Glossary – our knowledge from A to Z

The Austrian Standards Institute (ASI) is a not-for-profit, impartial organisation for producing standards. It drafts ÖNORM and ON standards on the basis of Austria’s Normengesetz (standardisation law). The institute was originally founded under the name of the Österreichischer Normenausschuss für Industrie und Gewerbe (Austrian standards committee for trade and industry).

Österreichischer Verband für Elektrotechnik (Austrian Electrotechnical Association)

Österreichische Vereinigung für Qualitätssicherung (Austrian Association for Quality Assurance)

An obscured glass product that scatters the light diffusely. Obscured glass is produced by roughening the surface either mechanically (sand-blasting) or chemically (acid-etching). Also known as frosted glass.

A glass surface treatment involving acid-etching, sandblasting or grinding.

This is a naturally occurring form of glass, black in colour.

Notification to the client of a disruption on the building site that a contract or part thereof cannot be performed as contractually agreed The obstruction notice has informative, warning and protective functions.

This is a generic term covering all measures intended to improve safety at work. Safety is an essential prerequisite for performing any type of work. Occupational safety takes into account the technical, organisational and labour requirements of the work in order to guarantee safe working. Any work that cannot be carried out safely represents a health risk.

This type of arch is made up of arcs curving in opposite directions, one convex and one concave on each side.

Abbreviation for Occupational Health & Safety Assessment Series, a specification that can be used by all types of companies, all sectors of industry. It represents a certification system for health and safety at work which has been defined by international certification organisations. It can be integrated into ISO 14001 or ISO 9001.

Österreichisches Institut für Bautechnik (Austrian Institute of Building Technology). The organisation to contact for issuing European Technical Approvals and the accreditation of testing laboratories, inspection bodies and certification bodies in Austria. The Austrian equivalent of Germany’s DIBt.

Mirrored glass that appears transparent when viewed from the brighter side towards the darker side.

Opacity is a measure of the light impermeability of a substance. The transmittance of an opaque material is zero.

The ability of material to prevent the passage of light, to prevent a view through. The opposite of transparency.

An opaque glass to which fluoride compounds have been added.

This is a composite glass pane made from materials from various glass melts. It can be colourless or contain coloured components.

Such a glass element creates a shimmering, glittering effect in sunlight.

A self-supporting, loadbearing (e.g. for foot or vehicular traffic) plate-type construction with regularly spaced apertures. This type of floor is used for platforms, walkways, stairs, landings, steps, etc. It generally consists of loadbearing, transverse and perimeter bars.

Lenses, prisms and mirrors for optical systems, e.g. objectives or telescopes, are produced from optical glass. In principle, there is no real difference between normal glass for windows and optical glass.

This is the making-up of a order for certain smaller quantities or numbers of goods obtained from a larger quantity or number (the range). The order can originate from a customer or from a production department.

Steel grade with a quality specification that does not require any particular measures during production.

A graphic representation of the hierarchical structure of an organisation, e.g. an authority or a company. It contains, for example, the arrangement of the personnel allocation and should be aligned with the organisational procedures.

The original calculation is the sealed version of a priced quotation handed over to the client. In terms of content, the original calculation corresponds to the documentation of the calculation with the assumptions that form the basis of the quotation and, consequently, any contract that may be awarded.

The abbreviation for oriented strand board, a wood-based panel product produced from long, slender wood chippings. OSB products are mainly used for internal applications.

German abbreviation for overhead door closer (Obertürschließer).

Glazing with an inclination of more than 10° from a vertical line which has continuous linear supports on at least two opposite sides. The use of overhead glazing is dealt with in the German Technische Regeln für die Verwendung von linienförmig gelagerten Verglasungen (TRLV, Technical Rules for the use of Glazing on Linear Supports).

Overheads are calculated as a percentage of sales/turnover and are added to the calculation.