businessinfomag.uk
magazine
34
The OfficeIQ
connected
office solution
takes product
utilisation
data and uses
it to improve
ergonomics
as well.
Office Seating
Smart cushion
Another smart sitting option, the Darma
smart cushion (above), monitors heart
and breathing rates as well as sitting
habits. In addition to poor posture alerts,
guidance on stretching and reminders to
take breaks, it detects when stress levels
are too high and recommends breathing
exercises to aid relaxation.
At NeoCon 2015, furniture
manufacturer Steelcase introduced a
Gesture chair concept with integrated
smart cushion technology provided by
Darma. Although not yet available, the
intelligent chair suggests how seating
might evolve in the future as organisations
aim to improve the health and well-being
of employees.
providing individuals with activity scores
in the expectation that an element of
competition will encourage users to
increase physical activity in the pursuit
of a new personal best or to beat their
colleagues.
At CES 2017, Humanscale and Tome
took this to the next level by integrating
OfficeIQ with wearables so that users
can combine data collected at their
workstation with data recorded by a
wearable fitness device (e.g. Fitbit),
giving them a complete overview of
daily activity.
The BakkerElkhuizen S-Board 840 USB
Compact Keyboard is designed to offer
greater comfort than a standard keyboard,
writes Tayla Ansell. In particular, the
removal of the numeric keypad found on
standard keyboards enables a mouse to be
placed closer to the user, reducing strain
on shoulder and forearm.
Even though my job involves a lot of
typing, I’ve never given much thought to the
keyboard I use. The offer of a BakkerElkhuizen
S-Board 840 to review was a good
opportunity to see if I was missing out.
I very rarely use the number pad on my
standard keyboard, and didn’t miss it on the
S-Board 840. And, while I wasn’t aware that I
had been reaching for my mouse before, I did
find that having a more centrally positioned
mouse was more comfortable. I’m sure this
arrangement would greatly benefit anyone
with a shoulder injury or RSI. For those, who
require a number pad for data entry, there is
an optional numeric keyboard.
The keys are noisier than my usual
keyboard, with a more tactile feel (which I now
know comes from the use of a scissor-switch
mechanism instead of the membrane key
switches found in most standard computer
keyboards). I liked the feel of the keys and even
found their ‘clickyness’ quite satisfying.
Unlike my usual keyboard, which has black
keycaps and white letters, the S-Board 840
has dark letters on a light background. This
makes them easier to read, but is probably of
little value to a touch typist.
Because it’s so compact, thin (just 2cm
thick) and lightweight (480g), the S-Board
840 fits easily in a laptop bag, making it ideal
for mobile workers. I particularly like the
keyboard’s two USB ports, as I never seem to
have enough on my PC.
From my vantage point, I can recommend
the S-Board 840 unreservedly, though I should
point out that colleagues have commented on
the loud typing noise.
Robert King,
Founder & CEO,
Humanscale
OfficeIQ
On test
...continued
and posture and transmit details by
Bluetooth to an accompanying app that
advises the sitter how to correct their
posture; provides information on time
spent sitting and behaviour during sitting
(e.g. fidgeting); and suggests exercises.
Occupancy insight
Some businesses already use sensors
within furniture to collect data for the
purposes of facilities management and
office design, e.g. to determine how
often chairs are occupied. The OfficeIQ
connected office solution takes product
utilisation data and uses it to improve
ergonomics as well.
Developed by Humanscale in
collaboration with Tome Software, it
incorporates sensor technology into
height adjustable workstations and task
chairs to monitor usage and gather data
on sit/stand use. The lightweight box
positioned on or under the work surface
also calculates calorific expenditure and
can give users real-time feedback on
their activity at workstations.
OfficeIQ gamifies the experience,
BakkerElkhuizen S-Board 840 USB Compact Keyboard
Steelcase
Gesture
chair
