This article was originally emailed as our monthly Workplace Design & Management newsletter at 11:00 on 20/10/2016. You can view older newsletters here and register to receive them monthly.
THE CONNECTED CHAIR
Is this the future of seated wellbeing?
We offer many high quality chairs with excellent ergonomics and comfort. However, we believe that the BMA Axia Smart Active chair is unique worldwide in delivering Bluetooth connectivity to a smartphone app. By downloading the free Apple or Android app and pairing it (instantly) with the chair, the user creates a personal, multi-functional posture coach. Working in a similar way to a wearable fitness device and connecting to sensors in the chair seatpan, the smartphone app monitors movement, sitting time and posture changes (or lack of them). When necessary, it prompts to encourage dynamic chair use and gives personalised tips and practical advice according to the individual’s behaviour. The Smart Active technology is available in any BMA model from the Axia 2.0 series and replacement seat cushions can be retrofitted to existing chairs (or standard products bought in the future). Crucially, the upgrade costs significantly less than £100 + VAT per chair. For further information, view the video or contact us for a demonstration.
ENDURANCE
UK manufactured 24/7 chair
Historically, we have always recommended Scandinavian or Dutch chairs for control room and heavy duty use. In the past, we have been unable to find a UK product that met the quality, comfort, durability and ergonomics standards we demand. Although we continue to promote those legacy products, we are delighted to be able to add a chair from a UK manufacturer to our portfolio for this demanding sector. Endurance is based on an existing product with minor modifications to meet our requirements. With a 30 stone weight limit and 3-year 24-hour warranty, the chair offers a viable and effective solution where budget is constrained. With a choice of two backrest heights and an integral head support in the higher back variant, it provides a comprehensive selection of options to meet many of the most demanding seating applications. Contact us for further information or a demonstration.
ORGATEC
New visions of work
October 2016 sees the return of this biennial exhibition which started over 60 years ago. In particular, I expect to find lots of sit-stand furniture and ideas for agile working. Acoustics is another ‘hot’ topic and has had its own zone in recent years. This is due to greater recognition and understanding of open plan office environments and the 4Cs (collaboration, communication, contemplation and concentration). The main theme for the event this year recognises how the work environment can impact creativity and productivity so I am looking out for lots of interesting and a few ‘off the wall’ ideas! I shall be writing a full report of my findings by the middle of November but, if you use Twitter, the Orgatec feed is a useful source of immediate information.
ER60 FLEET
Our specialist logistics team
In addition to the expert partners we use for larger installations, we continue to provide a national installation service for small projects, one-offs and specials with our own trained personnel and vehicles. Each van in the current fleet has an ‘ergo’ number – ER60 NOM, ER60 NOW, ER60 VAN, ER60 YES – but we are running out of options. I have no idea what number we shall be able to find for the next vehicle. I have now trawled the entire list of available choices on the DVLA web site (that’s how sad I am!) and there are no meaningful words remaining. We have no immediate need so this is something to ponder on but we welcome any inspired suggestions for the future.
Posted by Guy Osmond 
As I write this, we are coming to the end of 
After many years of success with the original Advantage, we are delighted to introduce the new Advantage 2 which maintains the proven Contoured keyboardTM design with low force mechanical keyswitches for proven comfort and reduced musculo-skeletal load. New to this model is the SmartSetTM programming engine which provides powerful keyboard configuration tools to boost productivity. The old rubber function keys have also been replaced with high quality tactile mechanical keyswitches, further enhancing the product of choice for software engineers, programmers and intensive users the world over. Download the U.S. brochure 
We are very proud of our advanced use of technology in all its forms and (nearly all of the time!) we are completely in control of all our processes. In the last month, however, two separate events occurred unexpectedly. First, our eBulletin provider experienced a cyber attack which resulted in our April Fools’ Day
For the ergonomist in your life, the perfect present will be available just before Christmas! 
It is nearly twenty years since we sold our first sit-stand desk but the real growth in interest amongst UK employers has arisen since early in 2014. Initially driven by publicity about the potential health impacts of sedentary behaviour, employers were bombarded with news, statistics, research and plenty of online ‘noise’ predicting dire consequences if there was not a rapid and immediate transition from traditional office environments to workplaces populated with ‘standing desks’. 
I have been using an aircharge sleeve on my iPhone 6s for several months and, as well as protecting the phone, it is much more desirable than fiddling around with a Lightning connector cable when I need to recharge the battery. We offer aircharge facilities for staff in the office and I find it in a growing number of hotels, coffee shops and hospitality environments. Of course, in Clerkenwell, you can find aircharge in almost every showroom! For organisations wanting to offer this facility to their own personnel and visitors, there is a choice of options. The most common version – the surface charger – fits an 80mm diameter hole so it can be retrofitted to a standard desk grommet. Others can be incorporated into monitor arms and task lamps. See some of the variants 
We originally set up the seatingexperts.uk web site alongside 
EnergiseYou helps innovative organisations to thrive by:
Although we repeat many of our 
At our August Training Day, we were shown the new
I know that I keep raising this topic but I attended the official launch at BSI on September 1st and I really believe this is an opportunity to put ergonomics and human factors at the centre of organisational strategy. It was interesting to attend an event with such a diversity of interests (including delegates with responsibility for user experience, quality, technology, design, wellbeing, compliance, risk and occupational health, as well as ergonomics, human factors, health and safety). A LinkedIn discussion has started 
Bakker Elkhuizen, another of our close partners, has just launched a new online 
Many people have already taken advantage of the new instant Chat facility on 
Osmond Ergonomics 