The Kinnarps test lab

Kinnarps’ own laboratory for testing furniture has been up and running since 1994. And yes, it looks the way you would imagine, a bit like a factory with different stations and a specific flow. Temperature and humidity are also controlled in the factory in order to test the surface of the furniture. But why exactly do you test furniture?

“Simply to ensure that the items of furniture meet the necessary safety, strength and stability standards,” explains Testing Manager Jörgen Nilsson. If we take a chair that will be used in a public space as an example, there are specified requirements for that particular type of use and how to test it.

The lab has 38 different furniture testing methods and about 300 chairs, tables, sofas, easy chairs, storage and office furniture pass through here every year. Every test starts with documentation: weighing, measuring and photographing.

“If we continue to use a chair as an example, we sit on it to get a sense of whether there’s any risk of crushing or something you could cut yourself on. We then mark where we will perform our tests and place it in the machine for static loads,” Jörgen explains.

There are then several different dynamic loads, the first of which is on the seat and back for 100,000 cycles, which takes a week. Loads are also tested vertically and on the front edge and, depending on the part, there is a specific weight and a fixed number of cycles that should be used. The testing takes about three weeks from start to finish, and should correspond to the lifetime of a item of furniture for a person weighing up to 110 kilos in user weight.

“In order for an item of furniture to pass the test, nothing should have broken, there should not be any splitting or, of course, any major deformation. The function should be intact, so you can sit down and lean against the back. As a laboratory technician, you follow your products through the stations and check the requirements after each step. Once testing is complete, a report is written for the client.”

Are there any new trends in furniture testing?

“The requirements are always the same, that the furniture should be safe, but we’re continually improving the accuracy and clarity of what we do. The risk of crushing, for example, may seem arbitrary, but having a described method for this now has made it easier for us to be more consistent and secure in our assessment.”

What’s on the horizon in terms of furniture standards?

“Now we’re working a lot with reuse and the development of standards surrounding it. After all, these items of furniture still need to be as safe as the ones made from new materials, and a lot of work is under way here on how to evaluate this type of furniture. A type of sustainability work that feels exciting.”