Things to Consider When Buying New Office Furniture

It might be hard to imagine that a simple thing as a chair for example could affect your business success rate but the chair you or your employees are sitting on at least 40 hours a week makes a huge difference. After all, it is extremely difficult to sit on an uncomfortable chair eight hours a day or even longer and even more difficult to concentrate on work if you have a back pain for instance. Furthermore, old worn out furniture from the early 1990s does not make a particularly good impression on your clients, while the employees may get the impression that you are saving on their expense which can make them demotivated and less productive. The same effect can have a beautiful but non-functional office furniture. Purchase of new office furniture therefore will not automatically achieve the desired effect either.

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Office Chair Ergonomics

Humans have 2 natural positions, laying down and standing up. Sitting down is actually not natural at all, however, people who work in an office could spend more than 280,000 hours in this position – that equates to around half their lifetime! An incorrect posture can significantly increase the pressure on the intervertebral discs. Too much pressure may cause a negative influence on your back’s health. This article looks at the office chair and ergonomics.

Ergonomics is the scientific discipline concerned with designing according to human needs, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance. The field is also called human engineering, and human factors. When it comes to the office chair, the following ergonomic facts exist:

• Back injuries, such as lower back pain or a slipped disc are the principal cause of absenteeism from the work place.
• Approximately 18% of all absenteeism due to illness relates to back problems (the no.1 cause in Western Europe).
• The total cost of this is estimated to add up to several billion pounds.

To avoid back problems in the office and to reduce absenteeism, office furniture manufacturers have designed the ergonomic chair. An ergonomic chair is a chair that will respond to the basic rules of ergonomics.

In order to take care of your back, the following ergonomic rules should be followed:

1. You should be able to move on your chair in order to have a dynamic sitting posture.
2. Regularly tilt backwards to minimise the pressure on the intervertebral discs.
3. Maintain a good posture and use a chair that will provide good support to the body
4. Use a chair with ergonomic movement that is easy to adjust.

Movement on your chair allows contraction and relaxation of the muscles and stimulation of blood circulation which distributes nutrition and oxygen. Chairs that allow tilting backwards are best because they offer the following benefits:

• Decreases the pressure on the intervertebral discs. These discs provide the flexibility in your vertebral column and act like a shock absorber
• Opens the angle between the back and seat to avoid compression of the breathing and digestive functions and to stimulate blood circulation
• Enables the back to relax

The health of the intervertebral discs depends on the supply of rachidian liquid that contains nutritive elements necessary to the regeneration of the cellswithin the disc. The supply of these discs is related to the pressure placed on them. High pressure is bad and gives no supply. Lower is good as there is higher supply. The pressure is dependant on the posture of the person.

It is recommended to always purchase office chairs that are manufactured to ISO quality specifications that comply with European standards EN 1335-1,2,3 for size and component materials. In addition to this, look for chairs that carry the GS label, which provides further recognition of safety and high quality of a chair.

Choosing Office Furniture

Choosing office furniture can be one of the most difficult tasks for an office administrator; it is an expensive investment that needs to be flexible enough to last for many years. The first task is to work out the workspace requirements for the workers in question, taking into account the need for computers, telephones, power and data access points etc. Many office furniture dealers will offer space planning as a free service if you intend to purchase the office furniture from them, or at least if you give them an opportunity to quote. Many office furniture dealers have sophisticated space planning software which can give you a full 3-D image of your proposed office, including walk-through videos. The next stage is to select the range of furniture; there are many office furniture catalogues which include a full range of desks, office storage cupboards, meeting room furniture and reception furniture which can give a coordinated look to your office environment. There are many styles of office furniture, from classic desks to contemporary modular office furniture. If you are in a business which moves fast, it is important to consider the longevity of the selected manufacturer and range – if you need to add desks at a later date you need to be able to rely on your supplier to get matching furniture, otherwise you can spoil the whole look of the office. Many people think that real wood office furniture is better; however you need to carefully consider your options. Solid wood office furniture is almost unobtainable; the cost is prohibitive and the modern air conditioned office environment is not kind to solid wood, which can dry out and warp. Modern office furniture is usually made from MDF or similar boards, covered with a coating. The coating can be melamine, HPC or wood veneer. Melamine coated MDF is one of the most robust finishes and will withstand hot coffee cups, scratching and exposure to direct sunlight. It can be obtained in all the natural wood finishes, eg oak, beech, cherry, maple etc as well as solid colours, eg light grey or white. Real wood veneer finishes can be used in executive office furniture and boardroom furniture, but these tend to be more expensive and less robust than melamine finishes and also require careful cleaning and maintenance.
Other things to consider when you are choosing office furniture include the following:
- Height Adjustable Desks: many office desk ranges now have height adjustable options, which can be useful if you need to accommodate people with reduced mobility or other special needs.
- Cable Management: Many office furniture ranges include built-in cable management in the legs and supporting beams, which can significantly reduce the wiring clutter found in many offices.
- Office desks became much deeper (up to 80cm deep) in the 80’s and 90’s simply to accommodate large CRT monitors. Now with flat screen monitors available you may find that you can reduce the depth of a desk to 60cm.
- Bench Desk Systems: There are now quite a few contemporary bench desk systems on the market today. They use a shared-leg system which can reduce costs as well as increasing comfort by giving the operator much more leg room. Combined with acoustic screens and cable management, they provide a much more efficient and user-friendly call centre furniture solution than traditional systems.

Choosing the right furniture for your office

1. Consider how many hours you spend at the office. If you work long hours then you should ensure your office is comfortable, functional and practical. Your desk should have built in cable holes to allow the wiring to neatly fit in and enough shelving or drawers for storing files and paperwork. Check the dimensions and make sure the desk will fit through the door. Consider the material of the desk, wood, glass etc and what is best suited for you.

2. Also think about ergonomics; a desk should be around 29 to 30 inches high and 3 1/2 feet from the desk to the chair.

3. Choose the correct office chair. A chair needs to be adjustable to allow for the height of the person, provide adequate support for the lower back and comfortable seat padding. The armrests should be adjustable and arms and shoulders should be relaxed at the correct position.
4. Ensure you have adequate lighting. Too much bright light in your field of vision can cause visual discomfort, and reflections on your computer screen can make it difficult to see what is displayed. If possible position your desk at right angles to the window for the best use of light and to minimise reflections. Use a free standing desk lamp for extra lighting on paperwork.
5. Finally consider the temperature and humidity in the room. A comfortable temperature for sedentary work is between 20 and 24 degrees C. If the room is too warm or cold and draughty then this will cause discomfort. Place a water loving pot plant in your office to help keep the humidity to a comfortable level.

How to clean you indoor teak furniture?

How do you look after your indoor teak furniture to ensure it will look its best?
A proper cleaning and oiling plan will help.
Many people who have teak furniture in their homes believe they can have beautiful furniture without the need of a lot of attention and care. Unlike other wooden furniture that needs regular cleaning, oiling and care, you can actually leave your indoor teak furniture for many months, or even years, and it will remain as durable and strong as it was when you first purchased it.
Even though your teak furniture will last a lifetime, some attention is required. Indoor teak furniture left untouched will darken over time to a dark brown colour. To avoid this happening an annual cleaning and oiling procedure is recommended
Cleaning: Use warm soapy water and to thoroughly remove all dust, dirt and debris. Once this is done the furniture must be left to dry thoroughly.
Oiling: Teak has high levels of natural oils and to maintain these oils the furniture can be re-oiled after cleaning. This will help maintain the colour and appearance of your furniture.