Laboratory chairs and hygiene

One thing is clear: The most important requirement for working in laboratories is hygiene. This applies not only to the cleanroom area, but also to biotech, the chemical industry, healthcare and medical technology. Due to this, the equipping of laboratories is subject to requirements unlike those of any other industry, as there is almost no other field where the impact of contamination can influence the outcome of its work so drastically. For this reason, contamination must be avoided at all costs. The first objective when designing the ideal laboratory chair is therefore, to create optimal hygienic conditions. But what exactly are the elements of a hygienic design?

Hygiene starts with a seamless design concept

When talking about hygiene in the laboratory, of course dust and visible dirt always come up, but there are also impurities that cannot be detected by the naked eye. To make the daily cleaning of the laboratory chair both thorough and simple, it is very important that the chair have no or less areas which are difficult to access and where residues can build up. One way of achieving this is with a joint-free design. For example, an adjustment mechanism which is stored behind a casing does not run the risk of absorbing any contaminants. Going without fully manual mechanisms can also have positive effects on the hygiene of the laboratory chair. In this case, however, a seating solution should have self-adjusting, ergonomic features which relieve tension in the body during laboratory work and at the same time ensure optimal support.

The laboratory chair and its material

In addition to a seamless design, the hygiene of a laboratory chair is also largely determined by a robust material concept. This concept must withstand the extreme stresses of daily laboratory work - caused in part by multiple users. In addition to basic robustness, the surfaces must be easy to clean; so the surfaces must be washable, while at the same time resistant to all common chemicals, as well as disinfectants and cleaning agents. ESD is often an underestimated factor in the area of laboratory hygiene; electrostatic discharge can mean that the tiniest impurities settle, thus influencing investigation results. In order to not only meet the special requirements for use in the laboratory, but also to set standards in hygiene, Bimos have come up with their own individual hygienic design for laboratory chairs.
 

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