaged pane
- reported loose, hanging or falling glass
- public access below or beside the opening
- reported height, obstructions and access equipment
- weather exposure, water entry and indoor heat-loss concerns
- claim, purchase-order or authorization reference, where supplied
Ask for photographs only when the caller can take them without approaching loose glass. Do not ask a caller to handle fragments, test the frame or stand beneath the opening.
A call reporting a broken pane can become a different job on arrival. Loose glass may sit above a public entrance. The access route may not match the dispatch note. Write those possibilities into the decision route: assess first, then stop and call the approver if the method or scope changes.
For trade-certification questions, ask the provincial or territorial trade certification body responsible for the work location. For regulatory safety questions, contact the provincial or territorial occupational health and safety regulator. Keep the questions separate and write down the answers.
Separate access from authority
The tenant holding the door open may not have authority to approve the replacement. Keep the site contact and authorized approver in separate fields.
Record who instructed the emergency visit, who can approve a changed board-up scope and who can approve permanent work. If those are different people, keep each name. Do this before dispatch so the glazier is not negotiating authority beneath a broken opening.
Define the temporary scope and approval route
Write what the first visit is meant to achieve. Keep it temporary and specific.
The scope might cover assessing the named opening, controlling loose material by the selected safe method, clearing work-related debris from an agreed area and fitting temporary protection where the site assessment permits it. Do not promise permanent replacement before the glass, frame and access have been checked.
Put exclusions beside the scope. Depending on the job, these can include:
- permanent glass replacement
- frame, bead, gasket or hardware repairs
- specialist access not reported during intake
- another pane or opening
- concealed damage
- patching and finish repairs
- work by another trade
Record the agreed price basis using your own costs. Do not invent an emergency rate on the phone. If the customer gives an approval limit, state what the glazier must do when the site condition takes the work beyond it.
The instruction is simple. Stop. Describe the changed condition. Contact the authorized person. Record the decision before proceeding.
Do not call temporary protection secure, sealed, weatherproof or permanent unless the glazier assessed that exact condition and wrote it down. State the actual limitation instead.
Open separate linked work orders
Use a work order for the emergency attendance and another for permanent replacement. The outcomes are different, so the records should be different too.
The emergency work order holds its own scope, approval, labour, materials, access, disposal, photographs and completion notes. The glazier replacement work order holds the confirmed survey, permanent scope, quote approval, ordered glass, installation visit and glazing job handover.
Link the references. Use the shared work order guide explaining the fields and purpose to set up both records without turning them into one vague call-out.
Create the replacement action before closing the emergency record. Give it an owner and due action: survey the opening, confirm the specification, prepare the quote, chase approval or book the return visit.
The emergency attendance can be complete while the replacement remains open. That distinction stops a covered opening from being mistaken for a finished job.
Copy-ready emergency board-up work order
Emergency work order: [Reference] Linked replacement work order: [Reference or pending] Site address and postal code: [Address] Opening location: [Room, elevation, floor and pane position] Caller: [Name, phone number and connection to property] Instructing customer: [Name and organization] Site contact: [Name and phone number] Authorized approver: [Name, organization and contact details] Authorization reference: [Reference or none supplied] Reported hazard: [Caller’s description] Reported access: [Route, height, restrictions and meeting point] Weather or heat-loss concern: [Reported condition] Approved temporary scope: [Board-up work authorized] Exclusions: [Permanent and other excluded work] Price basis and approval limit: [Agreed basis] If conditions change: [Stop and contact named approver] Arrival assessment: [Approach, area below, glass, frame and access] Difference from dispatch record: [None or describe] Changed work approval: [Name, method, decision and reference] Work completed: [Material removed and temporary protection fitted] Labour: [Actual record] Materials: [Actual record] Access, disposal and subcontractors: [Actual record] Condition left: [Plain description] Temporary limits: [Wind, precipitation, heat loss and other limits] Area to remain clear: [Location and instruction] Photographs: [Location-labelled references] Site acknowledgement: [Name and method] Next action: [Survey, quote, approval chase or return booking] Action owner: [Name] Target date: [Date set by the business]
Assess the opening before touching it
Start with the approach and the area around the opening. Check the floor, the area below, passing foot traffic, remaining glass, loose frame material, unstable beads and obstructions.
Compare the site with the dispatch record. A customer photograph and telephone description do not replace this check.
Then inspect the opening. Record the frame condition, opening configuration, visible markings, surrounding damage and actual access. If the agreed method no longer fits the site, stop and follow your company’s safe-work procedure.
Tell the approver what changed and what it does to the scope or price basis. Give clear options: approve changed work, approve a limited temporary action or pause the job. Put the answer on the work order rather than leaving it in one person’s text messages.
If the work cannot proceed under your safe-work procedure, record what stopped it and what area must remain clear. Do not mark an aborted attendance as a completed board-up.
Record work labelled “glazier emergency board up”
Record the condition before work when it is safe to do so. Take location-labelled photographs. “Upper-floor east elevation, upper-left pane” gives the office and returning glazier something they can identify.
Write what was removed, what was fitted and what remains damaged. Record actual labour, temporary materials, access, disposal and subcontracted work against the emergency work order. This is cost tracking at the point of use, not a month-end reconstruction.
