Archived News Article
‘Electrically powered office furniture - a guide to the UK Regulations’
The Furniture Industry Research Association have published their latest knowledge entitled ‘Electrically powered office furniture - a guide to the UK Regulations’. The 62 page guide was authored by Bruce Lovell, a Consultant at FIRA International (the service provider to the Research Association).
The guide follows on from a similar expanded publication aimed at the domestic furniture market published in March 2018. Industry feedback following the domestic publication showed an appetite for an office furniture version to help dispel confusion around regulations.
The new guidance is particularly clear in identifying the relationship with powered office furniture products such as sit / stand desking and other electrically powered office furniture falling within the scope of the Directive. The current industry practice is that the Machinery Directive did not apply to such products, probably due to the interpretation of the Directive.
Sections in the comprehensive office furniture guide includes clarity on harmonised standards and European directives, CE Marking Directives, the Machinery Directive (2006/42/EC), the Low Voltage Directive (LVD) (2014/35/EU), Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Directive (2014/30/EU) and the RoHS Directive 2011/65/EU.
The guide then turns to more practical advice including proving conformity for CE marking, identifying applicable Directives and Standards, self-certification, internal checks on the manufacturing process to assess conformity, risk assessment, traceability, through to user instructions and safety information.
Speaking on the publication, Phil Reynolds, Director of the Furniture Industry Research Association said “It’s been good to close 2018 with this final publication. It also demonstrates the breadth of our work, meeting the needs of both the domestic and commercial markets. We appreciate that parts of Directives can be difficult to understand as they can be open to interpretation. As such we play a key role in helping all those from across the furniture sector stay compliant by offering access to knowledge such a this.
“We have a number of further guidance documents and research on a variety of topics planned for the first quarter of 2019, and we look forward to opening the New Year by sharing these.”
The guide is free to all members of the Furniture Industry Research Association and available here.
It is also available for purchase here by non-members from priced at £480 (inc. VAT).
