How stable is your furniture? Does your heavy, full wardrobe have appropriate anchors or tip-over failsafes? Currently, Australia only has a voluntary safety standard (AS/NZS 4935:2009) but in light of the recently published mandatory American standard (ASTM F2057–23 Standard Safety Specification for Clothing Storage Units) the Australian Competition and ConsumerCommission has decided to re-investigate the issue.
Previously, the ACCC had found that the lack of effective and feasible mandatory standards placed too much difficulty on developing an Australian mandatory standard, especially as some relevant standards were under review and requirements liable to change.
With the release of the mandatory American standard the ACCC is now considering if the stability and tip-over restraints in the American standard would be suitable inclusions in an Australian mandatory safety standard. To give feedback on the American standard and its possible inclusion in a mandatory Australian safety standard please see the ACCC’s survey here and the summary of the American standard provided by the ACCC below. The survey closes January 31st 2024.
The Furniture Standard
In February 2023 ASTM International published ASTM F2057–23 Standard Safety Specification for Clothing Storage Units (the Furniture Standard). On 19 April 2023, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission made the ASTM Standard requirements mandatory effective from 1 September 2023.
The Furniture Standard captures freestanding Clothing Storage Units (CSUs) that have a height of at least 686mm (27 inches), a minimum mass of 13.5kg (30 pounds), and a volume of at least 90.6 litres (3.2 cubic feet) or more. This includes, drawer chests, armoires, chifforobes, bureaus, door chests and dressers.
The requirements of the Furniture Standard reflect real-world factors, such as multiple open drawers, drawers containing clothing-representative loads, angling CSUs to replicate the effects of placement on carpet and forces a child exerts while climbing or pulling on a CSU, all of which are shown to occur during CSU tip overs and contribute to their instability.
The Furniture Standard also requires CSUs to be supplied with a tip-over restraint, also known as an anchoring device, that meets the strength requirements for tip-over restraints set out in the ASTM F3096-23 Standard Performance Specification for Tip-over Restraint(s) Used with Clothing Storage Unit(s) (The Tip-over Restraints Standard).
The following tests apply:
1. Simulated Clothing Load. All extendible elements and spaces behind doors are loaded with 0.136 kg/dm3 (8.5 pounds per cubic foot). All doors and loaded drawers are opened. The loaded unit must remain upright for 30 seconds. (There is a separate test for units with drawer interlocks that prevent 50 percent or more of the extendible elements from opening.)
2. Simulated Horizontal Dynamic Force. With all doors open and all elements extended, a 4.5kg (10-pound) horizontal force is applied to the highest handhold, not to exceed 142cm (56 inches). The unit must not tip while the force is applied to the top edge of a drawer or to the centre of the pull area of the extendible element and held for 10 seconds.
3. Simulated Carpet Test with Child Weight. A test block of 11mm (.43 inches) is placed under the rear legs or base of the unit to simulate the impact of units placed on carpet. All doors are opened, and all elements extended. A test weight of 27.2kg (60 pounds) is applied gradually over the top of the door or extendible element most likely to cause tip-over and remains in place for 30 seconds without causing the unit to tip over.
4. Tip-over Restraint. As set out in the Tip-over Restraints Standard, one end of the tip-over restraint or anchor must be rigidly suspended or attached to a fixed structure, while a load is applied to the opposite end of the restraint. Gradually, over a period of not less than 2 seconds nor greater than 15 seconds, a static load of 27.22 kg (60 pounds) is applied and maintained for an additional 30 seconds without the tip-over restraint breaking.