SYNOPSIS: Cody Tran, Dillmeier Glass Company’s vice president of engineering and special projects, along with his team of engineers, created a customized, drill-free glass divider clamping system to help more than 3,000 investment bank employees return to work while remaining safe and healthy during the ongoing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The Challenge

Despite COVID-19 limitations, Dillmeier Glass successfully created a personal protective equipment (PPE) solution to meet CDC-mandated social distancing guidelines.

For Cody Tran, no obstacle is ever too big to overcome. As Dillmeier Glass Company’s vice president of engineering and special projects, Tran and his team have always provided a meticulously crafted solution regardless of lead time and job size—or even a global pandemic.

Despite COVID-19 limitations, Tran’s crew successfully created a personal protective equipment (PPE) solution to meet CDC-mandated social distancing guidelines. Dillmeier customer Waldner’s Business Environments, tapped Tran and his team to develop an easily attachable glass divider solution for a large, multi-branch investment bank. 

With a 2,500-unit order spread among eight U.S.-based locations, the bank also required accompanying hardware so the dividers would safely and securely clamp down to each desk’s edge.

An additional caveat was that the solution could not leave any holes, marks, or scratches, which ruled out drilling of any kind. Should the dividers be removed due to future design, social distancing, and layout revisions, the surfaces would remain unchanged. 

Dillmeier Glass Company's engineering department successfully developed a
customized, drill-free clamping system to securely fasten glass dividers to desks and reception area counters for COVID-19 protection measures. 

The glass fabricator's 
powder-coated metal brackets
can safely and securely clamp down dividers to any desk edge with no drilling required.

Research & Development

After researching drill-free desk clamps, Tran realized none were suitable. The team instead designed its own customized system. With just a three-week lead time, they drafted several prototypes, and with customer approval, fabricated and powder-coated drill-free metal brackets for 2,500 glass shields.

Because the dividers were manufactured for various departments throughout each of the bank’s locations, the team needed 30 types, measuring anywhere from 24x30 inches to 24x72 inches. This also required two-, three-, and four-way lexan clips. 

Production

Tran and his team also created all floor plan takeoffs, organized layout staging for all departments in each of the bank’s eight locations, and coordinated Dillmeier’s customized crate shipping and logistics process.

With multiple units traveling to various locations, the team also ensured every crate was precisely labeled by location, department, and size.  

The Dillmeier team fabricated more than 7,000 glass panels for approximately 250,000 square feet of workspace nationwide.

The Dillmeier team fabricated more than 7,000 glass panels for approximately 250,000 square feet of workspace nationwide. This helped approximately 3,000 employees get back to work while remaining safe and healthy during a pandemic. 

According to Tran, the latest drill-free clamp design was developed to fit over partition walls to add height for another office-based
application. 

“Using the customer’s existing furniture, we came up with a way to retrofit this sliding clamp to include an additional 20 inches of glass divider material, without having to drill holes and add screws,” he said. 

Tran notes he and his team are ready to provide current and prospective customers with customized solutions to best-fit their applications, use cases, and needs.

“I’m very happy that these clamps serve the purpose to help employees get back to work,” he says. “There are always going to be challenges, but we are ready to provide whatever the customer needs to make this happen.”

Dillmeier Glass Company

We provide expertly crafted glass dividers and partitions to help safeguard employers, employees, and clients from COVID-19 health and safety concerns in the workplace. 

Contact us today for assistance on customizing a tempered glass divider or partition solution for your business or project.