The Origins Of The AeronThe revolutionary Aeron chair from Herman Miller made its first appearance in 1994 and was the brainchild of designers Bill Stumpf and Don Chadwick.
The Aeron was totally different to any other type of office chair and its revolutionary design made an immediate impact on the ergonomic office chair market.
It's fair to say that here was an office seat that truly was an ergonomic chair that put the chair user's comfort and posture first. Probably the most unusual feature of the Aeron ergonomic chair was its open mesh upholstery which Herman Miller named the Pellicle.
It's testimony to the Pellicle's success as an office chair upholstery that it has spawned a whole market for what has become the mesh office chair, that simply didn't exist before the Aeron.
What's Sets The Aeron Apart?
So, let's continue by looking at the Aeron chair and what sets it apart from so many conventional office chairs.
The first thing that impresses any user is the sheer build quality of the Aeron chair. You won't find any cheap or inferior components used in the construction of the chair, rather, high tech materials like carbon fiber, pellicle upholstery and aluminium.
When you consider that an Aeron carries a 12 year warranty, clearly the build and component quality can't afford to be anything but the best. Herman Miller, the chair's manufacturer makes the Aeron in three different chair sizes to cater for the diverse range of body sizes, heights and weights to be found in any organization. This article on Aeron Chair Size Selection will help you to work out the right sized Aeron model for you.They also introduced an Aeron Work Stool option in late 2006 for people who work at higher than normal work surfaces. Finally, the range is completed with a side chair which is ideal for guest, visitor and meeting use, to combine with Aeron swivel chairs.
This is quite unusual as most chair manufacturers don't do this, so frequently for chair users at the extremes of the spectrum it is difficult to find the right model to fit them. Not so with an Aeron, there's almost certain to be the right model to fit your body's height, weight or size.
Adjusting The Aeron Ergonomic Chair
Depending on whether you select the basic Aeron or the highly adjustable version you may not get all the adjustment features detailed below.
Seat height adjustment is conventional and is by means of a lever on the right hand of the Aeron. If seated pulling the lever up will lower the user. Conversely, take your weight off the Aeron's seat pan and the chair height is raised when the lever is raised. Height should normally be set up so that your feet are firmly on the floor with your thighs roughly at right angles to your lower legs.
Kinemat® Knee Tilt Tension allows the user to set up the Aeron for their body weight and is controlled by a knob on the right hand underside of the chair. This is a most useful feature as it enables the chair user to adjust the Aeron to their exact weight. It's worth spending a little time on adjusting the tilt tension to your needs, when properly adjusted you should be able to lean back comfortably in your chair using your body's weight to do the work for you.
The Aeron's arms can be adjusted for both height and angle (note: this feature isn't available on basic model which has fixed arms).
To adjust the height of the arms, first the arm adjustment wheel located at the base of each arm is moved upwards, this allow the arm to be moved to the desired position when the wheel is locked down again. The height of the Aeron's arms should be set to support your lower arms whilst relieving the weight on your shoulders.
Arm angle adjustment (not included on the Aeron basic), enables the chair user to set the seat's arms in on of three positions, facing in, facing out or straight ahead.
It's simply a case of grabbing the arm pad and moving it to the position you want. Facing the Aeron's arms inwards can be great when you are working at your computer. Pointing the arms outwards let's you get closer to your desk. It's all down to individual preference and the Aeron allows you to position yourself comfortably when sitting at your desk or workstation.
PostureFit® adjustment is an optional extra and only available on the highly adjustable model. By no means essential it's a neat little feature that is intended to let you set the chair up to suit your spine's natural alignment as well as giving your lower back a comfortable seating position.The Aeron lumbar support (optional extra on basic model) is adjustable for height by gripping each end of the support whilst seated and moving it up or down as necessary. You may find it easier to do this standing at the rear of the chair. The depth of the lumbar support can be adjusted to give either a thick or thin lumbar support depth.
To change this the built in lumbar support on the Aeron chair is removable and reversible, so it's just a case of undoing it turning it and re-fitting it to suit your needs.
Forward tilt and tilt limiter (highly adjustable Aeron only) are the final two adjustments included with an Aeron chair. Forward tilt can be great if you work a lot at your computer as it allows you to get into a good comfortable position for screen and keyboard input work. As you are effectively lowering your leg height when using forward tilt it's best to raise the height of the Aeron slightly to compensate for this.
If you do plan to use the forward tilt function on the Aeron it's probably a good idea to limit the rear tilt of the chair. Just lean back in your Aeron to the position you like and move the rear tilt limiter lever upwards. Remember, you can always remove the limit by simply leaning forwards in your Aeron and pressing the lever down.
Although all these adjustments on the Aeron chair may sound complicated in reality they are not. Bear in mind that a lot of the chair settings won't need to be altered once you have adjusted your Aeron to your exact needs.
Nonetheless, it is worth spending a little time going through all the settings to get the chair exactly as you want it.
Many people will look at the cost of an Aeron chair and decide that it isn't worth paying that much for an office chair, especially as there are loads of cheap chairs available.
However, when you consider the importance of being comfortable and reducing the stresses and strains on your body. The humble office chair is arguably the single most important investment you or your staff can make for long term productivity and comfort.
The fact that the Aeron carries a 12-year warranty is indicative of the anticipated life you should expect from this great ergonomic seating product. Think of how many cheap office chairs you would get through over this time, notwithstanding the aches and pains that cheap chairs inflict on their users.
