18 May 11 Colebrook Bosson Saunders Win Important Accolade for Flo with FIRA Ergonomics Excellence Award
Colebrook Bosson Saunders’ latest monitor arm Flo has picked up another significant commendation.
Flo is the most recent product to receive the prestigious FIRA Ergonomics Excellence Award, in recognition of its exceptional ergonomic design. The FIRA Ergonomics Excellence Award identifies genuine ergonomic excellence in both domestic and workplace furniture products by clearly distinguishing those that are outstanding from other products in the marketplace. In order to receive the Award, safety, user-friendliness and the comfort and wellbeing of the user are considered, as well as whether the product is fit for purpose both structurally and ergonomically.
Flo is a self-powered dynamic monitor arm that allows a flat screen to be used in either an upright viewing position, at desktop level as a touch screen, or anywhere in between. Flo stands out from its competitors because it addresses three major needs of end-users and specifiers: free flowing action with smooth adjustability; a unique visual indicator weight gauge (that helps to dramatically reduce installation time and ensure perfect balance); compatibility with touch-screen technology and in addition, as one would expect from a Colebrook Bosson Saunders’ product, purity of design.
According to FIRA “The Flo Monitor arm has received the Ergonomic Excellence award due to its unique design which exceeds FIRA’s stringent testing criteria.” Levent Caglar, FIRA’s ergonomics expert said, “The excellent manoeuvrability and stability make Flo a truly ergonomic monitor arm. Ingenious design enables it to double up as an effective touch-screen support. Through the use of a spring it achieves a minimalist simple form which is pleasing to the eye and also environmentally responsible.
The FIRA Ergonomics Excellence Award aims to raise awareness of the benefits of ergonomic design to those selecting the products. The Award also provides assurance to customers investing in ergonomically designed workplace furniture and workstations that products are of the highest ergonomic standard.
The benefits of ergonomics for workforce health, wellbeing, morale, turnover, attendance and productivity are becoming increasingly clear.”
Levent continued, “The importance and understanding of ergonomics is growing rapidly, with many educational authorities and establishments seeing the benefits of using ergonomically designed products in terms of health and safety as well as behaviour and ability to learn. FIRA’s recognition of genuine ergonomic excellence in the design and manufacture of products will provide distinction from competitors, whilst assisting specifiers in purchasing genuinely ergonomically designed furniture.”
Responding to news of the FIRA accolade, Martyn Colebrook from Colebrook Bosson Saunders said, “We are delighted that the Flo Monitor arm has received the FIRA Ergonomics Excellence Award. This means that people who buy our product are assured that the Flo Monitor arm has been designed with their safety, comfort and ease of use in mind, as well as being aesthetically pleasing and fit for purpose.”
Colebrook Bosson Saunders are renowned for their ergonomic work tools and offer an RIBA accredited seminar on workplace ergonomics. Get in contact or see the website for more details.
About Colebrook Bosson Saunders:
Colebrook Bosson Saunders (CBS) believe passionately in design. CBS design and manufacture innovative and elegant solutions that create space and comfort for people in a wide range of workplaces, including trading floors; offices; hospitals; schools and universities; and passenger terminals.
Through extensive expertise in ergonomics CBS create adjustable work space solutions that promote healthy and productive working environments. These workplace solutions help overcome some of the most common workplace issues related with technology use – musculoskeletal disorders, workstation organisation and technology support.
CBS have a truly global presence with offices in Europe, UAE, USA, Asia and Australia.
About FIRA International:
Established sixty years ago, FIRA (Furniture Industry Research Association) with its unparalleled industry knowledge, raises performance throughout the furniture supply chain by offering research, information, testing, consultancy, customer service and after sales service to the furniture and DIY markets.
