Heavy duty office chairs are for people who need a sturdier seat and for desks that are staffed around the clock. Each one is built tougher than everyday office seating, with a reinforced frame and a heavier-duty gas lift. Models include the Austin task operator chair and the Houston, which has a tall mesh back.
When a standard chair is not enough
- Body weight. Ordinary office chairs are designed around an average user. Push past that and the gas lift and base tend to wear out early, usually without any dramatic warning.
- Hours of use. A chair shared by three shifts puts in roughly triple the hours of a nine to five seat. Security desks, control rooms and any 24 hour operation wear through standard seating quickly, whoever sits in it.
What you get for the extra strength
Heavy duty models pair a tougher gas lift with a reinforced base, and most also have a broader seat. Of those parts, the gas lift is the one to watch on an ordinary chair under heavy load: it tends to go first, and with little warning.
Fixing a seat that keeps breaking
If one particular desk goes through chair after chair, the problem is the specification, not luck. Before buying the same model again, make sure the castors suit the floor surface with our chair spares and parts, then switch that seat to heavy duty. For ordinary desks, see our task and operator chairs.
