If you are suffering from general backpain at work and you don’t have a specific back condition the Health and Safety Executive have produced some simple yet effective tips to reduce discomfort during the working day.

Activity is the name of the game and sitting in one position at a desk for the majority of the day engaged in computer use is a likely cause of your aches and pains. Humans are not designed to sit continuously so get up and move around, vary your work and check that your chair is set up to support the natural S-shaped curve of your back. See our handy guide on how to set up your office chair.

The HSE gives the following advice to individuals who experience back pain at work:

• try to take regular breaks;
• get up and stretch;
• sit up comfortably in a chair that supports your lower back;
• during computer work, ensure that you adjust your chair height so that your forearms are comfortably resting on the desk and your elbows are roughly at right angles;
• vary your tasks, so that you are trying to avoid the same movements for prolonged periods using the same part(s) of your body.
• co-operate with arrangements your employer introduces to reduce risks. This may be through systems or equipment in place for you to use or a system of reporting accidents, near misses or symptoms of ill health

To maximise comfort when seated check that your existing chair is providing you with the maximum support possible and that you are sitting in it properly. If you have developed some bad habits you might have to actively remember to sit correctly until it becomes natural by checking your posture regularly (From personal experience this can take a week, but is worth the effort!).

Sit back into your seat so that your back is fully supported by the back rest. There should be a 2-3 finger space between the back of your knees and the seat – if your seat is too deep you will creep to the front edge and away from the support of the backrest (we’ve all done it!).

If you have adjustable armrests on your chair make sure that your arm is bent to form a right angle at the elbow when resting on the the armpad. An armrest that is too high will result in you hunching your shoulders and creating discomfort in your shoulders and neck. Without armrests you should still have that right angle shape with your forearms resting on the desk in front of you at your keyboard (if used).

Adjust your seat height to ensure that you can reach your desk comfortably in this position and if necessary get a footrest if your feet can no longer touch the ground. If you wear shoes with different height heels be prepared to adjust your seat height on different days.

Some chairs offer minimal adjustment with the seat adjusting for height and the back rest adjusting for height and forward/backward movement. If you still require more support to avoid back or shoulder aches or discomfort it is worth considering changing your chair for one with more adjustment such as a seat slide for longer legs, seat tilt to allow you to realign your back when seated or a differently shaped backrest or added lumbar support. This might cost a little more than a less adjustable chair but when you think how much more comfortable you will be and therefore how much more productive and it is easily justifiable!

Where you do need to purchase a new chair we offer extensive ranges of made to order chairs where you can add just the options you need to help you sit comfortably. If you use a computer all day look at our Operator Chair Range. For people who engage in a variety of tasks see the Task Chair Range and for those who require more support than the standard ranges see the Posture Support Ranges of chairs developed specifically for back pain. Alternatively contact us to talk through your requirements.

When buying an office chair you may just be given a a few colours to choose from but here at Business Furniture Online our chairs are often made to order which means you can have whichever fabric and colour you need!

With all this extra choice most people need a little extra help to find the right fabric. It is not difficult but with so much choice it can sometimes seem so.

The FAQs below should help you decide what is best for you but if you can’t find the answer to your question just contact us and we will do our best to help.

I am using my chair for 8 hours a day in a standard office environment which fabric should I choose? A low hazard fabric should be fine unless your insurance states differently. The most popular are Stirling and Advantage (woven tweed with some wool) or Phoenix (crepe finish).

I need a fabric with medium hazard/Crib 5 fire retardency for my office chair. Which fabrics can I choose from? For standard office chairs the most usually chosen medium hazard/Crib 5 fabrics are Mainline Plus, Flamblend (also has an inherent stain repellant), Xtreme Plus.

I would like a pure wool fabric for my office chair because I have heard it is more comfortable. What are the options? There are a number of crepe fabrics made from pure wool and the most popular of these are Aquarius (100% wool), Blazer (100%) and Oxygen (90%), or for a very funky option try Smarty (90% and very spotty!).

