Modern Office Furniture – Fitting For the New Millennium
In today’s world, work offices are as modern looking as they are technologically advanced. The “new age” office is reflective of our ever changing, rapid paced times. Not only are the computer systems sophisticated, but the furniture has been refined as well. Manufacturers have realized the changing needs of offices and the way that people conduct their business today. To keep up with the current trends, these manufacturers have adapted their modern office furniture to meet these new trends.
In today’s offices, the work is no longer limited to the solitary desk as years past, but it is centered around computer workstations. More conferencing is done throughout the day, so rooms with large spacious tables are necessary. People are also spending more time at the office these days, so office seating must be comfortable and durable.
Furthermore, people today, in general are more aware of their health and are looking for modern office furniture and equipment that is more “body friendly” or ergonomic. As a result, manufacturers are trying to come up with commercial quality office furniture, seating and other items as well, that cannot only withstand prolonged daily use, but is conducive to helping people to do their work more comfortably and safely, while paying attention to body posture and good health. In order to accomplish this, manufacturers of modern office furniture have actually studied the human form and the constant work-related movements of people working in offices over prolonged periods and are designing chairs, tables, and desks accordingly.
Another fact of businesses today is that they are constantly in flux. They may be expanding, moving locations, or simply reconfiguring. With this in mind, modern office furniture must be adaptable. Many manufacturers are designing their furniture and equipment with this in mind and are making their products more modular. This means that pieces of furniture and cabinetry can be intermingled and reconfigured along with any changes that may be made within the office. Furthermore, many companies that specialize in modern office furniture have lines, with add-ons that will expand and grow along with your company.
Since the needs of offices differ depending on the type of business, there are extensive offerings available as far as office furniture. For modern computer furniture, there are large selections of workstations, stands, and carts to cater to any type of businesses from the largest corporation, to the smallest company, to the home office. As for storage, there is sleek space saving cabinetry, as well as bookcases available in any size you could possibly need with the maximum roominess. For the conference rooms or training rooms, there is an extensive selection out there of large conference tables ranging from fine woods to sleek metal and glass. For reception areas, you can find an array of modern looking functional reception desks as well as comfortable stylish couches and chairs for the lobby area.
Whether you are looking to design a private executive suite or a large-scale office area, if you do your research, you can easily find reasonably priced, comfortable, and stylish modern office furniture that will meet all your office requirements.
Ergonomic Suggestions and Restraints For Office Furniture
Whilst each environment and office space will be different, there are certain guidelines from The European Directive on Working with Computers and Safety Legislation which calls for an office working environment to be ergonomically modified to best serve each individual’s specific needs.
Office furniture in the UK is tested and certified to either British or European standards which satisfies the requirement for the furniture to be safe and stable and not expose the user to possible risk of injury.
Workspace
The workspace needs to be the best available space when taking into account the following requirements: The workspace needs to accommodate all equipment and paperwork required for the user to do their specific job properly. The workspace also needs to fit the anatomy of the user and the tasks they need to perform. The workspace needs to do both of these things as well as take into account the other users’ workspaces that may be adjacent or around it in the whole office space. Workspaces can be all shapes and sizes depending on the above factors.
Clearance underneath
With most office desks being around 720mm from the floor to the top of the desk and having a usual desktop thickness of 25mm – this leaves 695mm from the floor to the under side of the desktop. 650mm is usually considered the minimum height to the underside of the desk and can only be achieved using a height adjustable desk at its lowest setting.
Clearance along length
600mm is considered to be the absolute minimum width of legroom beneath a desk. 1000mm would be the ideal minimum to allow some movement space for the users legs.
Work height
Most office desks with have a standard height of around 720mm from the floor to the desktop, this is judged to accommodate around 90% of the population. A height adjustable desk will usually have a range from around 650mm up to 1200mm – this type of desk can be used for wheel chair users or tall users. A height adjustable desk is also beneficial for users with bad backs and users that have a job that benefits a change in working position from sitting to standing on a regular basis. Users that are shorter will benefit from a footrest under a normal height desk to achieve a standard working position.
Working depth
The main criteria for the depth of an office desk, is to ensure that the user is not too close to the computer monitor. Most computer monitors are now the thin TFT or LCD style which can be situated on or mounted to the desk in varying ways. (See the Monitor Height Section Below!) As these types of monitors are in their nature thinner than the old style CRT monitors it gives greater scope for designers to produce desk depths from 600mm which is classed as narrow to 800mm or 900mm in depth.
The basic rule of thumb should be that from the user side of the desk there should be approximately 100mm of clear desk before the keyboard for the user’s wrists to rest on whilst using the keyboard. A keyboard is usually about 150mm in depth leaving 350mm depth to the back of a 600mm deep desk or 550mm on a more standard 800mm deep office desk for the monitor.
Monitor height
Each user will have different requirements for the height of their computer monitor, although it is generally recognized that the top of the monitor should be aligned horizontally with the users vision unless altered for a specific task or adjusted to avoid glare from light.
In order to get the correct adjustability as described above, it is usually necessary for the monitor to be mounted on an articulated monitor arm.
The monitor arm can be mounted to the edge of the office desk or through a cable port via a clamp or bolted directly through the desktop. (Not really recommended as this will damage the desk!) Another style of monitor arm can be mounted to a free-standing or desk mounted screen, although the screens will need to have two toolbars in order for the bracket to attach.
Laptop height
In some countries, legislation limits laptop use to as little as two hours, although there is no such legislation in the UK. It is always a good idea to adjust posture and not stay in the same working position for any length of time” especially when using a laptop. Taking on board the same theories for making a normal TFT monitor work in an ergonomic fashion, if a laptop is placed on a stand and used in conjunction with a separate keyboard and mouse, it enables the laptop user to achieve a better viewing distance and working posture thereby avoiding fatigue in the arms, hands, neck and eyes.
