If you write specifications and tender documents for office furniture, then you know it isn’t as simple as choosing furniture for your home.
There are many things to take into consideration for an office, reception or meeting room, such as ergonomics, sustainability criteria, frequency of use, average length of time in use and the people using it. All of these relate to furniture standards and there are many to choose from!
A furniture industry body that specialises in understanding furniture standards is holding a seminar aimed at specifiers of office furniture.
Run by the Furniture Industry Research Association, the event, ‘Specifying Office Furniture – everything you need to know’, aims to inform delegates by providing industry specific information to help simplify the specification and tender writing process. It will take place on Wednesday 4th June at the Association’s Hertfordshire headquarters.
The event will also look at industry hot topics, such as the affect new technology is having on the ergonomics of the workplace and the growing need to meet targets for procuring sustainably manufactured furniture. It will look at the support available for writing specifications and tender documents and there will also be a demonstration of how ergonomics experts can measure how well a task chair supports your back. The event will finish off with a workshop and an opportunity to talk to the experts to discuss your specific issues.
This event is for anyone who develops specifications and tender documents to procure office furniture, from procurement professionals and interior designers to someone writing their first and only specification.
Research and Consultancy Manager for FIRA International, Dr Asli Tamer Vestlund, explains why she is holding the event: “Our research has shown that there is frustration within the industry on both sides. Specifications and tender documents can be complex to write, with a requirement to include the correct British, European and International furniture standards. With regular changes to Standards and little room for error, suppliers find that the knock-on effect of an incorrect specification can be expensive and time consuming for everyone involved. If not picked up, it can also mean that the furniture provided is not suitable and can even end in legal disputes over who is to blame.
“Our aim is that delegates will leave with the knowledge of how to create the perfect furniture specification to ensure that all products specified are suitable for their intended use and fit for purpose.”
Established sixty years ago, the Furniture Industry Research Association is a unique, not-for-profit membership-based organisation, run by the furniture industry for the furniture industry. Membership projects, such as this one, are funded by members of the Association where a need is identified and a solution is found to benefit the industry as a whole.
