Predictive Analytics for Chair Asset Management

Abstract

Once an ergonomic office chair is purchased in the workplace, it usually remains in circulation far beyond its acceptable life cycle and warranty. Older chairs present ergonomic and safety risks exposing employees to unnecessary musculoskeletal stress and strain resulting in injury exposure claims for the employer. This paper introduces a chair assessment methodology using predictive analytics to evaluate the quality and competency of an office ergonomic chair over time. Rather than relying solely on an employee’s subjective, biased opinion of chair quality or waiting for absolute failure; instead an objective, measurable rating scale is used to determine chair status. The Chair Assessment (software) System (CAS) provides an overall score indicating whether the chair should remain in use, be repaired or removed from circulation in a timely manner so it can be replaced. The Chair Assessment System is part of a furniture asset management system focused specifically on chair use-life cycle.