We find seats everywhere.
They are at our office desk and in conference rooms. There are seats for hospital
exam rooms and others that are perfect for creating a welcoming, comfortable
lobby. There are seats designed just for students in educational settings,
chairs for adjustable-height desks, and those meant to be a comfortable place
to collaborate as a member of a team. And, according to research
used in a piece by the Independent,
the average employee spends 6.5 hours a day sitting at work. That is a great
deal of sitting.
There are so
many seats to choose from, it can seem a bit overwhelming. Since we spend so
much time sitting in them, care must be taken when choosing seating that will
fit your specific environment. Furniture selected for a classroom would not necessarily
be appropriate for a medical waiting room in a geriatric doctor’s office. This
little guide offers you a few things to keep in mind when selecting furniture
for your particular work space.
Medical Environments
Medical
professionals find that their seating environment not only needs to be
ergonomically correct and aesthetically pleasing, but it needs to protect
patients from contracting any form of infection or virus. Additionally, medical
settings typically require a wide variety of seating from the lobby to exam
rooms and physician seating to chairs for front office staff. These facts can make
medical seating quite challenging to select.
The
first rule of thumb for medical office seating is to pick furniture that is
seamless or with little to no stitching and crevices. This will reduce the risk
of growth and the spread of harmful bacteria. It
also makes cleaning much easier. You can even purchase seating for your medical
practice or hospital that is made with antibacterial material to further reduce
the spread of germs.
You’ll also want to ensure your seating allows for freedom of
movement in the space you are purchasing it for. For example, you’ll want to
consider the space and layout of your lobby and waiting areas. Not only should
the seating be comfortable for your patients and visitors, but it should also
allow for ease of movement. Patients may have wheelchairs, walkers, or crutches
that hinder their movement and the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) provides federal
requirements for removing barriers in public spaces such as restaurants,
schools, and doctor’s offices.
Commercial furniture retailers such as CORE are familiar with ADA requirements and can help
you map out your lobby, waiting areas, and other spaces to ensure your business
or office meets federal regulations. Additionally, seasoned professionals
should also be able help you select the proper products from bench seats and
chairs to ergonomically correct seating for your staff and comfortable exam
tables for your patients.
Today’s manufacturers offer a wide selection of materials,
colors, and patterns to choose from so you can make your medical environment as
clean and safe as possible while providing a comfortable and welcoming
atmosphere to reduce stress on your patients. You can choose from solid colors
to bright patterns. It’s all about the statement you wish to make with your
medical environment. Intensa is just one manufacturer of medical and
laboratory seating that is engineered specifically for the healthcare industry
with a wide variety of options to choose from. Stance Healthcare also offers premium seating designed specifically
for medical offices and facilities. For example, check out the Carson
Sleeper which converts from a
cozy couch to a user-friendly, easy-to-clean bed and back again.
Whether you are looking for something to fit your existing
décor, you’re undergoing a complete renovation, or you have a brand new medical
space, there is seating to meet your workplace needs. For more information
about selecting seating and furniture for medical spaces, check out the CORE
blog “Selecting
the Best Furniture for Medical Spaces.”
Educational Seating
As teaching
methods continue to grow and evolve, so does classroom furniture including seating.
When choosing the best seating for your students, the age of the students, their average size, and how long they are
sitting in the classroom should all be taken into consideration. You’ll also
want to think about students who may have any special needs and ensure that the
seating you choose fits the space you have in order to allow ease of movement.
Not
only is the right seating important for capturing bodies and minds, it can
teach correct posture and sitting habits starting at a young age. Heavy
backpacks and sitting for hours in a classroom can make it difficult for
children to achieve proper posture but there is classroom seating available to
improve the ergonomics for your students. For example, American Seating
offers a wide range of educational seating options including the NIMA® that is
built to offer an exceptionally comfortable design while adding color to your
classroom.
