Testing Standards and What They Mean For Your Chair

Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS) is the world's leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company. Their company benchmarks products and tests for quality and integrity. When it comes to testing chairs, the company tests the following:

Back Strength Tests

Back Durability Tests

Leg Strength Tests

Unit Drop Tests (This determines the static weight rating/capacity)

Stability Tests

These tests require applying a certain amount of weight to these areas and then maintain that weight for a duration.

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) oversees the creation of guidelines and standards in the U.S. marketplace to help assure the safety and health of consumers and the protection of the environment. Their most important function is accreditation and product certification. Basically, they make sure that manufacturers are building their chairs and tables up to their standards. A company can not produce a table for residential use but call it a commercial table without getting in serious trouble.

The Business + Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association (BIFMA) is the voice of the commercial furniture industry. BIFMA sponsors the development of safety and performance standards. They also develop, maintain, and publish safety and performance standards for furniture products, while trying to educate customers on the significance of these standards. (Kind of like what we are doing here.)

Materials Analytical Services, LLC (MAS) provides independent emissions product testing and certification of a wide variety of residential and commercial products through nationally recognized MAS Certified Green™ emissions testing programs. Some of our chairs and tables are MAS Certified Green, meaning these products have been tested to have a low Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emission. Some VOCs are dangerous to human health or cause harm to the environment. Purchase products that are healthier for the environment!