About the FIRA Ergonomics Excellence Award:
The FIRA Ergonomics Excellence Award identifies genuine ergonomic excellence in both domestic and workplace furniture products, and clearly distinguishes those that are outstanding from other products in the marketplace which do not meet FIRA’s stringent criteria. Safety, user-friendliness and the comfort and wellbeing of the user are considered, as well as whether the product is fit for purpose both structurally and ergonomically.
Tags: Colebrook Bosson Saunders, ergonomic design, Flo, monitor arm, workplace ergonomics
30 Sep 10 Ergonomic Office Furniture: Investment or Luxury?
Although not often stated so candidly, the design of the modern workplace has one overriding driver: the improved efficiency of those who work within it. This isn’t quite as mercenary as it first sounds, we now understand that for workers to be more “efficient” they must firstly be as happy and healthy as they can in their work. Proponents of workplace ergonomics, as well as management theory, understand this proposition well.
The principle behind an ergonomic workstation is that it should be designed with flexibility and adaptability at its core. No one size fits all and so every element of the office furniture provided needs to be able to adapt to suit each user, regardless of shape, size or usage. Ergonomic guidelines suggest that chairs should always be height adjustable and, if possible, desks adjustable too. All equipment should encourage or enable frequent changes of seating position and posture, even if these changes seem small they are beneficial. The top of a computer screen should be at the user’s eye level and about an outstretched arm’s length away.
A multi-billion pound industry has grown up over the last fifty or so years to design and supply ergonomic office furniture. ORGATEC – an exhibition showcasing the latest and best in the modern office – is a bi-annual trade show that attracts over 650 exhibitors from 39 countries and 60,000 visitors from 114 countries. Exhibitors are largely made up of office furniture suppliers but also include lighting, flooring, acoustics, A.V. and technology suppliers. ORGATEC’s target visitor is anyone who purchases or specifies furniture for the office, including architects, interior designers and facilities managers. Outside of these defined professions visitor groups are as endless as the companies and roles that exist within them, from executive management to administrators; from banks through to theatres.
Acknowledging the significance of workplace ergonomics, this year, the organisers of ORGATEC have announced: “Health and well-being boost productivity and creativity – ORGATEC 2010 will focus on ergonomics.¹” Continuing in their press statement to say “According to the results of a long-term study carried out by the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering (IAO), it is possible to boost productivity in the office by up to 36 percent. An important prerequisite for achieving this is the use of office furniture that has been ergonomically designed.”
And so, while intelligently designed ergonomic furniture might at first seem remote from the harsh reality of a tough economic climate, it is worth remembering that an ergonomic workstation can, by improving the wellbeing of staff, improve their performance and efficiency too. In this way, ergonomic office furniture could be perceived as an investment in an organisation’s workforce instead of an unnecessary cost. Remember this, work-related MSDs cost UK employers approximately £600 million and cost the UK economy as a whole £5.7 billion². With these types of figures involved, prevention has to be better than cure.
References
¹ http://www.orgatec.com/press/press_information.php
² Health and Safety Commission, Health and safety statistics 2005/06, http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/overall/hssh0506.pdf
Good workplace ergonomics are vital to ensure that your employees are comfortable and productive. With two decade’s worth of experience in design and ergonomics Colebrook Bosson Saunders can help you provide every employee with an ergonomic workstation.
Tags: Colebrook Bosson Saunders, ergonomic workstation, workplace ergonomics
03 Aug 10 Climb the Beanstalk at “Saturday in Design” to find Products of the Future
Colebrook Bosson Saunders is again to participate in the leading Australian annual trade event for the design community. The Chapter House in Flinders Lane, Melbourne, (a collaborative space shared by seven designer product companies) will be transformed into the fairytale world of Jack and the Beanstalk. Visitors will be confronted with the larger than life beanstalk, green foliage and creative characters from the story. On Saturday all the characters (including Jack) will come out to play. Follow the beanstalk down Flinders Lane until you reach the Chapter House where designer products will be unravelled as visitors climb up the beanstalk of the Chapter House, until finally arriving in the giant’s world!
