Industrial workbenches and other types of technical furniture are fixtures in hospitals, research facilities, metal fabrication workshops, aerospace manufacturing plants, pharmacies, defense contractors, restaurants, high school chemistry laboratories and many other essential and diverse installations. A pathologist works on an industrial workbench designed to hold a high-powered microscope steady so a cancer cell can be properly identified on a slide. A machinist uses an industrial workbench to shape a variety of metals in the manufacture of parts with margins of error within millionths of an inch. A doctoral candidate in biotechnology works on an industrial workbench to devise and construct new prosthetic appliances to help people live more independent and fulfilling lives.
Each of these individuals use an industrial workbench in the course of their work, but the application and utility of each workbench varies greatly in terms of construction, composition, configuration and ergonomics. Technical furniture must fit the workspace, facilitate effort and adapt to the demands of the application and the person using it for a workstation. How do you select the right industrial workbench for your business? Look for:
1. Portability In some industries, the nature of the work dictates that a project, or components of a project, must be able to move from one place to another. When it is not practical or possible at that stage of completion to remove something from the workbench, lockable casters on the bench’s legs are the most obvious answer. However, portability often requires a great deal more consideration than being movable. In some applications, there will be little tolerance for vibration or exposure to light or a thousand other application-specific considerations. Will the manufacturer and its technical furniture be able to accommodate your company’s needs for portability?
2. Adaptability Each industry and each employee have different ideas of how to configure a workstation for optimum efficiency. When comparison shopping for industrial workbenches, look for workbenches designed and constructed to afford many different configurations in terms of adjustable standing or sitting heights, attachable and adjustable accessories and features that allow workers to easily adapt their workstations. Also, consider how easily the workbenches can adapt to the specifics of your situation. Can they adapt to extremes in temperature without warping? Will the materials that the workbench is made from be able to withstand the damage of prolonged vibration, exposure to chemicals or other conditions?
3. Quality of workmanship and materials Businesses, hospitals, research facilities, universities, labs and all other organizations that need industrial workbenches expect to pay more for these and other types of technical furniture. Like any other product or service, there are companies that are genuinely interested in building the best for clients who need and demand the best and are willing to pay for it. There are companies that settle for “good enough” and clients that also make this concession. In addition, there are manufacturers that make equipment that appears to be good enough, but fails to last or deliver and those customers who settle for the least expensive price and receive neither value nor usefulness.
An industrial workbench made to the exacting standards of your situation is guaranteed to cost more. High-grade, thick-gauge metal, chemical-resistant laminate, electrostatic discharge (ESD) work surfaces and quality materials of all kinds cost extra. Nevertheless, the customer enjoys the benefits of their judgment and extra expense through many years of reliable use, low maintenance costs and all the other tangible and intangible benefits of employees who know they are working with the very best equipment.
4. Utility Before making a purchase decision on technical furniture, business owners must ask themselves a number of questions. Is this the right equipment for the application? Will this allow employees to do their jobs better? Will this industrial workbench save the company money over time? The utility of a workbench determines its usefulness. Ask an employee who will be using the workbench to see if it meets their needs. That may be the best litmus test of all for utility.
Only you and your employees know which type of industrial workbenches and materials will suffice for your operation. Will you need protective coatings that deter rust, resist corrosion, heat or cold? Will it need to withstand prolonged periods of vibration without the welds cracking? Will the surface resist chips and gouges? Ask yourself a battery of questions and then present those questions to the technical furniture manufacturer. If that company welcomes the challenges of making the right workbenches for you, you’ve probably found a good outfit capable of producing the technical furniture you need. However, if that company tries to steer you into equipment that is almost, but not quite, good enough for your needs, then you know that you need to move on to other industrial workbench manufacturers.
Paul Grant is the marketing director for SteelSentry, a manufacturer of industrial workbenches. SteelSentry works with a number of customers and industries throughout the U.S. and Canada. It has earned the reputation as the top-rated manufacturer of industrial workbenches and other technical workbench solutions.
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