FIRA Welcomes Peers from Across the Furniture Supply Chain

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Recently FIRA opened its doors to the furniture supply chain as part of its programme of 2017 Open Days, welcoming representatives from furniture manufacturers, suppliers and retailers to their UKAS-accredited facilities in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.

Delegates had a busy agenda which included an introduction to the work of the Furniture Industry Research Association, and then FIRA International Ltd – which is the commercial service provider to the Research Association.

Sessions then focused on the testing and certification solutions from FIRA, followed by an insight to the work of the ergonomics department. The Technical Services team then gave an overview of its work which primarily focuses on research, consultancy, due diligence schemes and business improvement.

FIRA’s experts then explained their sustainability offering, detailing the work of the Furniture Industry Sustainability Programme, which FIRA supports. Finally, the FIRA Service Technicians team took to the stage, explaining their work supporting consumers and over 50 retailers through their furniture aftercare services including repairs and working to help solve customer complaints.

Following a networking lunch, tours were offered of the UKAS accredited testing lab and delegates had the chance to see an expert carrying out a furniture repair demonstration.

FIRA’s next Open Day is scheduled for Thursday 18 May. Anyone interested in attending should email Chrissie Winsor (cwinsor@fira.co.uk) or call 01438 777 700. Early booking is advised as the February Open Day was over-subscribed and a waiting list was in place.

FIRA Working to Raise Flammability Awareness

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In order to help manufacturers and suppliers understand their obligations to flammability regulations and standards, FIRA International are hosting a series of flammability courses covering the requirements for upholstered furniture for domestic and contract use.

FIRA’s course aims to provide delegates with a key understanding of the requirements of the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 (as amended), BS 7176 and BS 7177.

The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 (as amended) were designed to ensure that upholstery components and composites used for domestic furniture meet specified ignition resistance levels and are labelled correctly. The Regulations apply throughout the furniture supply chain and cover products including sofas, chairs, upholstered bedsteads, headboards, bean bags, casual seating, cushions, mattresses, toppers and divan bases.

BS 7176 sets out requirements for upholstered products used in the commercial/contract arena, giving guidance on the various hazard levels that may be present.

BS 7177 sets out the requirements for mattresses in both the domestic and commercial/contract sectors.

With this in mind, the FIRA flammability course supports delegates by educating them on:

The different schedules within the Regulations
Requirements for non-domestic seating, mattresses, toppers and divan bases
Product fire regulation (FR) labelling requirements
Understanding test reports
Traceability of materials used in manufacture/product

Taking place at FIRA’s facilities in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, the one-day course (which includes a visit to the flammability lab) will run throughout the year on 16 March, 12 July and 15 November. Members of the Furniture Industry Research Association can attend for £350+VAT, the cost to non-members is £550+VAT. Tailored in-house training can also be arranged for organisations wanting FIRA to educate their workforce by focusing on specific flammability standards and Regulations pertinent to their business.

The course is suitable for manufacturers, importers, furniture suppliers and retailers – including buyers and technologists. Full details are available from Paul Vaughan on pvaughan@fira.co.uk, +44 (0)1438 777 606 or via www.fira.co.uk/training

FIRA recognises products for their ergonomics excellence

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FIRA is delighted to announce that the following products have been awarded FIRA’s prestigious Ergonomics Excellence Award, having met the stringent assessment criteria:

The Go Flex document reading and writing slope from Ergonomic Café

The new transparent Go Flex offers easy and quick angle adjustment across 12 levels from an incredible 8° to 55°. It incorporates a padded document shelf to ensure no pressure is applied to the users wrists, and includes a removable rigid shelf for heavier items.

www.ergonomiccafe.com

The Diffrient Smart Chair from Humanscale

The Diffrient Smart chair is an intelligent mesh task chair engineered to provide automatic lumbar support for every user, as well as simplicity and ease of use, Diffrient Smart offers comfort, style and flexibility. Diffrient Smart was created by designer Niels Diffrien

www.humanscale.com

The IN Chair from Wilkhahn

The IN chair is a mix of ingenious design with first-class materials, appealing finishes and innovative manufacturing processes. The unitary seat and back construction has different levels of elasticity and is made in one piece using cutting- edge 2K technology

www.wilkhahn.com

The FIRA Ergonomics Excellence Award identifies genuine ergonomic design in both domestic and workplace furniture products by clearly distinguishing those that are outstanding from other products in the marketplace.

In order to receive the Award, stringent ergonomic criteria including; safety, user-friendliness, comfort and wellbeing of the user are considered, as well as whether the product is fit for purpose from a strength and durability perspective as well.

Levent Çaglar, FIRA’s Chief Ergonomist said, “I am delighted to present these companies with this award for their ergonomically excellent products.

