Height adjustable desks
In recent years, great changes in the workplace have occurred. New ways of working have emerged, new jobs have been consolidated and collaboration between professionals has become particularly important. This new way of life is reflected in work environments and especially in the way offices are being designed and furnished.
The contemporary office manifests itself as an open design, with adaptable structures that promote communication, a culture of well-being and flexibility.
Height-adjustable desks are a solution that helps to create a workspace that is perfectly adapted to the users’ needs at any given time, since, in just a few seconds, we can go from having a classic desk to a modern ergonomic table.
This adaptability and flexibility allow the workstation to be easily personalised, which translates into greater comfort and a higher level of productivity.
Advantages of height adjustables desks
ERGONOMIC BENEFITS
A sedentary lifestyle is one of the biggest problems in today’s society, as it is a direct cause of heart diseases. The most important health associations warn of the need to stand up at least once every hour during the workday. Height-adjustable desks are useful for this purpose, allowing the table top to be raised and certain activities to be carried out while standing for certain periods of time in a more comfortable way.
ADAPTATION TO PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Height-adjustable office desks allow the person to adjust the height of the table top to a position that suits the user´s physical characteristics and possible limitations.
FLEXIBILITY
For shared workstations, the solution offered by the adjustable desks is the quick and custom adjustment of their height.
DYNAMIC NATURE
If we find ourselves in a dynamic environment where speed and multitasking are required daily, these types of desks can be extremely versatile.
MULTIPURPOSE SPACES IN OFFICES
It is increasingly common to come across adjustable desks in co-working spaces as well as in multipurpose rooms, since these tables are so flexible that they can adapt to all kinds of situations.
PROFITABLE INVESTMENT
Although at first the initial outlay may be somewhat higher than a fixed-height office desk, they are a good investment in the long run. The height-adjustable desks help to reduce days of sick leave and increase the productivity of workers.
Principles of active ergonomics
Ergonomics in the workplace is a key point that must be taken into account when designing workspaces.
To define the essential dimensions of the workstations, the following criteria must be considered: optimal reach areas, height of the work surface and space reserved for the legs.
Furthermore, a good layout of the elements to be used in the work area will allow different movements to be made when handling them with less effort, avoiding uncomfortable postures and forced movements that, in the long run, can lead to back pain, muscle problems, soreness, etc.
It is extremely important to determine the right height of the work surface to ensure that all the tasks to be carried out, both sitting and standing, correspond to the functional reality of the body.
Height of the work surface
TASKS CARRIED OUT WHILE SITTING
The height of the work surface must be decided by taking into account the characteristics of the task itself. The height for a task that requires a certain amount of precision will not be the same as that for a task that uses a computer, writing and reading tasks, or those that require greater freedom of movement.
The recommended height range for desks is between 70 and 79 cm high, with the minimum recommended height for most people being 73 cm.
TASKS CARRIED OUT WHILE STANDING
A correct height (from the floor to the work surface) is, on average, 95-100 cm for men and 85-95 cm for women. However, there are other factors to take into account such as the number of elements to be placed on the table, the posture of the person who will be at the workstation, the space needed to perform the movements, etc.
Although it is true that the height of an office desk can be chosen according to the physical conditions of the person who uses it, the best thing to do is to take into account the ranges established in the UNE standards, specifically the UNE-EN 527 Standard, Part 1.
HEIGHT OF THE WORK SURFACE DEPENDING ON THE TASK
| STANDING (cm) | SITTING (cm) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TYPE OF TASK | Men | Women | Men | Women |
| Precision | 109-119 | 103-113 | 90-110 | 80-100 |
| Light Assembly | 99-109 | 87-98 | 68 | 65 |
| Reading / Writing | 85-102 | 78-94 | 74-78 | 70-74 |
Types of height adjustable desks
There are different types of desks depending on the lifting system they incorporate.
MANUAL LIFTING SYSTEM
The height of the desk is adjusted manually thanks to a crank or lever. Thanks to this mechanism, we can raise or lower the height of our work area to the correct position.
Electric lifting system
Desks that have an electric lifting system offer the function of quickly and comfortably adjusting the height. They usually include memory buttons so that, with the press of a button, they are raised to the programmed position.
Pneumatic lifting system
This type of desk has a pneumatic lift mechanism. Simply begin to raise the table and the pneumatic piston finishes the job automatically. Like electric desks, they have an internal memory where the different positions can be stored and activated with the push of a button. The desk will always be in the optimal position both when we are standing and when we are sitting.
Telescopic tubes
The ability to adjust the height of these desks is achieved thanks to the legs that can be lengthened and shortened depending on the user´s needs. These legs are made from specially designed tubes called telescopic tubes. Usually, 2 or 3 pieces of this type of tube make up one leg.
Simply put, a telescoping or telescopic tube is that which is used for applications in which one tube fits inside another and slides inside it. This allows the set of tubes to be expanded to a final length that is longer than each of the individual tubes that comprise it.
The lifting system pushes or pulls, expanding or retracting the set of tubes, changing the length of the entire piece as a whole.
These tubes, generally made of steel, must meet special requirements in order to be able to slide one inside the other without friction or deviations that could interfere with the proper functioning of the set of tubes, or cause problems in the lifting system.
Types of telescopic tubes
- As for the material, they are mainly made of welded carbon steel tube, with thicknesses between 1.50 and 2 mm
- The most common sets are made up of 2 or 3 pieces
- The most popular shapes are round, rectangular or square cross sections, in dimensions that usually go from 40 to 80 mm
Requirements for telescopic tubes
Dimensional requirements
Geared towards repeatability and low friction.
- STRAIGHTNESS: When sliding some tubes inside others, they must be extremely straight with restricted tolerances in deflection or curvature.
- FLATNESS OF SURFACES: The tubes slide one inside the other on plastic or Teflon joints. These joints are adapted to the mouths of the tubes, into which the inner tube will slide, so the surfaces must be perfectly flat. This condition applies to square or rectangular tubes.
- CONCENTRICITY: Concept similar to the previous one, although specific for round tubes. These tubes must have a circular cross-sectional area. A small degree of ovality or eccentricity would make them unsuitable for the application since they would not adapt perfectly to the slip joints.
- THICKNESS: Aimed at achieving repeatability in the entire production process, variations in thickness must be controlled within minimum values, especially within the same production batch.
- RADIUSES: In the case of square or rectangular telescopic tubes. The radiuses must always be constant and within the allowable tolerances to adapt to the slip joints and, at the same time, maintain the same aesthetic line.
Surface requirements
This refers to the final treatment of the raw material used in the manufacture of carbon steel tubes.
We will choose these treatments based on the subsequent process that the tubes are going to receive, such as painting (in the different techniques), chrome plating, etc.
- COLD ROLLED or CR: This process offers the best surface finish thanks to the low roughness obtained.
- HOT ROLLED or HR: This process offers a surface finish that is good enough for most painting technologies.
Conclusion
Height-adjustable desks are the workspace solution that guarantees success. They support multiple work styles as the height of each desk can be adjusted independently.
A height-adjustable desk can look after your health while you work since it provides flexibility depending on your needs at any given time.
Hello there, thanks for your blog and aside from it my friend advice me to use adjustable-standing desk and i’ve been using it for couple of months now and it helps on my issues, esp my operation. I can work well with this sit-stand working table of mine.
Thank you very much for your comment. We are glad that this solution improves your daily work and your quality of life!