The responsibility of
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Currently, in an advanced scientific-technical
environment, the contributions of the
industry satisfy these realities with different
formats, designs and materials, with
different designs and increasingly sophisticated
technologies; together with the
guarantees established by manufacturing
control processes, they support exhaustive
regulations that serve as a guide for the
adequate construction of goods to meet
their intended use.
The development of products for specific
public uses and sites represents a business
challenge oriented without doubt to a service
that requires an accurate strategy in
terms of product development and R & D.
In the case at hand, furniture for public
(not domestic) use is the closest to the
usual use that can be found in leisure
areas, shopping centers, offices, etc., except
for the street furniture, the aligned
seats (waiting areas, sports facilities ...,)
seats for teaching centers, work-seating
for industrial use, to be used in among
other places such as hospitals, nursing homes,
penitentiary institutions, etc., which
are the subject of attention in other regulations
and legislations.
The regulatory wealth covers a wide range
of furniture related to use, and its complexity
requires specialized advice for ensuring
compliance and also the issuance of the
corresponding certification for satisfying
the stipulated safety tests. This is what the
rules aim for: the user’s safety. Thus, for
example, product imports are subject to
regulations and there are numerous goods
that are stopped at Customs for non-compliance,
with the added cost involved, and
although it may be the subject of another
article, it only warns the importer of the
importance of a prior consultation.
In general, the regulations of seats, tables
and desks of office, seats aligned and fixed
to the ground, outdoor furniture (not
domestic, public and camping) and visitor
chairs, specify requirements in terms of
security, stability, strength and durability
that they must comply with, and exceed
the UNE EN 1738, 1730, that regulate the
test methods according to the final use.
The Metalworking, Furniture, Wood, Packaging
and Allied Technological Institute,
AIDIMME, is a specialist in standardization.
In fact, except for office furniture, the Secretariat
of the Technical Committee for
Standardization CTN-11 has been instrumental
in developing regulations for furniture.
In this sense, the Institute’s work aimed
at furnishing collectivities assesses the
requirements set out in the public bidding
documents (national and international) or
for private companies, and suggests future
research criteria for promoting the
creation of innovative products for the habitat
sector in general. That is why being
attentive to the needs of buyers-designers,
such as architects, interior designers, or
designers, among others, is fundamental
when undertaking a project and appreciating
the guarantees offered by the regulations.
Featured (as a resource if needed, it can
be ignored, it’s in the graphic, or remove
graphics and put in text outside)
1730, y 1335-3 que regulan los métodos de ensayo
en función del uso final.
El Instituto Tecnológico Metalmecánico, Mueble,
Madera, Embalaje y Afines, AIDIMME, es
especialista en normalización. De hecho, exceptuando
el mobiliario de oficina, desempeña la
Secretaría del Comité Técnico de Normalización
CTN-11 que desarrolla la reglamentación para
mobiliario. En este sentido, el trabajo del Instituto
dirigido a equipamiento de colectividades
evalúa los requisitos que plantean los pliegos de
condiciones en las convocatorias públicas (nacionales
e internacionales) o de empresas privadas,
y propone futuros criterios de investigación
para promover la creación de productos innovadores
para el sector del hábitat en general.
Es por ello que la atención a los prescriptores,
como arquitectos, interioristas, o diseñadores,
entre otros, es fundamental a la hora de acometer
un proyecto con las garantías que ofrece el
conocimiento de la normativa.
The European regulations
concerning upholstery materials,
the wheels, the tilt
and roll mechanisms and the
mechanisms for adjusting the
height of the seat are contemplated
in other rules.
the “public”
It is obvious that furniture responds to the needs of human
beings which are created in their environment during
their daily tasks throughout the stages of their lives. One
of those growing needs for extroverted human nature is
undoubtedly leisure, and meetings in restaurants, cafes,
and hotels, among other areas, which thus have become
collective areas that provide furniture with the attribution
of “public use”. This is a “subtle appendix” that not only
serves to determine its place, but also gives an unquestionable
responsibility as to its manufacture.