Furniture Comfort, Safety, Sustainability and Durability Standards

Americans can take the comfort, safety, and durability of their workplace furniture for granted in large part because of the voluntary standards adopted by the business and institutional furniture industry. Chairs that support us securely day after day, casters that roll smoothly year after year, drawers that retain their shape even when jam-packed — these are some of the foundation stones of a safe and civilized workplace. The Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association (BIFMA) sponsors the development and maintenance of the standards behind these quiet achievements.

BIFMA is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). BIFMA’s standards development protocol conforms to ANSI Essential Requirements, and therefore includes:

  • consensus … by … materially affected and interested parties;
  • broad-based public review and comment on draft standards;
  • consideration of and response to comments submitted by members of the relevant consensus body and public;
  • incorporation of approved changes into a draft standard; and
  • right to appeal by any participant that believes that due process principles were not sufficiently respected (“Standards Activities Overview.” American National Standards Institute.

The BIFMA Engineering Committee organizes the development of standards, shepherding the process from the formation of working groups and canvass lists, through the drafting and revision of standards, to the publication and regular review of accepted standards. The standards are intended to provide manufacturers, specifiers, and users with a common basis for evaluating safety, durability, and the structural adequacy of the specified furniture, independent of construction materials. The standards define specific tests, laboratory equipment and test conditions, and minimum acceptance levels to be used in evaluating products.

At Andy Stern’s Office Furniture we sell only furniture that has passed ANSI BIFMA testing standards. We believe our customers have the right to expect the highest quality, durability and safety in the furniture they purchase from us.  So take a look at our catalogs and give us a call.  We can design your new office. We’ve been doing it for over 68 years. Take a look at some of the testing standards below:

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