Classrooms
also vary from seats with attached desks such as the Us® Chair Family by
American Seating to chairs with tablet desktops such as the
Reve™ by Safeco. Some educational environments require space to
adjust seamlessly from one activity or lesson to the next which calls for
easily stackable, storable seating options such as the Acton® by American
Seating.
Older
students at the secondary level or in institutions of higher learning will
appreciate more versatile seating such as the Tuck Collaborative chair offered
by AllSeating.
The chair offers arm rests and mid-back
support for comfort but also sits on casters and swivels to allow students to
easily turn or move in order to collaborate with others.
AllSeating, among other
manufacturers, also offers a wide range of other educational seating options
ranging from counter-height stools for the science lab to benches for shared
spaces such as the library and high-back seating for teachers and professors. Kimball
also offers a wide variety of seating options and arrangements from stackable
and mesh chairs that are light and easy to move such as their Guide™ collection
to rolling seats to allow for simple collaboration among scholars.
Just as with
medical facilities, seating in classrooms and environmental areas will need to
be easy to maintain and clean. With proper care, they can last for many years
and create a bright, fun, and comfortable learning atmosphere. For more information about selecting the best furniture,
including seating, for your classroom setting, read “Choosing
the Right Furniture for Your Students and Classroom.”
Conference Rooms
When it comes
to selecting the best chairs for your office conference room, there are a
number of items to consider. First you will need to account for how many people
you want to be able to accommodate. You’ll need to measure the space you have
and consider allowing extra room for movement and those with special needs.
The next step
is to consider size of table you want for your conference room. The table will
likely become a centerpiece in the room and your seating will want to fit well
with it. Based on what conference table you select, this will determine how much
space you have for seating and how many chairs you will need. Some to consider
include the Ayles by AllSeating
for its contemporary appeal with a knife-edge shape, the stylish NV™
by Neutral Posture for comfort with its high back and armrests, or the
clean shape of the Ardi by Enwork featuring
subtle lines across the back for aesthetic appeal.
It is also a
good idea to have extra chairs that are not around the table, but can fit in
the back of the room or along the sides to provide overflow seating for those
larger-than-expected meetings. The Tucker™ side chair by
Kimball is compact and attractive enough to add to a conference room
while providing comfortable seating. Among other overflow seating options are the
Flip
with Arms by Euortech which offers a black mesh back and efficient
storage with a flip-up seat.
Keep in mind
however, that there should be a comfortable amount of space for people who
arrive late or leave the meeting early. They should be able to walk past without
bumping into other employees as they enter or exit. Accurate space planning is
something the professionals at CORE can help you with before ordering.
Conference
rooms will have different people in and out of them throughout the day. Some
meetings will last a mere 15 minutes while some can go on for hours. This means
it is important to have ergonomically changing seating for whoever is using the
chair at each time. This means seats that can adjust the height of arm rests as
well as the chair itself. Chairs that recline and swivel also allow for added
comfort and collaboration during group conversations. AllSeating
offers a wide range of conference seating as do several other manufacturers so
you have many options to choose from to fit the specific needs of your office
or business.
Employee Chairs
A supportive
office chair can help prevent fatigue in employees, lower discomfort, and
provide many health benefits. According to Gear
Patrol, employees are more productive and contribute more positive
work than an uncomfortable employee. That’s where padded, adjustable seating
with ergonomic support comes in.
Bad office
chairs can lead to bad posture which can then lead to back problems, leg strain,
and carpel tunnel, all of which can lead to medical time off. It is important
to select the best office chair to keep your employees not only healthy but
happy.
Many
manufacturer’s such as AllSeating have worked hard to develop chairs that offer
proper ergonomic support. Some chairs are stationary and cannot be adjusted
while other can have too many knobs for the user to figure out. The most
important adjustable parts of an office chair should be lumbar support, arm
width and height, seat back width and height, and seat and back angle. Swivel
chairs with wheels at the bottom are great so employees can move around their
desk space without over reaching which can lead to straining or falling.
