Office Work Chairs – Research of Deformations and Comfort Index

Construction of the seat and back of the office chair, as an actual object of the human working environment, is important in its final design since these are the elements that are in a direct and close contact with human body. The sitting position is the most frequent working position of the modern man in the developed world. Independently of the type of work, a sound and physiologically correct sitting position diminishes fatigue during work and strain of the spine, and suitable posture during sitting significantly contributes to the increase of concentration and efficiency. Sitting as a working position can be examined through coordination of anthropometric sizes and form of the seat and back, or mechanically, by determining the relation between the user and the seat quality, where the comfort index or support factor has a great influence. The comfort index as one of the factors of sitting comfort is the result of mechanical characteristics of the observed chair. This paper shows the results of ‘’mechanical comfort’’ that the chair can offer to the user. The results of determining the seat comfort on office chairs are featured through comfort index obtained from elastic characteristics of materials in the seat, but also of the chair itself according to Technical Specifications HRS ENV 14443.