Health and Safety
It is important to draw your attention to the following things your assembler should know:-
Below is a summary of some of the legal issues that you should be aware of. Anyone holding any of our 4 main badges has taken our course and passed our tests, so will be aware of these issues.
Ikea
Ikea Chests of Drawers have killed 8 children in the USA.
- Malm chests* must be attached to the wall if you have small children. In 6 cases it has been the Malm chest that has caused the deaths.
- This danger is present with lots of other chests which use the same runners as well: Ikea Hemnes, Ikea Brimnes, Next Flynn, John Lewis Mix It etc
- June 2016 - Ikea have recalled 29 million items.
- December 2016 - Ikea in $40m settlement over 3 x child deaths in USA
- January 2020 - Ikea are to pay $46m in compensation after child killed by falling drawers
* In my opinion from watching various videos and experience of assembling the Malm chests. There is a fundamental problem with the design. When a small child tries to reach an item on the top of the chest, the bottom drawer provides a perfect foothold to climb, leading to the item tipping. This is less likely with other designs of drawers which have normal handles.
Wardrobes & Bookcases
There are eight tests which completed under BS ISO 7171 to determine whether a peice of furniture is stable and if not it should be attached to the wall. Only items of 600mm or higher are tested, and some tests only apply to items over 1200mm. Additionally BS EN 747 also identifies two additional stability tests for bunk beds and loft beds.
- Every year in the UK numerous children are hurt by toppling chests and wardrobes over on top of them and injures themselves, don’t let it be yours.
Warnings
Several British Standards apply to children’s and nursery furniture (as well as all the standards that apply to toys).
- This is why this furniture costs more, as it has to be tested and pass these tests. It should be a legal requirement but it isn't.
- Be careful buying children’s and nursery furniture off the Internet from companies in Europe and the rest of the world if it is not tested to the British Standards.
- Ignoring warnings can lead to fatal or near fatal accidents
