San Diego Cubicles Blog » Office Chairs

Another Steelcase Office Chair Recalled

Daisy — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:52:52 +0000

Last month, Steelcase recalled its Amia office chair as recommended by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The design of the control mechanism under the chair apparently leaves open the possibility that the pivot pins could fall out. If that happens, users could find themselves unceremoniously dumped on the ground. There are no reports of anyone getting hurt, so the recall of 11,000 chairs is a precaution. Users don’t actually need to return their chairs. They can simply contact Steelcase or their local dealer for a set of adhesive covers that will keep the pins firmly in place. No tools are required for this DIY fix-up job.

News of a product recall for a design flaw probably has loyal Steelcase fans almost falling out of their chairs in surprise. However, this isn’t the first time it’s happened. Just one year ago, Steelcase had to recall its Cachet chair because of a seat support that was prone to cracking. One customer did end up with a back injury when a chair broke during use. Again, Steelcase opted for correcting the defective part of the design over full replacement – except for individual consumers. So, the cost of fixing the problem has probably been easily absorbed by this office furniture giant. But they should be careful that January doesn’t become known as annual “Steelcase recall month”!

Is this the Bowflex of Office Chairs?

Daisy — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:25:10 +0000

The Fit@Work chair is the latest tool for encouraging desk workers to get a workout. Obviously, it’s not a substitute for a treadmill desk which can provide cardio training, but it does offer the sitter the opportunity to work their core and upper body. The base expands to provide more stability so you can lean back and put your feet up on an extended footrest while you perform crunches. You can also get the core stabilization workout provided by a ball chair when you loosen the column that holds the stool shaped seat firmly in place. Finally, the arms pull out to facilitate rowing exercises. This chair has been met with a mix of bemusement and excitement in the office furniture ergonomics community. Hopefully, we’ll start seeing some firsthand reviews soon so we can learn whether this is a gimmick or the next step toward getting ripped while you work.

Haworth’s Tips for Ergonomic Seating

Daisy — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 00:48:37 +0000

Haworth has developed a very useful online library with research and recommendations for all types of office furniture. The Ergonomic Seating Guide is a particularly interesting document. It looks at the ergonomics of office seating in a lot of detail – including less common features like asymmetrical lumbar support and pelvic support. Of particular interest to employers purchasing large numbers of office chairs at one time is the summary of minimum standard features. These include:

Adjustable lumbar support
Height adjustable, padded armrests
Synchronous recline (that moves the seat pan and seat back at the same time)
Recline tension adjustment and locking
Seat depth and height adjustment (2” and 5” respectively)

For conference rooms, Haworth suggests chairs that don’t have so much adjustment – more of a “one-size-fits-most” approach. This ensures that most users will be reasonably comfortable for at least a short time. To read all of Haworth’s recommendations, see the full handbook here.

Can an Office Chair Affect Your Heart?

Daisy — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 16:03:29 +0000

According to Herman Miller’s research, an office chair can have an effect on how hard your heart has to work throughout an average workday. A decreased heart rate is linked to two benefits:

Lower risk of cardiovascular disease over a person’s lifetime
Better concentration (possibly due to more efficient circulation and oxygenation)

These days, many workers sit for extended periods of time (a lifestyle that significantly increases the risk of heart disease). Herman Miller set out to discover if they could design a chair that might make a dent in this risk and lead to better health and productivity. According to a small test of about 30 users, the Emody chair did show a measurable result compared to a standard office chair.

Participants had slower heart rates when sitting on the Embody. Men showed a greater degree of response than women and heavier users experienced a more dramatic heart rate decrease than smaller users. You can read the full report on how the experiment was conducted, its results, and Herman Miller’s conclusions here. Just remember that even the best, most ergonomic office chairs are not a substitute for regular exercise!

The Wheels on the Chair Go Round and Round

Daisy — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:51:25 +0000

Here’s one aspect of office furniture ergonomics that doesn’t get a lot of attention – the lowly caster. If you think about it, even the finest office task chair would be lost without its wheels! Of course, we all know how frustrating it is when a caster comes off, or wears out, gets something stuck in it, or just plain doesn’t roll that well. You start to push away from your desk and get jolted to a stop by a wheel that won’t turn smoothly.

With larger, heavier pieces of office furniture from tables to mobile workstations, poorly designed casters can mean more than just an inconvenience. They can actually lead to back injury by making big objects hard to move. Or, a stuck wheel can cause furniture to tip over instead of gliding smoothly. Wheels that permit excessive vibration can lead to wrist and arm problems for people who have to transport materials around all day in a rolling cart. An inability to put the brakes on can lead to a runaway piece of furniture.

