OM Seating’s award-winning OM5 ergonomic task and conference chairs add Silver and Sustainability Nightingale Awards to their accolades

October 11, 2024 — In addition to a Best of NeoCon Innovation Award this summer, the evolved OM5® series by Phidesign has now garnered both a Silver Award and a Sustainability Award in the Seating: Conference category in last week’s Nightingale Awards at The Healthcare Design Conference + Expo.

The Nightingale Awards — the industry’s leading program to recognize products related to the healthcare built environment — are named for Florence Nightingale, a tireless advocate for the improvement of care and conditions in military and civilian hospitals in the 1800s. The judging criteria for the awards are the product’s contribution or solution for clinical or operational outcomes; aesthetics and innovation; built environment solution, durability, functionality, and quality; industry certifications and standards; environmental sustainability; and list price. To evaluate the entries, jurors visited exhibitors’ booths before the Healthcare Design Expo opened to examine the products, hear the story of their design and development, and ask questions. 

The OM5® series is a collection of seating with a wide range of visually and functionally distinct choices for every productivity, healing, and learning environment. The ergonomic desk/task and conference chairs from OM Seating offer eight colorful mesh-back choices, custom mesh material construction, two sizes of flexible/cleanable polymer backs, and two sizes of fully cushioned backrests.

The OM5 offers a pioneering, body-weight-activated, custom-created mechanism that intuitively responds to the sitter’s shifting weight, allowing for hands-free adjustments without the limiting downside of too many manual controls. First introduced in 2009, the 2024 complete (re-)evolution of this one-of-a-kind design sought to preserve that ability to balance users in any position–from upright tasking to dynamically flowing anywhere along its reclined posture range.

The OM5’s evolution builds upon years of contract furniture end-user feedback and myriad real world test cases to help OM Seating know which elements to enhance and which to add. Seat cushions that can be swapped in the field, tools-free, for an innovative refresh to seat upholstery choices every few years, and an asynchronously adjustable Bilateral Lumbar Support™ are among the innovative elements of this newest generation of OM5 Series work chairs.

Designers and end-users can meet their style needs with mid-and high-back fully cushioned backrests, a ventilated, Polymer slat-back in the same two sizes, and a visually flexible selection of eight different backrest mesh colors coupled with three neutral, but varied, frame colors.

So, whether a healthcare environment desires fully cleanable Polymer mid-height backrests or an executive board room needs fully upholstered, leather high-back chairs, or individual workstations need breathable mesh backrests in different colors for different “neighborhoods”, OM5 has a solution custom-fit for them.

The OM5 chair has an interesting revitalization story to a classic chair. This chair design has been carefully developed and the ergonomics felt so great. The innovative materials were also great. This chair is lovely and functional for the work environment.

The design of this chair was very innovative as it did not use levers to change positioning. The “sit” is/was very comfortable, and the price point is great. Would like to see a metal frame option to have more of an elevated look.

Innovation Award-winner for Conference Seating from the Best of NeoCon 2024 Jurors

Productive “meeting seating” should be capable of quietly supporting engaged conversation flow while still enabling sustained physical motion to really keep the meeting, and your ideas, moving. The OM5® does this by recognizing that people are not static sitters. All need to move frequently throughout workdays and meetings.

Want to sit up and be engaged as the big ideas are zooming around in your brainstorming session? The integrated balance of the OM5 has your back by having a natural, “Virtual Lock” at the upright position. But, the moment you’re ready to sink into deeper thoughts, or recline into a more relaxed posture, the backrest will sense your body’s shift and instantaneously move with you to recline, pause, recline further, all without any motion-blocking need to “find that paddle” or “pull that lever”. For those who still demand fully locked support for intense sessions of collaborative genius, they can engage an actual lock lever.

Beyond “mere” productivity-facilitating motion, and creative juice promoting fluidity, the evolved OM5 is built upon years of a proven seating platform that was first introduced in 2009. From durable nylon with glass fill seat cradles, to strong aluminum and steel fasteners and support elements, the evolved OM5 has gone beyond its previous, standard 300 lbs. weight-rating and will now carry with it an above-industry-norms, 350 lbs. standard user weight rating; demonstrating an even further-enhanced design and strength that easily accommodates the evolving needs, and weight, of pretty much everyone taking part in the big meeting.

I like that the seat can be swapped to freshen up the chairs — important for end-users to know and understand. I appreciate the removable/replaceable seat. Not having this ability is what holds me back from specifying task chairs with upholstered seats. 

The 5-star base is sleek. I appreciate the cleanability of the chair and the auto-lock function. It’s comfortable and user-friendly. Very comfortable sit. Chair doesn’t pinch behind your knees. The tension-hold is wonderful. Beautiful from the front. 

The ability to have different lumbar supports on each side is unique. Mesh dual color weft is lovely. This chair was very comfortable and seemed to react well to all body types. Intuitive design — nice range of features.

Best of NeoCon 2024 jurors

The OM5’s utility isn’t measured in mere years, but in truly well-supported lifetimes carrying a Lifetime Limited Manufacturer’s Warranty. OM5 meets these industry certifications or standards: ANSI/BIFMA Standards Compliant, BIFMA Compliant Registry, BIFMA LEVEL, California Proposition 65, GREENGUARD/GREENGUARD Gold, LEED. In addition, OM5 is expected to be compliant to the upcoming BIFMA ergonomics standards, as well as capable of contributing to LEED and to be compliant to CA TB 117-2013, NFPA 260, Prop 65 — all subject to clients’ self-directed upholstery materials’ selections.

The evolved OM5 Series was designed with the “triple e’s” of environment, ergonomics, and economics in mind. As such, primary materials are focused on strength, flexibility and affordability as described below:

• OM Seating & Phidesign, as part of OM Seating’s Design for Environment principles, is limiting the use of chromed parts. Aside from the cylinder (which OM is shifting to relatively less damaging, trivalent chroming), all other previously chrome-plated elements such as arm frames and stool foot rings have been updated to feature powder-coating, aluminum, and/or other finishes/materials. Aluminum parts, in particular, have extremely high levels of recycled content.
• For polymer parts that require various degrees of flexibility or absolute strength and durability, OM Seating has used materials ranging from polypropylene to PA6 with fiber glass strands for reinforcement. All of these make use of post-industrial recycled materials to the degree possible.
• Beyond merely choosing any aesthetically suited 5-star base, the OM5 design team specifically sought and found a 5-star base that featured up to 100% recycled Post-Industrial resins which were capable of passing our custom testing for “beyond ANSI/BIFMA” testing standards, and which were tested to withstand a 350 lbs. everyday user weight rating.
• The field-replaceable (with zero tools) seat cushion is capable of being hot-swapped out to prolong the physically useful, aesthetically-pleasing lifetime of the OM5 chair. Whether the need for replacement stems from wear & tear, visual fatigue, or industry-common freight or installation damage on a new chair, no combination of recycled material content is better than a well-designed, durable chair that can successfully withstand the physical and visual tests of time.

OM5 won a Best of NeoCon 2024 Innovation Award. Click to see all Best of NeoCon 2024 winners.