My chairs will be in use 24/7. Are there fabrics which will cope with this additional use? Yes there are specialist fabrics designed specifically for intensive use. The most popular of these is 24/7 but you can also look at Flamblend, Presidio (only on certain chairs) and of course quality leather is particularly hard wearing.

I am looking for a sustainable fabric for my seating. What are the options? Camira fabrics prides itself in developing sustainable fabrics which can be used on office seating. In their ranges they now have fabrics made from 100% compostable fibres such as wool, hemp and even nettles. In addition they manufacture fabrics from recycled materials eg. Urban which is 100% recycled polyester. Any of these fabrics can be used on our made to order chairs. If the fabric you want is not listed just contact us for a price.

I am buying soft seating for our office reception. Which are the most suitable fabrics? Wool fabrics work well on soft seating and tend to look better for longer. The quality of wool fabric means that it suits the curves of soft seating where synthetic fabrics are less giving and are more likely to pucker or pull on curved soft edges. Synthetics may last for longer but need more regular care and attention than wool and as they are non-absorbent stains tend to remain on the fabric surface becoming unsightly and duller with age. All in all we would recommend that you consider a wool fabric for your soft seating  – a little extra investment at the beginning is likely to give you longer lasting results.

I want to cheer up the office with chairs with more interesting fabrics but I don’t want to spend a fortune? Any ideas? Yes plenty. Try mixing colours on chairs or combining patterned and plain fabrics. Some are designed to work together such as the Blazer plain and patterned fabrics and the Smarty and Blazer fabrics which one of our adventurous manufacturer’s have tried on the Q2 Task chair.

I want to match our new chairs with our decor and don’t want to make a costly mistake with the colour. What can I do to make sure that the colours match? Just contact us with your fabric ideas and we can send you a fabric card so that you can see the colours in situ. Never try to match colours from a computer screen as all screens show colours differently.

I need a waterproof option for our seating. Can you advise? For certain areas a vinyl will be your best bet and there are many ranges and colours to choose from. In other circumstances a vinyl may appear too utilitarian and in these instances we would suggest that you take a look at the large ranges of waterproof fabrics. Many of these have the added benefit of being antibacterial, stain resistant and breathable as well as appearing like a normal fabric. See our list of Healthcare Fabrics for options and ask for a fabric card to see the colour options for individual ranges.

The use and availability of antibacterial and waterproof healthcare fabric and vinyl has increased greatly in recent years. Much in demand in the healthcare sector and leisure industry the range of styles and colours has improved and is now far removed from the old style vinyl found commonly in hospitals in the past.

Properties

Encouraged by the increased use in leisure industry, and the current infection control requirements of healthcare environments such as hospitals, clinics and surgeries, manufacturers have improved their ranges in style and colour choice. These healthcare fabrics and vinyl usually benefit from the following attirbutes:

• Fluid proof, including water, urine,etc
• Stain repellence or resistance
• Antibacterial and antifungal - the resistance to different bacteria is dependent on the individual properties of that fabric making some fabrics more suited to certain functional areas than others but treatments usually include the control of MFSA, C. Diff, E-Coli, etc
• Breathable This is a crucial difference to vinyl which is not breathable

Cleaning

Cleaning regimes differ in different environments and many of these healthcare fabrics and vinyl have been designed for use in the nhs and with current infection control regimes.

All healthcare fabric and vinyl used on our chairs is tested to industry standards for strength and flammability.

As many of our standard chairs are made to order we are able to specify them with your choice of fabric. This ensures that you can combine the most appropriate style of seating with the best fabric for its use thereby ensuring it is fit for purpose. As we offer web prices they are not only bespoke but also excellent value for money.

For the latest information about the healthcare fabrics available on our made to order seating please click the link. This document provides information about the most popular fabrics and vinyl but is by no means exhaustive so if you have already specified your fabric just contact us for a price.

