UL’s 2020 Furniture Industry Summit gathered industry experts and keynote speakers who shared and discussed the latest updates on international standards and regulations, current issues, and market trends for the office furniture industry.
Summit takeaways:
- Learn about updates on standards and regulations
- Hear about the status of standard harmonization
- Learn about solutions to adapt safety to evolving environments
Date of recording – Oct. 14 and 15, 2020
Guest speakers
Day 1
- Dave Panning, BIFMA technical services
- Dragan Macura, Linak compliance regulatory manager
- Tomas Ekström, ISO TC 136 liaison officer
- Marco Fossi, President, TC 207, and safety officer, Federlegno
- Matteo Longoni, UL operations manager
- Bruce Bohren, UL primary designated engineer
Day 2
- Taylor Reed, SASB sector analyst consumer goods
- Bruce Calder, Claigan Environmental vice president, consulting services
- Chris Ashworth, UL senior sales manager
- Kevin Sneed, OTJ Architects
- Brian Truelove, UL laboratory manager
- Maria José Arrebola Monteagudo, UL environmental project handler
Welcome note from Mike O’Hara, UL general manager and director, Global Furniture
Mike O’Hara explains the goals for the summit and key takeaways.
Program agenda – Day 1
UL I BIFMA Standard Updates
Learn about the new UL 2999 Standard for individual commercial furnishings and get an overview on BIFMA standards and BIFMA Compliant Program with this presentation by experts from UL and BIFMA.
Bruce Bohren, UL I Dave Panning, BIFM
Electrical motorized furniture – Harmonized standardization in Europe
Motor operated furnishings are regulated by the international standard IEC 60335. Get a high level introduction to the subject and download an introductory presentation to it.
Dragan Macura, Linak I Tomas Ekström, ISO
Standard harmonization panel discussion
Watch an engaging discussion among keynote speakers and industry experts about the current status and potential future state around standard harmonization.
Bruce Bohren, UL I Dave Panning, BIFMA
Dragan Macura, Linak
Tomas Ekström, ISO I Mike O'Hara, UL (moderator)
EN1335-1: 2020 — Office furniture. Office work chair. Dimensions. Determination of dimensions
In Europe, the requirements for dimensions of office work chairs are defined by the standard EN 1335-1. This standard has recently been updated to EN 1335-1:2020. Find out what has changed, and how those changes will affect you moving forward. Download the presentation.
Matteo Longoni, UL I Marco Fossi, Federlegno
Program agenda – Day 2
Post-pandemic workplaces panel discussion
Watch an inspirational discussion among keynote speakers and industry experts as they share insights around re-considering workplaces during a pandemic.
Brian Truelove, UL
Chris Ashworth, UL
Kevin Sneed, OTJ
Mike O'Hara, UL (moderator)
Furniture – Transition to sustainable value chains
While the furniture industry is getting into the mindset of sustainability, there are still some level of uncertainity and lack of knowledge on what to do. Learn what some of the paths to sustainability and download an insighful presentation.
Maria José Arrebola Monteagudo, UL
How investor sustainability requirements will affect the furniture industry
This presentation from SASB is a introduction on how SASB standard requirements help connect businesses and investors on the financial impacts of sustainability. Download the full presentation to learn more.
Taylor Reed, SASB
Chemical compliance versus hazards
Chemical compliance today is the SCIP database. Is the industry ready? Are you ready? Get the opportunity for an overview of the SCIP database, what is required to be compliant and download an introductory presentation to the subject.
Bruce Calder, Claigan
Furnishings Focus Newsletter
If you liked this content and would like to stay informed about latest trends and news in the furniture industry, such as important regulatory changes, industry trends, best practices, research, articles and more, subscribe to our Furnishings Focus Newsletter.