Contract seating & how to choose the right office chair

Date

Friday 18 September 2015

Presenter

David Kirtley

Overview

David will be presenting the important factors of what to look for when selecting contract seating. Drawing on nearly 15 years’ experience with Posturite and his degree in Sport & Exercise Science, David is our resident expert on contract seating.

He will present a number of features and benefits that should be considered when selecting office seating, and the notion that the procurement of office seating should be seen as an investment rather than a cost.

This webinar is ideally suited to those clients who take an interest in this subject area, and for those clients / companies looking at replacing their chairs.

Biography

David Kirtley is the Sales Manager for the Office Environments division of Posturite. He has a BSc (Hons) in Sport and Exercise Science, and has been a proud member of the Posturite team for nearly fifteen years. David is part of our Senior Management team, and has been since its inception in 2006. In his current position, he heads up the Office Environments team and works closely with customers and suppliers nationwide, resulting in an excellent knowledge of the issues found in offices all over the country and how to prevent and solve them.

David’s expertise lies in contract seating and Height Adjustable Desking, and has led the development of our new DeskRite Evolve range.

Working with Health & Safety managers, OH managers, FMs and HR over the years has given David a broad knowledge of what companies want from a number of different perspectives.

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Q&A

Q: If we order through Posturite do they automatically use Office Environments?

A: Office Environments is a division of Posturite, and comes under the same Posturite Ltd company. OE specialises in projects, refurbs and refits, which can differ in the expertise required to carry out these projects. It may be worth having a look at our case studies to see how this differs from our Curative work that we are better known for. Similarly, the expertise of the Q-Pulse WorkRite division (delivering e-learning) is different again.

Q: Are chairs rated for different sizes/weights of personnel?

A: The only chair that I regularly come across that is rated for employee size is the Herman Miller Aeron chair, which comes in 3 sizes - A, B and C. This can be restrictive, as it means that the chairs aren't always transferable between employees of different stature. A number of chairs can offer different size seats in addition to seat back heights and shapes, but they are rated as such. Weight limits vary but are USUALLY up to 18.5 stone or 120kg as a lower standard, and 23.5 stone or 150kg as a higher standard - this does need to be checked with the supplier or manufacturer. We do supply a range of specialist chairs designed for larger/heavier users. We supply some standard chairs which have a weight limit of up to 227kg as standard, which is about 35.5 stone. Previously we have made a chair for someone at 46 stone, which was a bespoke chair made for the individual.

Q: Is a synchro same as non-synchro?

A: My interpretation is the 'A-synchro' and 'non-synchro' are different terms for the same movement i.e. as the seat moves back 1 degree, then so does the backrest. I do know that some companies use different terms, so it’s worth clarifying exactly what they mean with the person / organisation that is using them.

Q: What are the legal requirements for a chair in use in a 24hr environment?

A: The standard is BS 5459-2.

Q: When looking on ROI do you have any case studies that give an example of exactly how much time was saved by adopting new seating?

A: In looking at this, it is difficult to get independent research carried out without the direct involvement of the manufacturer. In terms of reduction in work absence, we have seen clients reduce their spend on ergonomic seating reduce by 90% after the implementation of good ergonomic chairs for their call centres. This saved in the region of £200,000 per year. (£220,000 down to £23,000).