Use of Standards and Ergonomics Principles Evaluation in Iran Furniture Industry (A Case Study: Manufacturing Units Of Tehran Province)

During the past times people have used furniture as today. Along with the social welfare development and the importance of manufacturing efficiency, the importance of ergonomics and standardization in furniture became very clear so that, today it is well-known that not considering human factors in furniture manufacturing causes much human health problems. Due to the importance of furniture standardization, the present study was conducted to investigate the use of standards in furniture manufacturing units in Tehran province.

In this study, cluster sampling was performed and questionnaires were distributed among experienced manufacturers of sixty furniture manufacturing units. Statistical analysis was performed using One sample student t-test and Friedman test in SPSS 18 software.

Results revealed that there was a significant difference between the indices mean and the hypothesized mean of the population. Furniture manufacturers believed that the governmental and nongovernmental institutions have appeared weak on updating furniture standards and making manufacturers familiar with standards. From their point of view, consumers have shown a great trend to buy standard and ergonomic furniture. Manufacturers also have largely tended so much to use standards and national standards conformed by  international standards.

The manufacturing of standard furniture increases the consumer interest to buy furniture and it increases the consumer satisfaction. The high quality of imported raw materials makes furniture competitive and it causes coordination with international standards and it can assure the successful export of furniture in Iran. Successful furniture manufacturing will depend on realization of all indices mentioned in the present study.