Colebrook Bosson Saunders will be showcasing their video-conferencing solution: AVALL Double, to include live hook-ups with both the UK and US offices as well as a number of sites around Australia. Other products on show will be award winning flat screen monitor arms – Wishbone, Zorro and Rodney – as well as laptop stands and CPU holders. Seen for the first time in Australia will be “Flo”; it’s a future-proofed dynamic monitor arm set to take the design world by storm. Flo works to transform a flat screen into an ergonomically correct piece of kit in the viewing position, but – uniquely – it can also be adjusted to support touch-screens, the next generation, in each user’s favoured position.
Saturday in Design began in Sydney in 2003 and now alternates each year between Sydney and Melbourne. On the 6th (for private previews) and 7th of August (open house) Australia’s premier designer furniture, finishes, fixtures and lighting showrooms will be opening their doors to allow architects, designers, students and design-savvy members of the public to enjoy the products they specify in a showroom environment. Colebrook Bosson Saunders have been involved in the event since its inception; always finding exciting and innovative ways to introduce their new products to an increasingly design conscience audience.
About Colebrook Bosson Saunders:
Colebrook Bosson Saunders (CBS) believe passionately in design. CBS design and manufacture innovative and elegant solutions that create space and comfort for people in a wide range of workplaces, including trading floors; offices; hospitals; schools and universities; and passenger terminals.
Through extensive expertise in workplace ergonomics CBS create adjustable work space solutions that promote healthy and productive working environments. These workplace solutions help overcome some of the most common workplace issues related with technology use – musculoskeletal disorders, workstation organisation and technology support.
CBS have a truly global presence with offices in Europe, UAE, USA, Asia and Australia.
www.colebrookbossonsaunders.com
Enquiries:
For further press information please contact Lucie Parkin by email press@cbsproducts.co.uk or telephone +44208 693 9884 / +447980 649 308
For all other enquiries contact Colebrook Bosson Saunders, Australia by email info@cbsproducts.com.au or telephone +61 3 9690 6944
Tags: Chapter House, Colebrook Bosson Saunders, monitor arms, support touch-screens, workplace ergonomics
26 Jul 10 Colebrook Bosson Saunders’ Products Shine at the British Embassy in Paris
In a unique event at the British Embassy, on the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris, Colebrook Bosson Saunders showcased their products on June 3rd 2010. Utilising the splendid Embassy terrace in front of the Ambassador’s garden, Colebrook Bosson Saunders exhibited their latest ergonomic workstation products and IT accessories for invited guests.
Colebrook Bosson Saunders has been doing business from their Paris base for five years now; winning some major projects for flat screen arms, CPU holders and other ergonomic accessories during this period, with clients including BNP, PARIBAS and AXA.
Martyn Colebrook, Colebrook Bosson Saunders’ MD, explains “We took the opportunity to exhibit our products and entertain our guests in this magnificent building to say thank you to many of our existing clients and also to introduce ourselves to some new ones. It proved to be the perfect setting for a very successful day.”
Germinal Sene, who heads up Colebrook Bosson Saunders’ Paris office, commented: “It felt like the first real day of the summer in Paris as the sun was shining and the temperature hit around thirty degrees. Our guests enjoyed a delicious buffet with red wine and champagne and a guitarist strummed the blues to complete the relaxed atmosphere.”
The British Embassy in Paris was built in 1713, but was remodelled in 1855 in keeping with the taste and style of the time. The ground and first floors were gilded and decorated by some of the most famous artists of the day. From 1990–94 the building was extensively renovated and modernised. The new garden was officially inaugurated by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in June 1992.
“We loved the apparent juxtaposition of this traditional and elegant venue, steeped in tradition, with our contemporary products whose biggest drivers are ever evolving technology and up-to-the-minute working practises,” summarised Martyn Colebrook.
