Don't Be a Flat-Pack Statistic: Follow the Directions!
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.29.07
We aren't sure whether to laugh or cry at this news: almost half of people living with home-assembled flat-pack furniture are in danger of falling out of bed or collapsing when they sit on a chair. This according to a UK survey compiled with data collected from 2,000 homeowners by the online trades directory RatedPeople.com; apparently, "haste and over-confidence have turned the relatively simple system into one of the biggest potential sources of home accidents," according to the Guardian.
Survey says: 67% of male flat pack buyers fail to read the instructions, and women are far more cautious, spending an average of 12 minutes preparing; still, 47% of all jobs are never properly finished. TreeHugger loves flat pack furnishings -- they're so easy to ship, and many fit the future-looking downloadable design paradigm -- but the end-user variable is a necessary consideration. Folks, please, let's not give flat pack a bad name; there's no shame in reading the instructions or even asking for help. So grab that allen wrench and start and number one to avoid becoming a flat-pack statistic. ::Rated People via ::Guardian
I would think on the manufaturing side that a lot of the issues with colapse could be prevented with a in-depth look at the design vs. what usually happens hast makes waist. forcing a product to market is never a good idea.