In most laboratory settings, any changes are going to need to last for the long-term. Whether you are creating a brand-new lab or making changes to an existing one, lab furniture is key. You need furniture that will work for many years to come, so certain features or aspects need to be considered thoroughly before a purchase is made. Check out the six factors we list below to get started with a successful laboratory furniture search.
Quality
Lab furniture manufacturers use materials that are meant to last for several years, such as metal or wood. You should expect a piece to last for 15 years or more, so purchasing quality furniture is imperative. How do you know that the furniture you are considering is of the highest quality? Look for manufacturing standards on the furniture. When you see the Underwriters Laboratory, Scientific Equipment and Furniture Association and/or the American National Standards Institute/Business and Institutional Furniture Manufactures Associations seals, you known the piece is constructed with quality materials.
Timing
It is important to note the timing in which furniture can be delivered. If you are customizing a furniture order, you need to ensure it can be produced and shipped in a timely manner. It is not uncommon for a customer to order a piece of furniture and forget to ask about shipping time. This can take days or even weeks to complete. If you are adding lab cabinets in Arizona and ordering from across the country, be sure to fully understand delivery times, particularly if you are on a tight deadline!
Flexibility
For a lab to be successful, there must be flexibility in the space. With mobile furnishings, you can move about with ease. Consider how you can add mobile aspects to your furniture selections. Mobile pedestals and casegoods are a perfect option to add to your lab as it allows for employees to easily move from one workstation to another. Also consider how accessories can come into play. Shelving, cabinetry, keyboard trays and other accessories are elements that can easily be added later on to create a more flexible space.
Customization
When working with a quality lab furniture manufacturer, you have the ability to customize your order to your liking. This could include custom sizing for furniture, custom paint colors or unique features in the design of the piece.
Because every lab is different, customization provides an element that individuals can easily use to their adventure. When creating laboratory furniture in Tucson, for example, you might need something different than a laboratory on the east coast. Having the ability to customize your furnishings will ensure that your lab will operate as you need it to without any issues. You have a say so in the design which is beneficial to the work completed in your lab.
Tech Components
Lastly, it is important to consider tech components in the lab. Consult with a manufacturer of furnishings on how to meet your utility needs in the lab. This can include hiding cords and wires as well as conduit within the lab space. You want each work area to be neat and clean, with no exposed wiring or other issues.
Contact us today to learn more about quality components of lab furniture to create the perfect space for your work needs.
Research has found a connection with sitting for extended periods of time and numerous health conditions, such as obesity and metabolic syndrome which is defined as a cluster of conditions occurring together that increase your risk of stroke, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. Included in these conditions are increased blood sugar, increased blood pressure, abnormal triglyceride or cholesterol levels, and extra body fat around the midriff area. Sitting for long periods of time also can result in chronic back pain and increase the risk of death from cancer and cardiovascular disease.
A possible answer to this growing concern hydraulic adjustable laboratory workstations and benches. A lab workstation must be designed for a demanding environment while maintaining efficiency and productivity.
Sitting All Day Can Be Harmful
Any extended sitting, such as behind the wheel of your car or behind a desk at work can be harmful. Furthermore, engaging on moderate or vigorous activity or spending many hours at the gym does not significantly balance the risk according to Dr. James Levine, the obesity expert.
Your overall health begins to decline when you sit all day, this is even true when sitting in a healthy ergonomic posture. While standing, the pressure is low on the intervertebral discs in your lower back, significantly lower than when you sit unsupported. However, you use 20 percent more energy than when you sit, making your body tire more quickly.
As stated by WebMD, these are just some of the ways sitting too much is harmful to your health:
- It hurts your heart
- It can shorten your life
- Dementia is more likely
- You will undo all that exercise
- Risk of diabetes increases
- You could get deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
- You will gain weight
- Your anxiety may increase
- It destroys your back
- It results in varicose veins
- Increase risk for osteoporosis
- Increase the risk for cancer
Height Adjustable Workstation
To ensure you can work and stand comfortably, a height adjustable laboratory workstation is constructed to hold your tools, monitor, keyboard, laptop, and other work supplies at an angle and height specified. These lab workstations provide the workers with a great amount of flexibility. They are able to manage their work environment more efficiently while at the same time reducing the risks caused by too much sitting.
Workers are able to move from a sitting position to standing by easily adjusting the height with either a motorized or hand crank system. Moreover, management can easily adapt a bench or lab workstation to accommodate a variety of individuals, those with different heights and ages, rather than attempting to adopt an entire workforce to fixed desk configurations.
With this type of adaptability available to the worker, they can be in the optimal neutral posture, meaning where the body is at its most efficient and strongest.
Take the first step and contact us today to learn more about the benefits of an adjustable lab workstation.
When adding elements to your laboratory, one option to consider is mobile units. There are various ways that furniture can be added to your laboratory that have mobile capabilities that ensure ease of use and better efficiency in the space. Learning your options can help you to furnish your lab in such a way that will help the day to day experiments and projects.
The type of furniture you need will be dependent on the type of lab and experiments or work to be completed. Learning more about the function of various mobile furniture will help you to select the right options for your work needs. Below are a few examples of mobile laboratory furniture that can be beneficial to your space.
Mobile Desk with Storage
Let’s start with a mobile desk with storage. With a desk, you have a work space on wheels. The desk will have drawers that can house notes, additional paper, and pens, plus any other materials you may need quick access to. The desk will also have cabinet space, which can be used to house experiment materials such as a microscope, test tubes, beakers, etc. Mobile desks can be moved about with ease, allowing you to take the work space to any place in the laboratory.
Mobile Table Lab Station
For a larger work space, the mobile table lab station is suggested. This option has an open space in the middle which makes it easy to use a stool or chair as you work. One side includes a cabinet while the other side has drawer space. A sink may also be included which comes in handy with cleaning or experiment needs.
Mobile Storage Cabinet
When you need movable storage, a mobile storage cabinet is an optimal solution. This type of storage cabinet makes it easy to move tools or chemicals around the lab. Choose to have several of these storage cabinets in the lab so that all materials can be organized and become moveable. Imagine having a cabinet for your beakers and test tubes, a cabinet for microscopes and one for chemicals. If you have an immobile workstation, easily move the mobile storage units to access what you need.
Mobile tables
Small mobile tables come in handy when you are moving from different work areas throughout the day. Easily use the mobile table to move items around the lab as needed. It can be annoying to have to carry materials by hand. With a mobile table, it is easy to move certain materials from one area of the lab to another.
Mobile Demo Table
If your lab provides demos on a regular basis, having a mobile demo table is a must. This option will ensure that the laboratory can easily provide demonstrations, moving from space to space with no trouble. Mobile demo tables offer storage solutions as well, so all materials are in one place for the demo to take place.