“The importance and understanding of ergonomics is growing rapidly, with organisations seeing the benefits of using ergonomically designed products in terms of wellbeing and comfort, as well as increasing the efficiency of staff. FIRA’s recognition of genuine ergonomic excellence in the design and manufacture of products will provide distinction from competitors, whilst assisting specifiers in purchasing genuinely ergonomically designed furniture.”

If you have a product which you would like to put forward for the FIRA Ergonomics Excellence Award, please email info@fira.co.uk or telephone 01438 777 700.

Find our more about FIRA’s Ergonomics Excellence Award

​Task Chair Receives FIRA’s Ergonomics Excellence Award

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FIRA_Ergonomics_Excellence_logoAn updated model of a classic task chair, which offers the user a lighter, more dynamic experience, has received a prestigious ergonomic design award.
The Mirra 2 chair, designed by Studio 7.5 and manufactured by Herman Miller, has received the FIRA Ergonomics Excellence Award, in recognition of its exceptional ergonomic design.

The FIRA Ergonomics Excellence Award identifies genuine ergonomic excellence in both domestic and workplace furniture products by clearly distinguishing those that are outstanding from other products in the marketplace.

In order to receive the Award, stringent ergonomic criteria including; safety, user-friendliness, comfort and wellbeing of the user are considered, as well as whether the product is fit for purpose from a strength and durability perspective as well.

Levent Çaglar, FIRA’s Chief Ergonomist said, “I am pleased to present Herman Miller with FIRA Ergonomics Excellence Award for their Mirra 2 chair. A follow up to the original Mirra chair launched 10 years ago, the design has been refined to provide additional comfort. The leaf-spring style of design provides smooth motion and enables the seat to float, suspended above the slim mechanism. The controls are Mirra-2-Chair-Herman-Miller-MI2047intuitive and enable the chair to be adjusted for a wide range of people.”

The benefits of ergonomics for a workforce’s health, morale, turnover, attendance and productivity are becoming increasingly clear.

Levent continued: “The importance and understanding of ergonomics is growing rapidly, with organisations seeing the benefits of using ergonomically designed products in terms of wellbeing and comfort, as well as increasing the efficiency of staff. FIRA’s recognition of genuine ergonomic excellence in the design and manufacture of products will provide distinction from competitors, whilst assisting specifiers in purchasing genuinely ergonomically designed furniture.”

Receiving the award, presented by Lord Hoyle of Warrington at the House of Lords in June, Lillian Antonio from Herman Miller said; “Achieving the FIRA Ergonomics Excellence Award is a recognition of the work that has gone into the design of the Mirra 2. It is acknowledges that our product is at the forefront of office furniture design and an excellent product for our customers.”

If you have a product which you would like to put forward for the FIRA Ergonomics Excellence Award, call 01438 777 700, or email info@fira.co.uk

FIRA Welcomes Upholstery Expert

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FIRA International, the UK’s leading furniture technology centre, is pleased to welcome a new member of staff. Gemma Buffham has joined FIRA’s Testing division as Senior Technician for Flammability and Physical Upholstery testing.
Gemma is a graduate of the University of Manchester, with a First Class BSc (Hons) in Textile Science and Technology. Gemma joins FIRA from West Yorkshire Materials Testing, where she gained experience of upholstery and personal protective equipment testing (PPE).

Gemma-Buffham-2
FIRA’s Testing Operations Manager, Howard James, said; ‘We are really pleased to have Gemma join our team. Her technical knowledge will be great asset to both FIRA and our clients. We wish her every success in her career at FIRA.’

As well as working for FIRA International, Gemma has also taken on the role of representing the Furniture Industry Research Association at a number of British Standards committees developing standards for textiles.

www.fira.co.uk

FIRA Invests in Testing Division

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FIRA International has recently completed two investment projects, totalling £50,000 as part of its ongoing plans to update its test facility in Stevenage.

FIRA New Chair test machine 6

In December FIRA began upgrading its chair testing machines, moving to a state-of-the-art linear motors and control systems. The new systems not only apply a more precise test load, they can also run faster than conventional pneumatic systems. This is part of an ongoing upgrade plan that FIRA embarked on in 2015.

More recently, the equipment used to control the temperature and humidity within its conditioning rooms has been upgraded. These rooms are where samples are prepared for flammability testing and where timber products, whose performance is susceptible to changes in humidity, are tested.

Howard James, FIRA’s Testing Manager, said ‘We are committed to ensuring that we have the most up to date testing systems available. The investment in new control systems for our chair testing equipment means that not only are we testing to the most exacting standards, we can do this faster, getting results to our clients in the shortest possible space of time.’ Howard added ‘Upgrading our conditioning systems was also essential to ensure that we can cope with the larger volumes of testing that we have seen throughout 2015/16. It also demonstrates the commitment of new parent company, Exova, to our clients.’

