Are you getting the best out of your staff and are you giving them what they need to be productive? There are several areas that need to be considered and looking at the different kinds of space to fill is a good way to start:
Different Kinds of Space – Different disciplines require different workspace, furniture design and office layout options.
The Right Choice of Chair
Choice offers a range of chairs which suit the needs of all office workers, professional services and other industries to make your daily “sitting experience” trouble free.
Choose from a variety of fabrics and finishes:
Bases: wood, plastic, or steel fabric coverings: leather, melamine or cloth styles: modern, designer, traditional or functional Office:
Senior Management
Middle Management
Administration and Secretarial
Reception and Sofas
Medical, Health and Beauty
Professional Services
Stacker Range
Auditorium
For management offices, open plan sales rooms, meeting rooms, call-centres, receptions, training rooms – in fact, your whole office.
Auditorium chairs for all types of auditoriums from cinema style, churches and schools, Choice office chair and seating solutions will delight and surprise you.
Right Chair for the Job
In order to make the right decision when purchasing a chair, you need to consider your own workspace and how long you spend in that space every day.You need to think about:
How long you spend in that chair everyday
What work do you do
What office equipment you use and do you need multiple workstations
How big or small you are and your dimensions
Your personal preferences and style
Since these things vary from person to person, choose a chair that best fits you, based on the frequency of use. If you are a draughtsman then perhaps you need a kneeling chair to protect your back from standing all day but, if you are a hairdresser, you might only need a stool with adjustable height and wheels so you can move around your client at will.Often it is the busy executive who gets the best, most ergonomically designed chair, but who tends to spend less time using it than his personal assistant or a telemarketer who competes in a stressful arena spending six or more hours every day sitting down.
Companies are beginning to realise that these staff, in particular, need a high quality, adjustable chair which is ergonomically designed to help prevent injury and increase comfort, which in turn increases well-being and often their efficiency.
Good posture and maintaining a neutral position is key to being comfortable without straining any part of your body. To achieve this you need to make sure that:
The small of your back is supported by the back of the chair
The arm-rests are at the right height
Your knees can sit comfortably under the desk if you are sitting at one
Your body fits comfortably between the armrests or on the seat when there are no armrests.
Your arms sit at the correct angle on the table so you can maintain a straight wrist posture when using a computer mouse.
Right Space for the Company
Because you are concentrating on your core business, companies often don’t “get” the space they need when deciding to move or refurbish. It is useful to use the services of an experienced space planner to advise you on how much, or little, you actually need, before you get a property company to look for that new office, or, an interior architect to design a new office layout. Often, space planners can show you why you actually don’t need the space you thought necessary, with lots of added benefits, of course:
Lower monthly office rentals.
More money to spend on office furnishings, fittings and finishings.Conversely, if you under-estimate your space requirements, it can not only become a very costly exercise, when you consider rentals are generally done on a five year lease, but you put your business at risk.
The planning stage is probably the most important, so firstly, look at all the disciplines that make up your business, decide how they should be grouped and accommodated and only then call in the space planners to advise you on the best course of action.
Right Space for the Job
Practical office design and interior layout is a serious consideration for any company.
If you have many sales people spending most of their time out on the road, then an open plan office with screens is the best way to go. This type of layout conserves space while at the same time giving sales people the opportunity to share ideas and experiences when they get together.
Working in a call centre is one of the most stressful jobs on the planet. If you work in one you are spending more than six hours a day sitting down, so, first and foremost, you need a chair that is adjustable and ergonomically designed to keep you comfortable all day. Acoustics play a vital role and dampening the sound between work stations is vital.
Meeting rooms need to be functional and comfortable and, if you can, different size meeting rooms can make a difference to the outcome of a meeting, making it more intimate or impersonal, whatever works best for the discussions taking place.
Training rooms must have comfortable chairs and, an added advantage, could be, a writing tray to accommodate delegates taking notes or tables, but these take up a lot of space. Other considerations are having furniture that you can move out, should you need to accommodate more people standing, but, inter lockable when being used, to stop them moving around with a room full of people.
An office reception should be welcoming and unthreatening to visitors, whilst shielding the receptionist and offering a modicum of privacy.
Ergonomics/span>
Finding the right ergonomic chair is a common problem especially for people who want to purchase new equipment to make workstations safer and healthier places. There are many “ergonomic” chairs available but it can be a mistake to purchase one simply because it is labelled “ergonomic”.
Say No to ONE chair fits all
Some features are mandatory for a good chair regardless of how you intend to use it:
Adjustability – Check to see that seat height is adjustable.
Seat height range – Check whether the seat height can be adjusted to the height recommended for the worker(s) who will use it. Other chairs may have to be selected for very short or tall workers.
Backrest – Check to see that the backrest is adjustable both vertically and in the frontward and backward direction.
The right chair for you.
Today, in industrialized countries, many people sit for most of the time that they are awake. They sit while having breakfast, while going to work in cars or buses, in school classrooms, in meetings, in offices, during dinner, and at home while watching television. Many people also sit at work operating machines which new technology has developed to replace manual work.
Solving the Ergonomic Problem
A well-designed chair allows the user to sit in a balanced position. Buying an ergonomic chair is a good beginning but it may not bring the benefits expected. The actual sitting position depends on an individual’s personal habits; he or she has to learn and practice how to sit properly.
What is Ergonomics
Ergonomic chairs are designed to suit a range of people; however, there is no guarantee that they will suit any one person in particular.