Fabric and Vinyl Manufacturer’s

For further information about fabric ranges from our main fabric manufacturers please follow the links below:

Camira fabrics: http://www.camirafabrics.com/

Agua Fabrics: http://www.aguafabrics.com/

Panaz Fabrics: http://www.panaz.co.uk/healthcare

Sunbury Design: http://www.sunburydesign.com/

Chieftain Fabrics (vinyl): http://www.chieftainfabrics.com/home/

CTP Textiles: http://www.ctptextiles.co.uk/

A successful business will often have appropriate areas designated for each activity that occurs throughout the day. Many larger companies have separate boardroom tables and meeting room tables in different rooms, smaller companies often require their tables to cover both functions.

A great example of meeting room tables is the barrel meeting table. The barrel meeting table comes with a variety of options. You can choose from different leg styles and multiple finishes so that it fits comfortably into your office environment. The table is large enough to fit eight to ten people comfortably and it comes with a 2 year manufacturer’s guarantee.

Many companies need meeting tables to be flexible and one range which provides this versatility is the congress rectangular meeting table. The congress rectangular meeting table is available in many different sizes to accommodate your needs. It can also be combined with trapezoidal and semi-circular tables from the Congress range  to allow them to be reconfigured to create versatile meeting solutions where the tables are to be used by groups of varying size. Congress tables can be easily stored without legs in a separate area when not in use. This is a great option if your business has limited space. The table is available in a variety of different finishes, is made in the UK and comes with a 6-year guarantee from the manufacturer.

Before choosing a meeting table, it is important to consider the dimensions of the room and your preferred table layout (or layouts, where the room is regularly reconfigured) to ensure that you have sufficient space for seating and access. Additionally you may need to provide communication or electric points and this may affect your choice of table as some have access points for wiring.

There is still time to order your new office furniture before the end of the financial year.

Many of our office furniture ranges are held in stock and are available for delivery and installation in 5 – 10 working days. Our install team are specialists in contructing and installing your new furniture in your office space so that you don’t have too ….. and this service is free to offices on mainland UK!

We have many ranges of office furniture from standard workstations to executive office furniture, storage cupboards and tambour units to bookshelves. All are accompanied by a manufacturer’s guarantee and are available in a variation of styles, shapes and finishes so that you can choose to set just the right impression to your staff and customers.

Due to the outstanding durability of the hugely popular  Mata Range of classroom and multi-purpose chairs and Mata beam seating units we are pleased to announce that the manufacturer’s guarantee for these chairs has been increased to 10 years for all chairs bought after this date.

Mata Chairs stacked

Consistently high levels of customer satisfaction over the last 10 years and further recent durability testing have confirmed the strength of the Mata chairs which are manufacturered to BS 4875: Part 1: 2001 Test Level 4 (strength and durability), BS 7945: 1999 (stability) and BS EN 1729 (sizing standards).

A strong swivel chair for students and internet cafes

The strength in the Mata chair comes from its specially engineered ribbed back which can even withstand a large car being driven over it – yes really! Watch this space for the photographic evidence.

Apart from the strength, the S-shaped back is also supportive and comfortable and the seat can be fitted with an upholstered seat pad if you want to increase that level of comfort still further.

These popular and versatile multipurpose seats come in 6 sizes to suit all ages, with a choice of a 4-legged or cantilever frame, a swivel option and on a beam with 3 – 5 seats

There are a variety of different types of office chairs available. Two of the more common options are task chairs and executive office chairs or managers chairs. Task chairs are adjustable in height and are designed for those who use a computer extensively as part of their working day. Executive chairs are designed for executives or managers who spend their day engaged in a variety of tasks including the use of the computer but also time spent in meetings and reading or writing at their desk. Executive chairs tend to be constructed differently and  often have generously upholstered one-piece seat and back and a knee tilt mechanism which allows the seat to be locked into various positions or allowed to move freely according to the tasks the user is engaged in.

Although they tend to be more expensive executive leather chairs are popular with executives and senior managers as they create a great impression as well as providing comfort and support throughout the day.

