Office Furniture

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Seating

Workstations

Furniture Accessories

Keyboard & Mouse Supports

Monitor Supports

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Welcome to the Office Furniture FAQ!

What you sit in, the furniture that holds your computer and office equipment, and how they are set up and adjusted directly affects your ability to work with reduced injury risk. 

The chair is your main body support throughout the day and positions you to your work.  Whether you have a computer on a desk, adjustable table, or adjustable keyboard and monitor supports determines what changes you can make to be more comfortable and productive at work or home. 

This FAQ provides general furniture related information as well as an extensive list of products and manufacturers/distributors

A direct link has been demonstrated between ergonomics applied to office furnishings and office productivity:

Aetna Life & Casualty Company, which has studied ergonomics since 1979, replaced traditional furniture with new workstations designed for computer use. Managers claim the new furniture and other changes have accounted for a 10% to 15% boost in productivity.
(Anonymous, Aetna's Edge in Office Ergonomics, Occupational Hazards, October 1989, pp.133-135.)

In a study undertaken for NIOSH, a group of data entry workers alternated between working at ergonomically designed workstations and traditional ones. The average individual's performance increased 24% at the better designed workstation
(Dainoff, M.J., & Dainoff, M.H., People & Productivity: A Manager's Guide to Ergonomics in the Electronic Office, Holt, Reinhart, and Winston of Canada, Limited, 1986 )

Commentaries and Information

F1 - Office Ergonomics Training
by Chris Grant, Ph.D., CPE

Pros and Cons of Various "Ergonomic" Office Equipment
http://www.office-ergo.com/pros&.htm
All "ergonomic" items have some drawbacks or possibilities for misuse. This section explains some of the possibilities for office accessories and furniture.

Ergonomic Chairs 
http://www.office-ergo.com/ergonomi.htm
Chair companies --- and ergonomists --- are often guilty of throwing terms around without fully explaining the exact assumptions about why a given adjustment or feature is going to be good for you.  Here is an attempt to link the various chair features with the supposedly good things they will do for your body.

IBM Healthy Computing - Workstation Set Up
http://www.pc.ibm.com/us/healthycomputing/ergstp.html
Good ergonomic practice is important to get the most from your personal computer and to avoid discomfort. This means that the equipment and the workplace should be arranged to suit your individual needs and the kind of work that you do. We have compiled ergonomic guidelines to help you minimize physical discomfort that may accompany prolonged static postures and repetitive motions.

BIOFIT Resources
BioFit Engineered Products offers these resources for your use

How to Choose an Ergonomic Chair 
http://www.biofit.com/newchoose.htm 

Calculating Your Correct Seat Height 
http://www.biofit.com/newcalc.htm

Seat Controls
http://www.biofit.com/newseatcont.htm

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Last Updated: 01/30/02