ENDS
Enquiries:
For further press information please contact Lucie Parkin by email press@cbsproducts.co.uk or telephone 0208 693 9884 / 07980 649 308
For all other enquiries contact Colebrook Bosson Saunders sales@cbsproducts.co.uk or telephone 020 7940 4266
About Colebrook Bosson Saunders:
Colebrook Bosson Saunders (CBS Products) design and manufacture innovative and elegant workplace ergonomics solutions that create space and comfort for people in a wide range of application areas. As technology develops at an ever increasing rate, so too do the opportunities to create stylish products to make that technology more meaningful to people’s lives.
CBS’s award winning products bridge the gap between furniture and technology, giving people the space and freedom to live and work in an environment designed around them. Through extensive expertise in ergonomics CBS create adjustable work spaces that promote a healthy and productive working environment.
CBS has a truly global presence; with offices in Europe, the USA, Australia and Japan, supporting a world-wide network of manufacturers, dealers and distributors.
www.colebrookbossonsaunders.com
Tags: Colebrook Bosson Saunders, ergonomic workstation, flat screen arm, workplace ergonomics
23 Jun 10 Colebrook Bosson Saunders Takes its Commitment to Quality to the Next Level
Leading office accessories designer and manufacturer, Colebrook Bosson Saunders, has successfully gained ISO 9001:2008 accreditation. This internationally recognised and independent standard demonstrates the company’s strict adherence to quality control measures right across the business.
Managing Director Martyn Colebrook commented, “We are very proud and excited to have achieved recognition for our commitment to quality ergonomic design. In working towards this award we have analysed every aspect of our operations and processes, and then put in place any improvements needed. We are especially delighted to have been awarded this accolade on our first attempt.”
One of the immediate outcomes for Colebrook Bosson Saunders was to implement a dedicated product development process, successfully combining three functions: product management, design and production engineering into one seamless process. In real terms this translates into a more cost effective and efficient process enabling the company to bring ergonomic products to market at lower cost and in less time.
ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) 9001: 2008 is the latest version of the world’s most widely used standard for quality management systems. Formalised quality assurance originally came from the Defence Industry’s need for standards. Today ISO 9001 certification enables an organisation to qualify for a tender or to achieve preferred supplier status. One of the key reasons a company seeks ISO 9001 is to increase competitiveness and to secure new orders by demonstrating its capability and fitness for purpose.
However, there are many more benefits as MD Martyn Colebrook goes on to explain, “Accreditation is a vigorous process and we know that this official stamp of approval shows our customers that we take a professional approach to quality management right across our organisation. The ISO 9001: 2008 certification is one of the ways in which Colebrook Bosson Saunders will gain even stronger competitive advantage. It has also helped us to introduce improvements in internal working and to improve morale and motivation within our company.”
There was an official presentation on April 16th 2010 where the BSI’s Marcus Long presented Colebrook Bosson Saunders with their certificate. Marcus stressed the team effort that was involved in gaining ISO 9001 certification and commended all at Colebrook Bosson Saunders on their achievement.
Enquiries:
For further press information please contact Lucie Parkin by email press@cbsproducts.co.uk or telephone 0208 693 9884 / 07980 649 308
For all other enquiries contact Colebrook Bosson Saunders sales@cbsproducts.co.uk or telephone 020 7940 4266
About Colebrook Bosson Saunders:
Colebrook Bosson Saunders (CBS Products) design and manufacture innovative and elegant solutions that create space and comfort for people in a wide range of application areas. As technology develops at an ever increasing rate, so too do the opportunities to create stylish products to make that technology more meaningful to people’s lives.
CBS’s award winning products bridge the gap between furniture and technology, giving people the space and freedom to live and work in an environment designed around them. Through extensive expertise in workplace ergonomics CBS create adjustable work spaces that promote a healthy and productive working environment.
