Like the prestigious blue tick on social media, office furniture also has it's very own verification badge popularly known as the AFRDI tick.
The average person will spend 90,000 hours at work over a lifetime. Considering this whopping number, certain factors are crucial when selecting office furniture.
How resistant is this furniture to wear and tear ? Will the upholstery fabric fade quickly ? Will it stain easily ? How much load and impact can this desk or chair withstand ?
AFRDI helps us answer these questions by rating office furniture on a scale of 1 to 6, with 6 being the most suitable for heavy duty commercial use.
Let's have a look at the AFRDI Scale in detail below :
- Level 3 – Suitable for domestic use
- Level 4 – Suitable for light commercial use (offices, hospitality, etc)
- Level 5 – Suitable for medium commercial and heavy-duty office use (industrial spaces)
- Level 6 – Heavy commercial use conditions (warehousing, construction, etc)
What Does an AFRDI Assessment Involve?
Swivel Chairs
The chair is first inspected for functionality, adjustability and safety. The relevant standards test the major components of the chair, such as castors, gas springs, mechanisms, bases, fabrics, and filling materials. These include ranges and adjustability required for ergonomic reasons, as well as dimensions that relate to stability.
The testers examine the chair’s ability to endure sporadic, static loads and evaluate its response to long-term use. The testers apply forces to the seat and back of chairs in load cycles of 50,000 repetitions. Chairs with Level 4 rating can endure 50,000 fatigue cycles, while those with Level 5 rating can withstand 100,000 cycles, and chairs rated Level 6 can sustain above 200,000 fatigue cycles
AFRDI also conducts impact tests to assess a chair’s ability to withstand unexpected forces. They strike different points of the chair with a 6.5kg hammer to measure its impact resistance. The final impact test involves dropping the chair from a height such that it lands on a single leg.
Stability tests measure the likelihood of someone tipping the chair over in standard lean and recline tests. Rolling stability tests include performing the same tests while the chair is in rolling motion. After completing the test program, AFRDI testers inspect the chair once more to determine if the testing has caused any breakages or deformities and to verify that the chair is still safe and functional.
Tables & Desks
Although other regulatory boards may establish more challenging or less stringent tests, we consider the Australian Standard to provide sufficient assurance that the products will deliver good service beyond a ‘reasonable’ lifespan.
To obtain AFRDI certification, we evaluate tables and desks based on the following criteria:
- General safety
- Strength and durability
- Stability
- Dimensional compliance.
Which OFC Products are AFRDI Rated?
The Urban Mesh Chair and Balance Executive Chair has an AFRDI rating of 6, meaning they are appropriate for heavy commercial use.
The Unica Chairs Range provides a wide range of visitor, meeting and boardroom chairs along with office stools all with an AFRDI rating 6
Two of our tables are also AFRDI certified, with the Agile+ range and the Modulus Flip Table both certified as AFRDI level 3.
The Ascend Flip Table is perfect for educational facilities rated at AFRDI Level 3
A Track Record of High-Quality Products is the Most Important Thing
While an AFRDI rating and a blue tick can definitely help from a marketing and trust perspective, more importance needs to be placed on how a product has performed over time.
Majority of OFC products come with an industry-leading 10-year warranty coupled with an impeccable return and repair policy.
We’re Here to Help
Are you looking for premium quality office furniture? Feel free to give us a call at 1300 997 747 so we can discuss some options.