Executive office chairs are often made to order with either fabric or leather upholstery in a wide variety of colours to allow you to create exactly the right impression. Many of these chairs are available with high back or  medium back options. Some of these chairs also feature adjustable neckrests, which can make them even more supportive.

If you are considering purchasing an office chair, first consider who will use it and how it will be used. Executive and manager’s chairs meet the needs of people who perform a variety of tasks during the day whilst operator and task chairs are designed for those who tend to use a computer at a desk for the majority of their working day. Choosing a chair which matches your working style will result in a higher level of comfort and a greater productivity. Executive, manager’s, task and operator chairs can be found on the website to meet all budgets.

The cpod Ergonomic Office Chair with it’s uniquely supportive mesh back is now on sale on the Business Furniture Online website following its UK launch at the Back Pain Show on 24 and 25 February 2012.

This ergonomically designed office chair combines style and functionality to provide excellent back support, even when you move.

For more information see the chair details for the cpod ergonomic office chair on the website.

The Blend Family of office chairs is an exciting new addition to our office chair range. Assessed and approved by physiotherapist Lorna Taylor, this carefully designed range offers not only the well specified Blend Standard Operator chair but also the Blend Extra for larger staff (up to 30 stone) and the Blend Petite which is designed especially for smaller than average employees.

You can now provide visual continuity across the office whilst meeting the health and safety obligations to your staff and ensuring their comfort (and productivity) in an appropriately sized chair. In addition to 3 sizes, however, there are also 3 types of mechanism which offer varying degrees of adjustability and further options to allow you to spec individual chairs for individual staff with postural or musculo-skeletal issues. A large number of sick days are taken each year by employees with back pain or musculo-skeletal problems which could be reduced by ensuring that staff are sitting in a well designed, properly adjusted chair like those in the Blend Family.

To add to this, all the chairs have been tested by SATRA to BS EN 1335, are compliant with HSE Seating at Work Directives and have a 5 year warranty to give you peace of mind and the surety that you are getting excellent value for money.

As if this wasn’t enough, these chairs are made to order in the UK and can be upholstered in your choice of fabric and colour from a huge range of standard options (and quite a lot of non-standard ones as well) so you can create exactly the impression you want across the office.

This is an excellent range of contract quality office chairs which will suit the majority of staff and provide a versatile solution to seating in any office, large or small.  We think that, as businesses come to realise the flexibility and versatility in this range and its ability to cater for most budgets, it will become a very popular choice.

If you would like help specifying your chairs for your staff (whether there are 2 or 200) just contact us.

The cpod ergonomic operator chair was officially launched in the UK at the Backpain show at Olympia yesterday and as we always like to personally try out any new chairs we are thinking of featuring on the website we travelled up to London to do exactly that.

Having had little prior information about the cpod ergonomic chair what we were expecting was a contemporary cousin of the ever popular Therapod chairs. We had been promised the patented Therapod back support system with a twist – on a mesh backed chair – all the usual comfort afforded by the Therapod chairs. We were not disappointed!

What we experienced was a hugely comfortable, modern operator chair with easy to adjust back support and a comfotable seat with memory foam plus Probax foam. The Probax foam is designed to support and tilt your pelvis allowing your spine to adopt it’s natural S shaped lordotic curve and therefore seated comfort and health benefits. I admit I was initially sceptical about this but having sat on the chair and read the Probax website I am converted to its benefits. Even Odeon cinemas are beginning to roll it out to increase our comfort and enjoyment at a screening.

The backrest of the cpod has a supportive mesh covering behind which the trademark Therapod straps provide targeted support to all areas of the back. The straps, unlike those on the traditional Therapod chairs are easy to adjust yourself with a finger accesible ratchet just behind you. This relieves you of the need for someone else to adjust the strapping.

If you want to see more about the only mesh back chair we know of with this type of back support and comfort, the cpod will be listed on our website from next week with full specifications and images. Watch this space…..http://www.businessfurnitureonline.co.uk/store/specialistseating/posture-support-range/seating-cpod-ergonomic-office-chair-with-mesh-back.htm