Fortunately, this area of ergonomics was not neglected at ErgoExpo. Darcor was on hand to show its wares – for every workplace from white collar to warehouse to healthcare settings. They’ve been in the caster industry for 75 years, and they’re still rolling!

Haworth Task Chair is Very Comfortable

Daisy — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 20:23:46 +0000

Haworth has announced the newest member of the Very Chair family. The Very Task continues the design legacy of the various side chairs, conference chairs, and stacking chairs already in the collection. Of course, there’s more to it since a task chair needs plenty of bells and whistles. It’s the definition of fully customizable with 4-way moveable arms, seat tilt, depth, and tension adjustments. Like the Zody by Haworth, the Very Task also features the one-of-a-kind asymmetrical lumbar support that allows the user to independently adjust the level of support provided on each side of the spine. You can read about why Haworth chose to create this function on page 6 of this white paper. All the Very needs now is seat warming and massage options.

In addition to being a thought leader regarding certain aspects of seating ergonomics, Haworth is also proving to be pretty savvy when it comes to leveraging social networking to advertise. The company just finished up a photo contest complete with Very side chairs as the prizes. Some contestants got Very Creative – even photo-shopping a famous performer into the chair with the caption “Very Manilow”.

Having a Ball with Your Office Chair?

Daisy — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 00:48:07 +0000

We desk workers are always being encouraged to exercise more. We’re told to do seated moves like shoulder shrugs, get up and walk around, do a few stretches, and practice good posture throughout the day. Office furniture pieces such as the adjustable height workstation that promotes more movement and changes in position are becoming increasingly popular. So, it’s not surprising that the trend of the ball chair is also making an appearance again. After all, it forces you to constantly adjust your position just to stay firmly seated. Isn’t that the perfect answer?

Not necessarily. While using an exercise ball that is housed in a chair frame might be OK for a while, using it all day every day could cause a different set of ergonomic problems. Duncan MacIntyre, everyone’s favorite chair advice blogger lays out the pros and cons in this great article. Check out the links at the end for opinions by ergonomics specialists on what can happen if you sit on a ball all day! Among other things, they point out that users can slump just as easily on a ball chair as on an office chair.

Office Chair Fabric is a Prickly Subject

Daisy — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 14:42:01 +0000

Steelcase made quite a splash with its introduction of mushroom and cotton seed hull packaging; but it’s far from the only office furniture company that is going green with organic products. Albany Office Furniture in the UK is making use of locally occurring natural resources for a different purpose. The company is using nettle stems and wool (two materials that are found in abundance on the chilly isles of Britain) to create textiles for office chairs.

Nettles are most famous for their sting. Fortunately, the chemicals that cause skin irritation are easily neutralized by cooking or soaking in water. Users of the nettle textile won’t have to worry about sitting on a pin cushion. The method by which the fiber is extracted from the stems and processed into fabric should take the sting out of these hardy plants. Albany Office Furniture is showcasing this new textile at the Green 4 Go exhibition where many small businesses will be meeting to discuss sustainable strategies.

Office Chairs and Work Targeting

Daisy — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 20:33:44 +0000

In another informative white paper from Allsteel, you can learn about the importance of work targeting. That’s one of those phrases invented to describe something that everyone does without realizing it. When you sit in your chair and look at your desk, your eyes go directly to your monitor. That’s why you want your monitor to be at just the right height for easy viewing.

But what if you lean back in your chair? The recline feature may be comfortable, but it can bring your head out of alignment with your ‘target’ so you are looking up at your monitor instead of straight at it. You may also be moving your head too far away from your monitor (and moving your hands too far from your keyboard). This is counterproductive from an ergonomic standpoint since it encourages abnormal positioning and movements during work.

Allsteel’s solution to this problem was to develop a recline mode for their Sum chair that allows relaxation without significantly moving the upper body. This promotes continuous, accurate work targeting throughout the day.

More Office Chair Sports

Daisy — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 20:33:52 +0000

Last week, we talked about the highly competitive sport of chair hockey. But if you want some real brutality, you should check out this video advertisement from Mad Man Mund’s in Florida. There are no holds barred when it comes to extreme chair racing. In fact, this event will remind you of the “Chairiot” race from Ben Hur. All you need to participate is an office chair, a paved hill, a suit and tie, and a lust for victory at all costs!