Purchasing the right office furniture is essential in creating the right environment to benefit a workforce's health and productivity.  Phil Reynolds, of FIRA, explains some of the technical points to look for in your procurement.

The importance of good furniture is often overlooked in the working environment; however it forms an integral part of how we interact with our environment, and can affect our productivity at work as well as our health.  

We spend much of our time sitting at desks working. If the furniture we use is not suitable we risk injury from over-reaching, repetitive strain injuries and back and neck problems.

Care for individuals

Furniture must be suitable for the size of the user, and for the purpose intended. As a specifier, you cannot simply go to a furniture store and buy furniture intended for domestic use, and use it in the workplace.  Use in the home is a lot less harsh than in the working environment and you are unlikely to get the life you want out of the furniture. Also the furniture will have been designed for a different use (maybe lounging rather than working) and therefore may not be suitable ergonomically.

There is irrefutable evidence that the population is growing in size. This places increasing demands on the furniture we use, as the increase in weight puts extra stress and strain on furniture.  This applies in particular to seating, and when seats collapse in use the user may experience injury, which can result in an unwanted court case.

Whereas in the domestic environment we can always select furniture that suits our needs, and body, the problem is exacerbated in office, contract and front of house situations. Here you cannot always control who will use any particular item of furniture. In addition you cannot really discriminate against a more amply proportioned person on their weight and so must provide suitable furniture for them, in line with that supplied to other members of staff.

While existing standards for office chairs (BS 5459: 2000: Part 2) can cope with persons weighing up to 150 kg, 23.5 stone, which should account for the majority of the population, it’s clear that certification is needed for office seating for use by persons weighing in excess of 150 kg.

The industry standard – FIRA Standard 0055: 2005 - Office work chairs – Performance requirements for office pedestal seating for use by persons weighing up to 200kg - is now available. This is the ultimate in heavyweight chair standards, dealing with chairs for persons weighing up to 30 stone, and is widely used  by manufacturers for their specialised seating.

Care for our environment

Look for manufacturers and suppliers who are working towards sustainable production.

Key pointers are:

• Opt for manufacturers who manage their environmental impacts through the use of management systems such as ISO 14001:2004.
• Find out about their “end of life” policy - they should be designing and manufacturing their products with a view to them being recycled and they should be using increasing amounts of recycled materials in the production process
• Look for suppliers that are embracing the wider principles of sustainable development including their social impacts and health and safety management.  These would include manufacturers committed to sustainable objectives equivalent to those required by the Furniture Industry Sustainability Programme.

Office furniture

What to look for when buying office chairs

1. Think about who is using the chair and for how long.  There are standards for stability, strength and durability based on weight and time use. Buying the appropriate type may save you money.

2. Chairs that comply with BS 5459, Part 2 are suitable for people weighing up to 150kg and for up to 24-hour use, while those that comply with BS EN 1335, Parts 2 & 3 are suitable for people weighing up to 110kg and up to 8-hour use.

3. If the chairs feature upholstery, check that it’s suitably fire retardant (it should be certified to BS 7176) as part of your fire risk assessment

4. Chairs should fit your staff.  Chairs that have been independently verified as conforming to BS EN 1335, Part 1 should be suitable for 95% of the adult population. However, you also need to check if you have very short or very tall people, or people with special needs who would need chairs outside the range of requirements of BS EN 1335, Part1.

5. Legally you need to ensure that chairs comply with the Display Screen Equipment Regulations.  Purchasing chairs that comply with BS EN ISO 9241, Part 5, is an easy way of meeting the regulations.

6. Don’t be tempted by cheap ‘home office’ furniture – it is unlikely to have been designed to meet the rigours of office use or the ergonomic requirements.

7.  Chairs should encourage different and dynamic postures and allow users to move rather than fidget.

8. Chairs should recline and have good back support at all times, i.e. the back should not lose contact with the backrest.

9. Backrest tension should be adjustable to suit body weight of your staff so that they can recline without being pushed forward or falling backwards.  Ideally this adjustment should be automatic, but manual adjustments are OK, provided that they can be easily reached.

10. Ideally armrests should be adjustable for height and width so that the chairs can accommodate all sizes.  Armrests should not stop you getting close to the desk, otherwise you’ll be over-reaching.

11. Make sure it’s easy to see how to adjust the chair. A top of the range, fully adjustable chair that isn’t set up to match the user can cause as many problems as a chair with no adjustments.
 
What to look for when buying office desks

1. Desks and tables should be stable, safe and durable. Look for products that have been independently tested to BS EN 527, Parts 2 & 3.

2. If you are going to use power and data cables within the desk check that they either meet, or can meet the requirements of BS 6396. Electrical network systems should only be fitted by a competent person.

3. Desks and tables should fit your staff.  Products that have been independently verified as conforming to BS EN 527, Part 1 should be suitable for 95% of the adult population. However, you also need to check if you have very tall people, or people with special needs who would need desks outside of the range of requirements of this standard.

4. Legally you need to ensure that desks comply with the Display Screen Equipment Regulations.  Purchasing products that comply with BS EN ISO 9241, Part 5, is an easy way of meeting the regulations.

5. Make sure there’s ample legroom, and that nothing protrudes into the legroom under the desk.  

6. Check that the work surface size is big enough for the computer monitor and anything else necessary for the job.

7. Avoid white or gloss surfaces if you are using the desks with computer screens, as glare may be a problem.

8. If the desk is height adjustable by the user it should be easy to operate.  Crank adjustments are acceptable for sit-sit desks but for sit-stand desks the adjustment should be electrical (otherwise you’ll have sore arms!)

What to look for when buying office storage

1. Stability is the key issue. If the item cannot be rigidly attached to the building it must be stable.

2. Look for storage units that have been tested and certified to the relevant British and European standards for strength, safety and durability by an independent UKAS accredited test laboratory such as FIRA. In most cases this will be BS EN 14073 Parts 2 & 3 and BS EN 14074.

3. For filing cabinets and pedestals check that there are interlocks to stop more than one drawer being opened at a time.

4. Avoid purchasing storage units with doors and drawers for gangways. Tambours units are recommended as they help reduce trip hazards.

5. There is a need to distinguish between storage for personal items and individual and shared work items.  Pedestals are not always the best choice for individual storage.

6. If storage is mobile it should have good handholds and be easily manoeuvrable.

7. Storage that has folding keys reduces personal injury (knocking knees) and damage to the keys.

Also, look for The FIRA Gold Award.

For further information contact:
Inga Wells
Marketing Manager
FIRA
Tel: 01438 777792
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Or:
Sue Beard
Fluency
Tel: 07768 990296
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