by Brianna Crandall — July 3, 2013—The inventive Guardian Chair just launched by Neutral Posture was designed as a response to active shooter events, providing immediate protection to workers who are suddenly caught in the cross-fire. Fresh off the assembly line, The Guardian Chair came back from the NeoCon 2013 office furniture expo in Chicago with a Best of NeoCon Gold Award in the Office Accessories category. Neutral Posture, a Texas-based designer and maker of ergonomic chairs, manufactured the chair for the employee that does not need to wear a ballistic vest all day, but wants the instant protection that the vest can provide.
The Best of NeoCon Competition celebrates the functionality, flexibility, quality, aesthetics, style, and innovation of new commercial interior products, and the Gold Award is a testament to The Guardian Chair team’s desire to provide their customers with safety and peace of mind. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 421 fatal workplace shootings in 2008. This unfortunate reality has caused a need that allows The Guardian Chair to appeal to employees that work in banks, retail, schools, foreign embassies, and any office building.
Neutral Posture notes that the increased possibility of danger from shootings has left employers with a new responsibility to protect their employees, yet many of these shootings take place in areas that are traditionally off limits to concealed-carry gun license holders and are often devoid of police presence, so the immediately accessible vest can bring a greater feeling of security. The detachable bullet-resistant vest in The Guardian Chair provides protection from handguns: from a regular .22-caliber up to a .357 Magnum.
The NIJ Level II bullet-resistant vest comes from the same high-quality materials and is manufactured by a provider of personal protection equipment for the U.S. military. Whether the employee uses the vest or the chair itself as a shield, The Guardian Chair creates a new level of protection in a situation where response time matters. With the vest on the chair, it can be used as a shield by kneeling behind the back of the chair or keeping the back of the chair between the shooter and the seated worker. The bullet-resistant vest is also easily removable due to the Velcro closures on the side, to provide wearable protection.
The Guardian Chair is sold in black faux leather only. It features up to 14 active adjustments, with a passive weight dispersion design and generous foam for optimal comfort. The chair’s forward pivot synchro mechanism allows it to swivel 360°, with pneumatic seat height, seat tilt tension, anti-kick tilt-lock, and optional seat slider. The arms adjust for height, width, depth and pivot.
