Factory workers need ergonomic chairs too!

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Mike Karle

Co-founder of Karo
Delta heavy duty lab and Industrial Chair

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Correctly selected ergonomic chairs significantly increases the productivity levels of your office employees. It makes sense to also  invest in ergonomics for factory workers as there are numerous benefits.

In a typical production line, there are applications such as industrial workstations, conveyor belts, packaging machines, and more. While some of these are operated by machinery or robotic solutions, there are still areas in which humans need to take the reins. In these instances, it is essential that their work area is ergonomically designed to cut back on potential risk factors. For example, factory work includes a lot of repetitiveness. If an employee is in an unnatural position or putting any kind of strain on their body while performing this work, then the damages can really add up. It’s for this reason that it’s really important for factory workers to use ergonomic chairs.

Idonsa chair – Unilever case study

Factory Chairs from Karo

Companies need to invest in good quality chairs for factory workers, because sitting for long periods of time can be detrimental to anyone’s health and can also lead to: 

  1. Employee absenteeism;
  2. An increased reject rate;
  3. Overall health problems leading to lower staff retention;
  4. Lower productivity levels;
  5. Low staff morale;
  6. Future legislative conflicts;
  7. An increased cost of maintenance or the replacement of a chair.

Read our blog post: How to take care of your ergonomic office chair

4 qualities of a good factory chair:

1. Ergonomics

It’s very important for a factory chair to be ergonomic as each factory worker needs to sit correctly based on their tasks. It does not matter if the chair is used in an office of in a factory; the ergonomic principles are the same.

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2. Strength

Think carefully about the materials used to assemble the chair. Is the chair steel reinforced or is wood used underneath Polyurethane (PU)? How are the various components attached to each other? Is the draughting foot ring rigid and part of the design of the chair?  

Karo’s NUGEN footring column

Karo’s NUGEN footring is unique!

The NUGEN footring is bolted to a specially-made lower column and cannot come loose and rotate around the gas lifter. This makes the NUGEN the safest and most stable footring available for industrial chairs in South Africa.

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3. Specific requirements

Is the chair easy to clean? Is the chair easy to sterilise? Does the chair have glides or stoppers?

Cleaning and care instructions for your office chair

4. After sales backup

Does the chair supplier provide after sales backup?

When you purchase a product from Karo, we include a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Our Returns Policy states that if you are not completely satisfied with your purchase, you can return the product to us and we will either repair it, replace it, or issue you with a full refund. This is subject to our Ts & Cs.

What are the hazardous risks of getting a cheap chair for your factory workers?

The Ottawa Business Journal, a regional business publication states, “No matter how much time is spent sitting down in a single day, proper ergonomic chairs are essential to improve employee energy and productivity levels and shouldn’t only be reserved for those employees with back problems or other special requirements.”

Factory workers are often neglected and given cheap and non-ergonomic chairs to perform their tasks. However, our CEO Joachim Roetger, believes factory workers should be treated in the same manner as office employees and allocated ergonomic chairs or seating to perform their specific tasks. He also advises against buying cheaper chairs as the quality is not always up to scratch. “You’re investing in the health of a person, so you shouldn’t put a price on that!”

Cheap chairs – what do they REALLY cost me?

What chairs are available for factory workers?

Our Industrial Chair Range for factory workers offers more than just a standard chair!

PU chair for laboratory or production work
Delta PU
bucket seat industrial chair
Bucket Seat
Idonsa industrial chair made in South Africa
Idonsa
sit-stand inductrial & factory chair
Sit-Stand

Whether you require seats for a harsh factory environment, or for use in a hi-tech laboratory, a workshop or retail environment, Karo’s industrial chair range has the ergonomic specialised seating requirements specifically suited to your Operators’ requirements.

Our Industrial Chair Range offers seating solutions for the following:

  1. Workshops, warehouses, factories and production lines;
  2. Till operators in the retail environment;
  3. Medical, hospital, clinic or consulting facilities;
  4. Food processing;
  5. Laboratories.

No matter how you look at it, factory workers are just as important as office employees and should be treated as such. Make sure you invest in your workers’ health and wellbeing to ensure higher productivity levels and staff morale – it can be as easy as buying an industrial chair from Karo!

Industrial Chairs from Karo

Worker wellbeing through ergonomic seating results in higher productivity

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