The Levo
Task chair features a proprietary “hands-on” back adjustment system
that provides lumbar support at five intervals while the Cozi®
24/7 by Neutral Posture offers catered seating with two back size
options and built-in lumbar support, two contoured-seat options, and
adjustments for the height, angle, and tension of the seat. Neutral Posture’s Icon
chair provides adjustable and removable lumbar support, has three adjustment
levers, and replaceable/removable seat cushions.
With a few
simple steps and easy instructions, every employee can adjust their own seat to
match their individual needs. See the quick video from AllSeating.
Additionally, here are some ergonomic principles from Neutral Posture
to keep in mind when selecting desk chairs you’re your employees:
- Set the height of your
chair to allow the floor to supporting your feet and lower legs only.
- Make sure the angle
between your torso and legs is greater than 90°.
- Allow two to four inches
of space between the front of the seat cushion and the back of your knee.
- Look for forearm and
elbow support that allows the user to keep their wrists in a neutral position.
- The seat should allow
the position of the backrest to be nearly upright, or slightly reclined with
head support.
- Select seating that
allows support of your lumbar curve.
Finally, the
fabric or material of your seats should be breathable. This stops the chair
from becoming overly hot after hours of sitting. It should also have enough
cushion to support every employee so they cannot feel the chair through the
fabric.
Reception, Lobby & Waiting Areas
The
first thing a visitor sees when they walk into an office is generally the
reception area, lobby, or waiting room. The style of a these spaces can say
much about a company’s values and can even be designed to generate certain emotions
in visitors.
From
residential buildings to businesses, nearly every building that has people coming
and going has a reception, lobby, or waiting area. Whether for aesthetics,
security purposes, or functional operations, almost any visitor will have to
spend some amount of time in these open spaces. It can leave a lasting
impression so it is important that your reception and waiting areas convey a feel
that speaks to your business and provides optimal seating options for anyone who
may walk through your door.
To achieve this
goal, there should be seating that allows for group discussions as well as independent
seating for those in need of privacy for telephone calls, texting, or work.
That means there should be a breadth of seating options in every one of these
areas.
Pixley by Enwork features asymmetrical, organic curves
to define seating space without separation. You can group several together for
big groups or spread them sporadically for seating throughout a large space.
These upholstered benches are great for public areas and can be ordered with or
without backrests in a wide variety of colors to match any office décor.
Kimball offers a wide variety of seating
options that allow for both group and private arrangements. The Wilder™
provides private seating that can be paired with other sitting options or left
on its own while the Pose™ offers long-term comfort and style that may also
stand alone or be grouped. For a lush, contemporary yet relaxing seating experience,
Enjoy™ and Vista™ promise additional options to choose from.
Versteel® offers a wide variety of public area
seating with its Immix collection. The strong materials allow the seats to last
for years to come while the design allows seating to be structured in several
ways. Whether you want to offer round seating for people to enjoy open views
through large windows or clustered seating interspersed with tabletop pieces
for drinks and magazine, Immix is something to consider. The chairs come in a
variety of fabrics, colors, and prints so you can choose what speaks to your
business or office environment.
In conclusion,
there is a great deal of seating to choose from in the world of commercial furniture
but not all furniture fits all needs. Before you buy seating, be sure to take
proper measurements of the space you have, how much traffic you have in the
room you are buying for, and the comfort of the people using them.
Additionally, you’ll need to consider the amount of use the chairs will
experience, how they are used, and by whom. There’s also the look and feel you
wish to create with the furnishings you choose.
If you need
assistance with ordering the right seating for your work environment, contact
the professionals at CORE at (520) 999-3470 or visit us online. You are also
invited to swing by our new showroom at 698 E. Wetmore, Suite 410, in Tucson to
experience some of the many seating possibilities we have to offer. You may
also view our very own chair wall featuring additional seating and decorating
options for your office.