The safety aspect of any product is always at the forefront of our minds when designing and developing a product. The product cannot have the potential to compromise safety of our end user. Examples of this may include finger traps, where the flexibility of a frame may create a pinch point against another component or the product toppling over and causing someone to fall. To ensure this doesn’t happen the product goes through a rigorous safety check by an external professional test centre. They apply force to various areas of the chair to ensure there is no tipping or fatigue to the base which could cause it to fail. They also review the product from head to toe to remove any doubt that the product is unfit for use. 

 

One of other major checks, which coincides with the safety, is the products strength and durability. Often our products are placed in public areas with a high footfall. Imagine an airport lounge with hundreds of people using the product every single day. The main test the product undertakes here would be the durability test, in which the chair’s base is fixed to the floor and a set force is applied to various areas of the chair, moving in natural ways for over hundreds of thousands of cycles. Of course this force is far more than the product would actually experience but this ensures an extremely durable product and reassurance that the product is built to last. 

 

The best feeling in the world is receiving the email from the test centre with a certificate stating your product has passed and you can throw away the drawing board… well at least until the next project.