DAILY UP FURNITURE
Project overview
Background
The project took place in resident rooms at a nursing home in central Kuala Lumpur. Room walls were finished with washable paint and lighting conditions were adequate. In 2014 the facility supplemented furniture in selected single and double rooms to improve nighttime toileting and bedside care convenience. Commode chairs were configured room by room according to care routines.
Requirements and challenges
- Explicit surface cleanability: Rooms were wiped down daily with disinfectant. Furniture contact surfaces needed to withstand damp wiping, resist staining, and avoid fabric or odour-absorbing materials.
- Stability at night: Residents moving short distances at night required chairs placed beside the bed to be stable, with no noticeable wobble or noise when gripping for support.
- Fast bucket removal: Care staff needed to remove the container with one hand, empty it and replace it quickly, avoiding prolonged bending or direct contact with waste.
- Removable padded seat: The seat cushion had to be removable for cleaning or replacement, without sagging, cracking or developing odours over extended use.
Specification and solution
- Two existing commode chair models selected: Based on room width and care level, single rooms received a narrow model with backrest, while double rooms received a wider model with armrests, totalling 16 units.
- Padded seat with removable container: Seats used waterproof padding. Containers featured a handle and could be withdrawn from the side rear. Frames were rounded to reduce impact injuries.
- Easy-clean frame finish throughout: Matched to the washable wall surfaces in the rooms. Daily wiping with disinfectant wipes or diluted cleaning solution leaves no water marks.
Delivery and outcome
- All 16 commode chairs were produced and shipped, with placement and adjustment in rooms completed after arrival in Kuala Lumpur.
- Care staff measured container removal to replacement at approximately 40 seconds on average, nearly half the time required by the previous models.
- A follow-up after 3 months of continuous use found no sagging seats, sticking containers or loose frames across all 16 units.
Client feedback: Care staff reported the container pulls out smoothly, wipes clean in one pass, and night-shift bucket changes are much faster than before.
