ABSTRACT
Many an organisation has wasted significant money by investing in inappropriate or poorly designed workstation furniture. Getting a true appreciation of the likely success of any piece of equipment—whether a desk, chair, footrest, document holder, or anything else—is possible only after the equipment has been used during the performance of normal work in the real environment. This illustrates the importance of having equipment on trial before committing to purchasing it, particularly if large numbers are involved. If workstation trials are to yield helpful information, they need to be designed and managed carefully so that usable feedback can be collected. Before starting the process of selecting furniture to include in a trial, a complete understanding of what the users’ tasks entail and what those users need to complete their tasks accurately, efficiently, safely, and comfortably is needed, and this can be assisted by doing a task analysis. This chapter provides advice on how to conduct workstation trials and how to collect valid information that will assist in selecting the most suitable workstation equipment for the users. Once final purchasing decisions have been made, the roll-out has to be careful managed, and this process is detailed in this chapter.
