Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturer’s Association (BIFMA) International, a not- for-profit North American trade association of office furniture manufacturers and suppliers, has scheduled a series of forums to explain their guideline on furniture intended for computer use. The guideline was developed for furniture intended for computer use in the USA and Canada, by applying the measurable principles and design requirements of ISO 9241 parts 3 (“Visual display requirements”) and 5 (“Ergonomic requirements for office work with visual display units”).
Released in January of 2001, the official title of the BIFMA document is “BIFMA G1 – 2001, Ergonomics Guideline for VDT (Visual Display Terminal) Furniture Used in Office Work Spaces”.
The first educational forum will be held on Thursday, September 13, 2001 from 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. at IIDEX/NeoCon Canada in The National Trade Centre at Exhibition Place in Toronto.
Industry specialists and corporate ergonomists who volunteered their time to BIFMA for a year and a half to write the guideline will serve as panelists and presenters at this forum. A fee of $35 will be charged at this event and each participant will receive a free copy of the guideline, which can also be ordered at:
http://www.bifma.org/secure/orderform.html
A reference document entitled “Ultimate Test For Fit”, is available for download without charge at:
http://www.bifma.org/general.pdfs/Ultest.pdf
Additional forums are being scheduled for:
- Friday, November 2, 2001 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at NeoCon New York in the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
- Thursday, November 29, 2001 from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. at NeoCon West in Los Angeles
- April 10-11, 2002 (exact day & time to be determined) at NeoCon South in Atlanta, Georgia