To ensure suitable working conditions for the protection and safety of end users, it is necessary to produce and market office chairs that comply with ergonomic principles and minimum performance and safety requirements, or with dimensional requirements.
Dimensional requirements
The dimensional requirements of the seats are defined and described in the UNI EN 1335-1: 2020 standard – Office furniture – Office work chair – Part 1: Dimensions – Determination of dimensions, the latest version of which came into force in September 2020, has introduced some important changes.
In effect, the first change introduced by the standard concerns the method of determining the measures for which ISO 24496: 2017, adopted internationally, must be taken as a reference; this standard also takes into account the thrust on the backrest, simulating the weight of a seated person leaning on it.
A fundamental aspect to reconcile the safety and comfort of the end user.
AX: a new type of chair
A further change compared to the previous version of 2000 concerns the introduction of a new type of chair, the AX type.
There are, therefore, four types of seats (AX, A, B and C).
The AX type of chair is able to cover, unlike the other types, a wider segment of the population. It provides greater adjustment possibilities in terms of seat depth and height and maximum distance from the backrest to the front edge of the armrests.
Four Appendices
Within the new version there are four Appendices.
Appendix A which includes an explanation of the importance of the different seat settings. Appendix B provides an example of how to interpret the prospectus of dimensional requirements; the dimensions of the neckrest and headrest are indicated in Appendix C; finally Appendix D contains the measurement uncertainty.
Furthermore, UNI EN 1335-1: 2020, a standard implemented at national level, together with UNI EN 1335-2: 2018, is used as a reference standard for determining compliance with Legislative Decree 81/2008, on the subject of protection of health and safety in the workplace.