CBS has a truly global presence; with offices in Europe, the USA, Australia and Japan, supporting a world-wide network of manufacturers, dealers and distributors.
www.colebrookbossonsaunders.com
Tags: Colebrook Bosson Saunders, ergonomic design, ergonomic products, workplace ergonomics
15 Jun 10 The Changing Shape of the Trader’s Desk
The way that commodities, stocks and shares are traded has changed beyond all recognition from the 1960’s to today’s practices. Roles are, of course, much more compartmentalised and specialised so it is hard to compare like with like. The word “trader” still brings to mind images of men shouting at each other across the trading “pit”, although now we are much more likely to see traders sitting at a desk, viewing multiple screens, quietly evaluating facts, trying to understand the mathematical algorithms that drive falls and rises in prices. Speed is of the essence; if a trader can receive, absorb and interpret information faster then he or she can gain a significant competitive advantage. To support this constant hunger for an edge over the competition new technologies tend to be seen in trading environments first and then trickle down into other office environments.
A trader’s desk in the 1960’s was characterised by a plethora of telephones. Traders would juggle lots of phones; maintaining many conversations at once to receive information and pass on requests to buy and sell. Calculations were carried out during these phone conversations on what we would now consider to be fairly basic electric calculators.
Advances in the 1970’s saw the introduction of a new piece of equipment the “private branch exchange” – a phone exchange that serves a particular business – negating the need for multiple phones. Also key was the introduction of new display systems providing financial data from providers such as Reuters or Bloomberg. The trader’s desk was becoming increasingly cluttered now as multiple video monitors emerge; workplace ergonomics seemingly went out of the window . . .
The major development for traders in the 1980’s was the introduction of spreadsheets as a decision support tool. Then in the late 80’s the biggest development yet started to emerge: the digital revolution. Digital display systems enabled data to be distributed direct to traders’ desktops through a local network. In addition TV’s become commonplace within trading rooms so that traders could keep an eye on events as they happened and react accordingly. The result: desks swamped with bulky technology.
The provision and cost of information starts to become more accessible with the development of the internet. By the early 1990’s electronic trading becomes the norm, replacing deals done over the telephone.
The invention of the flat screen display (as opposed to cumbersome CRT monitors) impacted upon trading floors perhaps more than another environment for the simple fact that traders use more screens than pretty much any other worker. It is not uncommon to see a trader working with six or eight screens in a multiple monitor set-up. Not far behind this development the need to provide a supporting desktop architecture was identified. The computer monitor stands provided by the screen manufacturers provided little flexibility and were ditched in favour of multi screen support systems which enabled screens to be double and triple height, stacked above each other and running horizontally across to form a wall of data and information.
It seems that traders’ desks have gone through many dramatic physical incarnations over the last fifty years. Financial institutions are early adopters of new technology and use more diverse types of information communication technology than perhaps any other office based organisation. For a long time workplace ergonomics were neglected, but with the advent of specially designed desktop tools and multi screen support the health and well being of the user is now a primary consideration.
The workspace of a trader has been much improved with the introduction of multi screen support. If you feel your workplace ergonomics need to be improved, get in contact with Colebrook Bosson Saunders.
Tags: Colebrook Bosson Saunders, multi screen support, workplace ergonomics
04 Nov 09 How do you name a product that’s perpetually evolving?
There is a danger, within any sector or industry, that it becomes all too easy to develop a language full of abbreviations and acronyms that cease to make sense to those from outside of that group. The language used (taken for granted by those “in the know”) can exclude and confuse others. And in some cases a term can become dated and cease to make sense to those outside the “industry club”.
“CPU Holder” is the name that Colebrook Bosson Saunders coined and stuck with to describe their range of products that suspend a computer underneath the desk or raised off the floor. Is this misleading? After all, the CPU (Central Processing Unit) is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer programme. The term has been used in the computer industry at least since the early 1960s, but is it commonly understood today? The CPU might be the primary component housed within the computer tower or case but it is not wholly accurate to use the terms “CPU” and “computer tower” interchangeably. Indeed from 2004 Apple’s iMac computers did away with a tower all together: housing the CPU within the screen itself. Such advances render the term nonsensical.