Furniture and the Circular Economy

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A lot is being talked about the circular economy, a concept that will underpin many future legislative policies. It is clearly explained by the Ellen Macarthur Foundation (www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org), but in broad terms a circular economy is restorative and regenerative by design and aims to keep products, components and materials at their highest utility and value at all times, as opposed to the more traditional economic model of using raw materials, making products and disposing of those products.

Put simply, as illustrated in the following schematic, a circular economy drives waste prevention through resource efficiency.

Fira Circular Economy Diagram

The circular economy rests on three principles:

Preserve and enhance natural capital by, for example, selecting required natural resources wisely and choosing, wherever possible, technologies and processes that use renewable or better-performing resources.

Optimise resource yields, that is to say design for remanufacturing, refurbishing, and recycling to keep components and materials circulating in, and contributing, to the economy.

Foster system effectiveness by designing out “negative external impacts” such as reducing damage to human utility, such as food, mobility, shelter, education, health, and entertainment, and managing externalities, such as land use, air, water and noise pollution, release of toxic substances, and climate change.

The Furniture Industry Research Association is embarking on a programme of work based on the results of an industry survey that was carried out towards the end of 2015. The survey highlighted that almost a third of the 200 respondents were unaware of the circular economy and that only a fifth had a degree of circularity embedded within their businesses. Of greater significance, a high percentage felt that they would benefit from support and leadership if they were to ever fully embrace the concept.

The results of this scoping study were to be published in a short, technical report. However, it was felt that these reports can sometimes prove daunting, and be time consuming to digest.

Consequently, in an attempt to elicit greater engagement the results have been summarised in a ten minute presentation, originally given to FIRA Council members, which is available on YouTube using the following link:

The outcome of the scoping study is that, over the next two years, the Association plans to continue to work on a number of projects that will help to address some of the issues raised. These six projects (added detail appears in the presentation) are defined as follows:

1. Furniture Resource Exchange Project
2. Circular Economy Task Force
3. Hotspot Analysis
4. Circular Economy Benchmark
5. Reuse & remanufacturing standard
6. Product Stewardship Framework and EPR scheme

For further information please email info@fira.co.uk

New Office Furniture Standard Published

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FIRA can announce that an amendment to the standard for assessing the suitability of electrical cabling on office desking systems has been published:

BS6396: 2008 + A1: 2015 Electrical systems in office furniture and educational furniture

Has been published and supersedes the 2008 version. The key changes are:

• The addition of a requirement for furniture to have an RCD device fitted if the building supply does not.
• A refinement of the requirements to prevent sockets from liquid spills

For more information, or to have your products assessed, contact FIRA on 01438 777 700 or email info@fira.co.uk

FIRA and BCFA to Host Office Furniture Technical Forum

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A technical forum for manufacturers of office furniture, jointly hosted by the Furniture Industry Research Association and the British Contract Furniture Association (BCFA), is set to be held on Tuesday 17th November 2015 at FIRA’s headquarters in Stevenage.

The main focus of the forum will be to discuss the new EU draft proposal for a revision of the European Green Public Procurement criteria for furniture (GPP). The GPP is intended to form the basis of sustainable central government procurement criteria for furniture, across the EU. The UK Government’s Buying Standard for furniture was heavily based on the previous GPP criteria.

Modern office interiorThe new proposal covers not only the purchase of new furniture, but also the refurbishing of furniture. This event is intended to explain the proposed GPP criteria and allow industry to pull together a unified response to the proposals. The deadline for comments is the 4th December.

Copies of the proposals are available to download here: http://susproc.jrc.ec.europa.eu/furniture/documents.html

Phil Reynolds, Chief Operating Officer for FIRA, said: “As a furniture supplier it is essential that you are aware of the criteria, and indeed respond to the current consultation. We are pleased to be working with the BCFA to jointly host this technical forum which aims to enable the industry’s views to be heard and included in the response. Anyone unable to attend will still be able to provide feedback, but I strongly recommend sending a representative to take an active role in the discussion on the day and have the opportunity to ask questions.”

Established 65 years ago, the Furniture Industry Research Association was set by the industry for the industry. It provides invaluable technical support to the entire furniture supply chain and funds projects for the benefit of the industry.

The BCFA is the British business association for the contract furnishing industry, covering the full spectrum of interior products and services in the UK and globally.

If you are an office furniture manufacturer and would like to attend the technical forum, please call 01438 777 700 or email info@fira.co.uk

For more information about the Furniture Industry Research Association, please visit www.fira.co.uk. To find out more about the BCFA, please visit www.thebcfa.com