One item in the workplace that you should never take for granted is a good, ergonomic chair.

Whether you work in an office, cleanroom, laboratory, industrial setting or EPA, the right ergonomic chair is crucial.

There is no way to cater for all requirements, so you must consider your needs carefully.

In this article, we will detail the 5 most crucial points you must consider when choosing the right ergonomic chair for you.

Work Setting

This may seem like an obvious one, but your work setting will largely dictate the type of chair that is appropriate for your environment.

Each work setting hosts differing applications, which need to be uniquely catered for to provide optimal ergonomic support.

The main work settings are the following – Production (or industrial) environments, Cleanrooms, Electrostatic Protected Areas (EPAs), Laboratories, and your standard office settings.

As an example of how seating requirements differ from setting to setting – below is a comparison between the requirements for different work settings:

Office

• Simple repetitive tasks, often written or computer work.
• Clean environments with minimal damage potential.
• Long periods of use in a seated position.
• Upright or comfortable working position required.

Laboratory

• Complex tasks with varying degrees of physical effort and precision requirements.
• Often aggressive environments, involving the use of disinfectants, liquors, acids and even bacteria.
• Constrained working posture, in forward-leaning positions or at a high working height.
• Confined work spaces.

Production

• Need for robustness and stability, meaning that highly durable materials need to be used. This means that the chair needs to fit the working environment perfectly.
• Maximum freedom of movement needed.
• Ergonomics need to be considered due to the differing applications that could be undertaken. This includes adaptability of the seat mechanisms, backrest support and armrests.

EPA

• Chair needs ESD properties to not generate static charge whilst in the EPA.
• Each chair needs to be adjustable to ensure that they cater for precision type work. This can be forward leaning work in instances of soldering, or even standing work where packing is taking place.
• Mobility is a must, with swivel capabilities and even locking casters or glides for extra stability.

Cleanroom

• Any seating within a cleanroom must be easy to clean and maintain.
• Often cleanroom chairs are required in EPA settings.
• Clean is the optimal requirement when it comes to chairs in these environments. These chairs comes layered with material that helps to reduce contamination to the local environment.

Ergonomic Considerations

The degree of flexibility required for a workplace chair is substantially vast. But there is a reason for this.

No two people are the same in height, weight and body frame. So, many adjustments are needed to ensure that the chair is fully optimised to the user.

Below are the most common ergonomic features that are included on a chair, along with how each of the functions should be adjusted to the user.

Permanent Contact Back – 

Synchronous Weight Adjustment – This is a mechanism that is found within the BIMOS range of chairs. It is particularly handy when the chair is used by multiple people on the same day. It works by automatically regulating and adjusting the chair to the weight of the person sitting down. This ensures optimal backrest contact along with dynamic sitting. Gone are the days when you adjust the chair before sitting down, as this mechanism does the work for you, allowing you to get to work quicker.

Asynchronous (Seat Tilt) – This aids in good posture by tilting the seat forward when your hips are higher than your knees. This is especially important when people are leaning forward in the chair for precision tasks for example.

Seat Depth – You have likely never considered how the depth of your seat impacts the ergonomics of the chair. But surprisingly, the depth of your seat greatly impacts the blood circulation to the lower legs and feet. This is something that requires consideration if the chair is used for long periods. Ideally, ensure that when you have your foot flat on the floor, you have a gap the size of your fist between your knee and the chair that you are sitting on.

Seat & Backrest Height – The height of both your seat and backrest will depend on the height of the user. You must ensure that the seat is raised to a point where you can have the entire sole of your foot on the floor, whilst keeping your back in contact with the backrest. With chairs that do not have a high back, the backrest must be raised to ensure that it follows the natural s-shaped curve of the spine.

Seating Length Requirements

One of the next questions that you need to ask yourself is how long you will be sitting down during a typical day.

Following the common theme, this will vary from person to person, depending on the application that they are undertaking.

We have broken this up into 3 categories – low, medium and high seating demands.

Low – This would range from people sitting between 1 – 4 hours per day. Most of their daily tasks will be on the move, so a simple chair will be required here to satisfy their seating needs.

Medium – This will be where people spend longer stretches seated. These chairs will need good adjustment capabilities to ensure that the chair can suit the user easily.

High – These individuals spend almost all of their working day in a seated position. This requires a chair that can be tailored completely to the user's needs, along with ease of movement for any rotation in the shoulders etc. This chair must have a high level of comfort to coincide with the adjustment options.

Freedom Of Movement Needed

Now freedom of movement (FOM) is something that often can be overlooked. You must determine whether the work being done in the chair requires easy access to reach and rotate at the shoulders.

Therefore, for particular applications, FOM is an ergonomic factor that must be considered.

Often we will fixate on ensuring that the chair supports the user in their seated position. But what about for instances where the user requires movement whilst in a seated position (such as rotations)?

This will often be for applications that require the operator to be seated for long periods – such as workplace chairs within an EPA.

The user can therefore easily reach objects required for their daily tasks, whether they're behind them or to the side. Whilst making these rotational movements, the back will need to be support .

If this is a requirement then look for a chair that has a tapered backrest. This shape of back support allows for sweeping movements whilst also maintaining full back support.

Accessories

This may seem like an obvious one, but your work setting will largely dictate the type of chair that is appropriate for your environment.

Each work setting hosts differing applications, which need to be uniquely catered for to provide optimal ergonomic support.

The main work settings are the following – Production (or industrial) environments, Cleanrooms, Electrostatic Protected Areas (EPAs), Laboratories, and your standard office settings.

As an example of how seating requirements differ from setting to setting – below is a comparison between the requirements for office seating, the requirements for a laboratory setting and that of a production environment.

Adjustable Armrests – Most chairs include the add-on option for armrests. These are more important if the user will be sitting for long periods in the chair. They help to relieve the shoulders by supporting the forearms. You should ensure that the armrests are adjustable so that they can suit the end user, both in height, width outwards from the chair and horizontal angle. This ensures the best support for the muscles in the neck and shoulders.

High Or Low Back – As a basic rule of thumb, the taller the user, the higher the back support needs to be to provide optimal support. This is so that the whole back remains supported.

Lumbar Support – There are varying ways that the lumbar can be supported. Some chairs have a built-in system, such as a lumbar pump. This will inflate support on the lower back so that the natural S curve of the spine is supported – aiding in alleviating back pain. Other chairs have their back support designed specifically to support this. Other chairs include add-ons such as support pillows to aid in this role.

Footrest – Increases the ergonomics and comfort of the operator, specifically in instances where the feet cannot be fully flat on the floor. They act as a step to ensure that the leg is bent at the optimal 90 degree angle.

Casters or Glides - These are essentially the feet that will be at the bottom of the chair (in contact with the floor). Glides are small discs that stop the chair from being easily moved when being sat on. Casters however are small wheels (which sometimes can have locking mechanisms) that allow the chair to be rolled across the floor, even when sat on. 

Summary

Hopefully, this guide has shed some light on some of the parameters that you should always consider when deciding on a chair for the workplace.

Should you wish to discuss any seating requirements in your workplace, feel free to get in touch with our team.