Herman Miller Nala Patient Chair - Environmental Product Summary User Manual

Nala, Patient chair

Environmental Product Summary

Nala

Patient Chair

Design Story:

The Nala patient chair’s development and design
criteria were largely formed by the results of a
research project between Brandrud and Herman Miller
Healthcare. In addition, a design partnership was
established with Continuum, a Boston-based strategy,
product, and brand design firm, to provide industrial
design vision and refinement.

Researchers engaged with 200-plus caregivers in over
19 hospitals and healthcare systems, learning about
patient seating and what worked or didn’t work in
current offerings. They also consulted ergonomists,
physical therapists, gerontologists, and more than
70 healthcare designers. Also participating in the
research were industrial designers from Continuum.
These healthcare professionals and designers provided
input throughout the development of Nala prototypes.

The design objective was to address both patient and
caregiver needs. Continuum put it this way: “We wanted
Nala not only to feel comfortable physically for patients,
but also to be comfortable in an emotional sense.
For caregivers, we felt a patient chair should not
add complexity to their work. They are rushed and
overworked, so they can’t stop to think through the
features of a chair.”

With these ideas in mind, Nala was designed to be
easy to use and help caregivers minimize the risk to
their health as well as the patient’s when transferring
from bed to chair. Once seated, the patient is
comfortable and can relax; their bodies are well
supported and movement is easy and natural.

Herman Miller Design Protocol

Our commitment to corporate sustainability naturally
includes minimizing the environmental impact of each

of our products. Our Design for the Environment
team (DfE) applies environmentally sensitive design
standards to both new and existing Herman Miller
products.

The DfE Design Protocol goes beyond regulatory
compliance to thoroughly evaluate new product
designs in four key areas:
• Material Chemistry and Safety of Inputs—

What chemicals are in the materials we specify, and
are they the safest available?

• Disassembly—Can we take products apart at the

end of their useful life, to recycle their materials?

• Recyclability—Do the materials contain recycled

content, and more importantly, can the materials be
recycled at the end of the product’s useful life?

• LCA—Have we optimized the product based on the

entire life cycle?

Cradle to Cradle Certified

Nala is Cradle to Cradle Certified

Silver. This means

that Nala has been evaluated for its material health,
and is designed for material reuse in a closed loop
system, such as recycling or composting. It is assembled
using 100% renewable energy.

Material Content

The Nala patient chair’s components are constructed
from steel, aluminum, foam/textile, and plastic.

® Y and Z are among the registered trademarks of Herman Miller, Inc.

® Nemschoff and Nala are among the registered trademarks of Nemschoff.

Cradle to Cradle Certified

is a certification mark licensed by the Cradle to Cradle Products

Innovation Institute.

® GREENGUARD is a registered trademark of the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute.

STEEL 59%

ALUMINUM 18%

FOAM/TEXTILE 16%

PLASTIC

Our sustainability goals by the year 2020:

• Zero carbon footprint
• Zero landfill
• Zero hazardous waste generation
• Zero air emissions (VOCs)
• Zero process water use
• 100 percent renewable electrical energy use via renewable

energy credits and a power purchase agreement
• Company buildings constructed to a minimum
LEED Silver certification
• 100 percent of sales from DfE approved products