Zody

Information about the Zody

	Silver Best of NeoCon Award, Seating: Ergonomics Desk/Task Chicago, IL, USA June 2005. The Best of NeoCon awards is sponsored by Contract magazine, McMorrow Report.com, Merchandise Mart Properties Inc., IFMA, and IIDA. It is the most prestigious product competition in the commercial interior furniture and furnishings market in the USA.
	Gold IIDEX/NeoCon Canada Product Award, Seating: Desk/ Workstation Chairs, Canada September 2005.. This award is the highest award for office furniture in Canada. The products are evaluated by a panel of judges, selected from a judging committee of 25 members from prestigious design firms and corporations.
	Cradle to CradleTM Gold Certified Product by MBDC (McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, LLC) October 2005. Zody has been certified as a Cradle to Cradle™ Gold Product by MBDC (McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, LLC). Zody has been evaluated for its human health, environmental health, lifecycle attributes, renewable energy, water stewardship, and social responsibility characteristics against stringent certification criteria and is considered an ecologically intelligent product.
	American Physical Therapy Association Endorsement (APTA) December 2005. Zody is the first and only chair endorsed by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). This endorsement comes after an APTA review based on criteria such as ergonomic features, proven benefit to the user, product efficacy, and cost-effectiveness. "Zody offers a high level of individual control and is reasonably priced," said APTA President Ben F Massey, Jr., PT, MA. "We particularly favor the range of adjustment features it offers for users' comfort."

• Back and Lumbar Support
  The combination of the frame flex, mesh construction, lumbar pad, lumbar pad spring suspension and asymmetrical adjustment and pelvic support make up the "PAL™" system's unsurpassed ability to provide comfortable ergonomic support for a broad range of users.
  
• Tension
  Zody's tension adjustment is a crank located halfway back on the right side of the seat pan (Figure 1). Adjusting the tension control regulates the amount of resistance a user feels when leaning back in the chair and the effort required to recline the chair backwards. Forward (clockwise) rotation increases the tension and backward (counterclockwise) rotation decreases the tension. Zody's tension can be adjusted to accommodate users of different body types and sizes and for different work styles.
  
• Torsional Movement
  Zody was designed to have 2" of passive torsional flex in the upper back. This means the backrest follows the user as it moves, increasing mobility and comfort when reaching sideways for objects.
  
• Mesh Tension
  Zody's proprietary suspension mesh is a thin, breathable 100% polyester woven fabric designed to work in concert with the lumbar pad and pelvic support. Several studies were completed to identify appropriate upper and lower back mesh tensions which provide users with continuous support.
  
• Lumbar Support
  When standing, the spine naturally forms an "S-curve", but when seated, the bottom of the back tends to round out as the tailbone is curled under causing the curvature to disappear. This can cause lower back pain when seated, so it is important to maintain the lumbar curvature (lordosis) that occurs normally in the spine of the lower back. Zody's lumbar pad was designed so it responds differently to people based on the amount of support they desire. Its concentric rings are different thicknesses and are interconnected by relatively small flexible webs to ensure support only where the user wants it. The handles to adjust the lumbar are located on the back of the chair (Figure 2). The lumbar pad adjusts 4" vertically along the back of the user.