CCTV Exposes Issues with Office Chairs

The issues with office chairs exposed by CCTV mainly include a relatively high overall failure rate and the presence of various specific non-conforming items, which pose different hazards to users.

Overall non-conformance situation: According to the results of the national supervision and random inspection of office chairs released by the State Administration for Market Regulation, there are differences in the non-conformance rates among different batches. In one inspection, 101 batches of products were inspected, with 15 batches found to be non-conforming, resulting in a non-conformance discovery rate of 14.9%. In another inspection, 90 batches of products from 90 enterprises in 11 provinces and municipalities were inspected, with 21 batches found to be non-conforming, giving a batch non-conformance discovery rate of 23.3%.

Specific non-conforming items and hazards:

• Stability non-conformance: Stability is an important indicator for evaluating the quality of office chairs. In this national inspection, 7 batches of products failed the stability test, making it the item with the most non-conforming products detected. For office chairs with stability issues, the chair is prone to tipping over when the user leans forward, backward, or sits sideways, which may lead to consumer injuries and pose safety risks.
• Caster reciprocating wear non-conformance: In this national inspection, 5 batches of office chairs were found to have non-conforming caster reciprocating wear items. The quality of casters is crucial for the service life of office chairs, and non-conforming casters will shorten the chair's usage time.
• Formaldehyde emission non-conformance: Four batches of products were found to have non-conforming formaldehyde emissions. Formaldehyde is a harmful gas, and long-term exposure may cause harm to human health, such as triggering respiratory diseases.
• Poor-quality pneumatic rods: Office swivel chairs account for the vast majority of non-conforming products. Pneumatic swivel chairs use gas springs (pneumatic rods). Poor-quality pneumatic rods have overly thin tube walls, impure inert gases, and may even use compressed air instead of inert gases. When the seat is repeatedly raised and lowered frequently, causing excessive temperatures, an explosion may occur.
• Failure to install explosion-proof steel plates: To prevent office swivel chairs from exploding, explosion-proof steel plates with a thickness of no less than 2 millimeters should be installed between the pneumatic rod and the swivel chair seat cushion. However, some enterprises' office chairs are not equipped with such plates, resulting in non-conformance in safety item testing.
• Five-star base breakage: The five-star base is an important component of swivel chairs, bearing the weight of the human body. If, to save costs, the metal five-star base has overly thin tube walls or uses materials with poor strength, it may break during daily use, causing the user to fall and get injured.