Photographs support the written notes. They do not replace them. A photograph may show a covered opening but not explain loose beads, damaged hardware or the limits of the temporary protection.
Get the site contact’s acknowledgement where your process calls for it. That records the handover of the temporary condition. It does not transfer responsibility, prove compliance or turn the board-up into a permanent repair.
Before closing the record, assign the next action to a named person. An emergency board-up without an assigned replacement action is an open problem wearing a completed status.
Record the cold-weather limit before leaving the opening
Canadian sites need a blunt cold-weather note. Check the conditions at that opening, not a generic weather box.
Record wind exposure, precipitation, snow or ice on the approach and any indoor heat-loss concern reported on site. Describe what the temporary protection does and does not control. If further temporary work or a faster replacement decision is needed, assign it before leaving.
Do not promise that every board-up will be weatherproof. The frame may be damaged. The opening may be exposed. Access may restrict the temporary method. Write the actual limitation and tell the site contact which area must remain clear.
If snow, ice or another condition makes the approach unsafe, stop and follow your company’s safe-work procedure. Direct regulatory questions to the provincial or territorial occupational health and safety regulator. Direct worker-coverage questions to the provincial or territorial workers’ compensation board for the work location.
Build the glazier replacement work order from the site record
Do not start from a blank record. Carry across the opening location, site photographs, actual access, frame observations, authorization reference and permanent-work approver.
Confirm these details before ordering glass:
- dimensions, with the measurement unit written beside each figure
- room, elevation, floor and pane position
- frame material and visible condition
- fixed or opening configuration
- visible glass markings
- beads, gaskets, seals and hardware
- internal and external access
- lifting or specialist-access needs
- removal, disposal, patching and finish repairs
Canadian site and supplier records may contain metric or imperial dimensions. Record the unit every time. Do not convert or round a survey dimension without checking it.
The emergency record may contain rough dimensions. Those are not a confirmed glass specification. If the glass type, build-up or another detail remains unresolved, mark it unknown and assign the check to a named person.
Use the glazier window replacement quote process when the opening is ready for specification and pricing. Keep the emergency record linked so the estimator can see the original condition and the glazier can see what changed.
Ask the municipality responsible for the site whether the permanent work needs a building permit. Do not infer the answer from the emergency nature of the first call.
Scope and price the permanent replacement
Choose the work before costing it. State the pane, frame work, access, removal, fitting, sealing, clearing and handover included in the replacement.
Build the price from visible buckets:
- survey, preparation, fitting, clearing and return-visit labour
- replacement glass and glazing materials
- access equipment
- disposal
- subcontracted work
- other direct costs tied to the replacement
- overhead allocated under your pricing method
- markup added to cost
Keep emergency costs on the emergency work order. Keep permanent-work costs on the replacement work order. That split shows which stage used the labour, sheet material, glass, access and disposal.
Markup is what you add to cost to reach the selling price. Margin is profit as a share of that selling price. Use the shared labour, materials and markup pricing framework to build the price from your own records.
State exclusions beside the quote. Damaged frames, concealed conditions, additional panes, changed access, patching and finish repairs should not hide inside a broad replacement line.
For business-number and GST/HST questions, check with the Canada Revenue Agency (opens in a new tab). Do not assume the tax treatment from the fact that the first attendance was an emergency.
Control changed replacement work with a change order
The glazier returns and finds damaged beads or restricted access outside the approved scope. Stop before turning the discovery into unapproved labour.
Describe the changed condition. State the added or removed work. Price the labour, materials, access, disposal, subcontractors, overhead and markup affected by the change. Send it to the authorized approver and record their answer.
Do not take approval from the person providing access unless that person also holds approval authority. Keep the change order reference with the replacement work order and carry it onto the final invoice record.
Worked example: keep the approval trail clean
Oak Street is the house electrical example, not a glazing rate card. All figures are sample currency units.
Quote Q-1847 for R. Chen at 14 Oak Street was 1,105 for a bathroom exhaust fan and four LED downlights. The ceiling was lined, and the quote excluded chasing. Extra cable and chasing became an approved 160 change order, so invoice INV-1847 was 1,265.
The lesson is the document trail. Exclude the unknown work, stop when it appears, get the change approved and show it on the invoice. Do not calculate profit from the 1,265 invoice because the cost of the 160 change is not given.
Fit, hand over and close the records
Match the delivered unit to the approved opening location and specification before installation. Check the pane identifier, dimensions, measurement units, glass specification and configuration against the approved record.
Where the unit opens, operate it and record the result. Check the beads, gaskets and seals. Do not hide a damaged frame, loose component or finish defect behind a completed status.
Clear work-related debris and remove barriers only when your safe-work procedure allows the area to reopen. Take location-labelled completion photographs and record any unresolved frame damage, patching or finish repairs.
Complete the glazing job handover with the site contact, final notes and the invoice reference. Attach any job documents required by the approved scope, customer order or your company procedure. If another action remains, give it an owner before changing the job status.
Before closing a record labelled “glazier emergency board up,” confirm that the replacement record exists, the approval contact is named and every remaining action has an owner.
Enter actual labour, glass, glazing materials, access, disposal and subcontractor costs against the stage that incurred them. Then use the shared job-costing guide for contractor records to compare the replacement quote with actual costs without mixing estimates and completed-job figures.
Open the linked replacement work order and assign its owner before closing the emergency record.