Chairs are the most used furniture. There are issued several chair testing standards separating them into chairs for domestic use and non domestic use such as visitor chairs.
Chairs shall comply with the safety, strength and durability requirements. During tests we apply loads, forces and velocities that simulate normal functional use, as well as misuse, that might reasonably be expected to occur. The difference between chair testing for domestic use and visitor chairs testing are different applied load during static load tests and the cycles for durability test. These test results may be used to represent the performance of production models provided that the tested model is representative of the production model. The tests are based on use by persons weighing up to 110 kg.
Key areas for assessing chairs and seating:
- Safety - areas such as sharp edges and entrapment points in folding mechanisms
- Stability – making sure a chair won’t topple if you lean back or sideways in it
- Strength – ability to withstand normal use loads, as well as foreseeable misuse, such as standing on a chair
- Durability – assessing the performance of the chair over its lifetime