Perhaps a more accurate description would be “Computer Cradle” which seems to immediately infer the function of the product: “to cradle” the computer under a desk in a safe and protective way. Although, making it less clear which part of the computer is being cradled? “Computer Holder” is even more ambiguous, and can bring to mind a variety of products from Laptop Stands to a Wall Mounted PC. “PC Under Desk Mount” seems a more precise description until we consider that the term PC (Personal Computer), in many minds, excludes any Apple Mac computers: for years the concept of the PC versus the Mac has been engrained in our minds. Where a Mac computer has a “tower” a computer cradle can be used; the inclusion of the “PC” preface infers it cannot.
“Computer Tower Holder” makes sense to me (having grown up with the early computers of the 80’s and 90’s), but would a younger generation have much idea of what is meant by this out-dated description? Technology has rapidly progressed and become increasingly miniaturised until the “computer tower” looks less like a tower and more like a neat case which can morph into a wide array of forms.
It is important to remember that these products (computer storage systems) are still in their infancy so the words we use to describe them are ever-changing and evolving regularly. Add to that the fact that the products that they support (computers) are continually developing too and the task of creating a name that will be understood by all and future-proofed becomes a pretty challenging one.
Tags: workplace ergonomics
14 Oct 09 How will the current economic climate influence ergonomic policy?
On his election trail Barack Obama pledged to improve ergonomic regulations, “we’re going to have a government that makes sure workers aren’t put at unnecessary risk” he is reported to have said. Nearly one year on from his election to the presidency of the United States little or no advances are apparent. Small wonder given the circumstances and issues that Obama was confronted with upon taking up office: from war in Iraq and Afghanistan to stem cell research, healthcare reform, not to mention a deepening global recession.
This raises the question: to what extent is workplace ergonomics forced down the agenda of employees, employers, politicians and opinion makers in tough times like these? The recession facing the world now is said to be the worst financial crisis since the “Great Depression” of the 1930’s. During 2009 we have seen businesses in all sectors fail, banks collapse (or be rescued by Governments) and a mammoth drop in economic activity worldwide.
In challenging economic conditions it is perhaps less likely that private companies will be prepared to invest in ergonomic assessments and ergonomic furniture. When considering their bottom line and where savings can be made firms might consider ergonomics to be of little significance to their overall profitability and financial health.
An alternative (and more optimistic) view is that companies, motivated by the fear of litigation, will up their game when it comes to putting correct ergonomic guidelines in place. Furthermore, the understanding, amongst some more enlightened employers, that their insurance premiums can be reduced by investing in solid ergonomic policy could motivate them to focus upon the welfare of their employees for different reasons.
Sadly the evidence available seems to suggest that the former, more pessimistic view is the most prevalent with spending on equipment like ergonomic chairs, desks and accessories suffering, along with spending on pretty much everything else right now.
As the recession bites and jobs are lost many employees are being asked to (or feel obliged to) work even longer hours than usual, increasing the need for the right ergonomic tools to be provided. In times of recession stress will inevitably be on the increase: another compounding factor that can lead to more workplace injuries if this is not recognised and counteracted. During recession an employee is surely less likely to raise his or her hand and ask for ergonomic equipment, even if he or she knows this will improve performance, for fear of rocking the boat.
It has never been more critical to have a motivated, fit and healthy workforce which is why employers should consider the long term effect of any cuts they might feel they can make to perceived “non-essential” tools for their workforce. In their report “Estimating the effectiveness of ergonomic interventions through case studies: implications for predictive cost-benefit analysis”, Goggins, Spielholz and Nothstein concluded that “successful ergonomic programmes can lead to 20% increases in productivity.” It’s a precious 20% increase that most companies have never needed more.
