OFFICE

OFFICE FURNITURE
FURNITURE
By Peter Kiarie

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• Office furniture refers to
organization’s fixed assets in the form
of office chairs and working desks used
by office workers in carrying out or
performing various office functions.
• There are four main criteria which
form the basis of judgment as to the
suitability of a piece of office
furniture, viz. Is it functional? Is it
attractive? Is it hard wearing and Is
its cost within the budget?
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 Factors to Consider when
purchasing office furniture
• Cost/Price of the office furniture should
be considered by management. It should
be within a capital budget relating to
office furniture vote.
• Design – consider the design of the
furniture in relation to the size of the
furniture. Its height, number of drawers
with length, design of the corners,
whether sharp edges or rounded corners
and other aspects of the decoration.

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• Durability – Consider the lifespan of the
furniture i.e. the duration which it will
effectively serve the organization. In
considering durability, consider the material
used for making the furniture. For example,
steel/metal is virtually indestructible, fibre
glass or laminated plastic especially when
effectively iodized lasts longer while wooden
furniture is susceptible to fire (can burn
easily).
• Size – As much as possible, office furniture
should be designed in such a way that it can
save space and for this reason modular or
system furniture is preferred in open plan and
landscaped offices.
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• Fire Risk – Furniture made of steel/metal apart
from being durable is less flammable than wooden
furniture hence such furniture may be preferred
to wooden furniture depending on the office
where it will be used.
• Weight – The weight of the furniture should be
considered because it will have to be constantly
moved when cleaning the office and also because
the weight carrying capacity of the floor should
be taken into account. For this reason, furniture
made of fibre glass or laminated plastic may be
preferred to furniture made of wood or metal.

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• Hygiene – The furniture as well as the floor
on which it stands especially space
underneath the furniture should be capable
of being cleaned easily so as to maintain
hygiene conditions of the office.
• Appearance – Furniture used by senior
executives in an organization, in landscaped
offices as well as at the reception should be
designed in such a way that their
appearance is attractive thereby portraying
a positive image of the organization.

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• Comfort of the users – Office furniture
should be designed in such a way that it
gives the user or worker a high level of
comfort so that a worker can work
comfortably.
• Safety – Furniture with rounded
corners/edges are more ideal than those
with sharp corners which may spoil a
worker’s clothes, and/or bruise, injure
him/her especially when space is limited.
Furniture should also be well maintained and
fumigated whenever necessary.
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• Functionality – Office furniture should enable a
worker to perform his or her functions
effectively. Hence the design of the furniture
should take into account its intended use, purpose
or function e.g. copy typists require special types
of chairs and desks and so do computer
operators, machine operators etc.
• Labour Saving – Depending on its use, office
furniture should have varying numbers of drawers
to provide a worker with immediate storage
facilities in which he can store papers and other
materials he requires constantly. This helps in
saving a worker’s time as well as movement and
enables him to be more effective.
• Finish – The top surface/working plane of office
desks should not be too shiny or glossy. The
other finishing of the chairs and desks should be
smooth so as not to inconvenience a worker. 8
 Materials for making office furniture

Type of Material Advantages Disadvantages

Wood (Cedar, Camphor, Meru Oak,
Cypress and Mahogany
 Attractive  Wood is heavier than fibre glass
 Easy to polish or varnish to add  Easily scratched
more aesthetic appeal  Not fire resistant
(attractiveness)
 There is a variety of wood
available used in different types
of office layout.
 Some types are durable.

Metal: various types can be used to  Hard wearing (can withstand  Metal is cold, can be
make office furniture rough handling) uncomfortable during cold
 Durable weather.
 Fire resistant  Can easily get chipped
(scratched and spoilt) unless
effectively anodized.
 Heavier than fibre glass

Fibre Glass (Laminated plastic)  Light in weight  May scratch easily

 Hard wearing especially if
effectively anodized i.e.
strengthened by chemicals
 Some types are durable
 Unsuitable for some types of
office layout e.g. individual and
landscaped.
 Unless effectively anodized
some types are not durable. 9
 Types of Office Furniture
1. Executive Desks – Refers to office furniture
meant for senior executives and managers of an
organization. They are made of high quality
material and are usually very expensive. When
making such furniture, factors which are
considered most include design, appearance,
comfort and functionality. They are also costly to
maintain.
2. Special Purpose Furniture – Refers to office
furniture designed in such a way to provide the
user with maximum functionality i.e. enable him to
perform his assigned duties or tasks effectively.
Examples include secretary’s working desk, copy
typist desk, collating clerks, computer
programmer’s desk etc.
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3. Built-in Furniture – Refers to office furniture designed in
such a way that they have storage facilities in the form of
drawers to be used by office workers. Such drawers help
to minimize staff movement and save their time. Maximum
utilization of floor space may be obtained by the use of
built-in furniture. Almost all types of office furniture have
drawers. They save office space.
4. General Clerical Desks – Refers to office furniture
designed in a uniform manner (standardized). Such
furniture is usually made of low quality material and they
are used in open plan offices by various categories of
subordinate staff. Each desk is provided with at least two
drawers. They are cheap (initial price and maintenance
cost). They are designed in such a way to provide the user
with maximum functionality – to enable him to perform his
assigned duties or tasks effectively.

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5. Modular/System Furniture – Refers to
office furniture, especially working desks
designed in such a manner that they are
interlocked or combined to facilitate
clustering or grouping together workers
performing similar or closely interrelated
activities or tasks. Each unit consists of
a chair and a working desk for each
worker. Such furniture is commonly
found in landscaped offices. Desk units
can be combined with storage units for
files, record cards etc.
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