If your job involves 12-hour shifts in a chair somebody else will be sitting in four hours later, a standard office chair is the wrong tool. Control room operators, security personnel, dispatch centres and 24/7 monitoring facilities need seating built for continuous occupancy. But a purpose-built 24/7 chair costs more than a good task chair, and not every long-hours workplace actually needs one. This guide is the decision, not the specification — if you have already decided and need to write the tender, go straight to our guide to specifying 24/7 control room chairs in Australia.
What makes a 24/7 chair different
The RH Secur24 is a purpose-designed monitoring chair rather than a task chair with a heavier cylinder in it.
A 24/7 rated chair is not simply a stronger version of a regular office chair. It is built for a different duty cycle. When three or four people use the same chair across a roster, the adjustment hardware sees a few thousand cycles a year where a single-user chair sees a few dozen.
| Feature | Standard office chair | 24/7 control room chair |
|---|---|---|
| Intended duty | One user, around 8 hours a day, 5 days a week | Multiple users, continuous occupancy |
| Foam | Standard moulded foam | Typically high-density cold-cure foam, chosen to hold its shape under continuous load |
| Mechanism | Standard synchro-tilt | Reinforced mechanism, often with independent seat and back locking |
| Gas lift and base | Standard cylinder, nylon or aluminium base | Heavier cylinder and a reinforced base — the RH Secur24 uses a 710 mm base, the Control Master a six-star aluminium base with a full steel inner frame |
| Standards | EN 1335 or ANSI/BIFMA X5.1 — general office chair standards | Also BS 5459-2, the British standard for heavy-duty and 24-hour seating |
| Upholstery | Standard commercial fabric | Heavy-duty, easy-clean fabric; fire-retardant CMHR foam where required, specified at order |
| Warranty | Long headline term, usually conditional on hours per day — Flokk gives 10 years up to 9 hours a day, 5 years beyond | A term written for continuous occupancy — Flokk gives 5 years for RH chairs approved for control room 24/7 use |
Two rows in that table do most of the work. BS 5459-2 is the only standard listed there that was written for round-the-clock seating; EN 1335 and ANSI/BIFMA X5.1 are general office chair standards and a chair can carry either while being entirely unsuited to a three-shift roster. And the warranty row is where most procurement processes come unstuck: a 10-year headline term with a 9-hours-a-day condition attached to it is a 5-year term in a control room, from the day it is delivered.
When you actually need one
You need a 24/7 chair if:
- Multiple people use the same chair across shifts (hot-seating)
- Shifts regularly exceed 10 hours
- The chair is occupied more than 16 hours a day in total
- Your environment requires fire-retardant materials or a documented cleaning regime
- You need a warranty that is written for continuous use rather than conditioned against it
A standard ergonomic chair is fine if:
- One person uses the chair for standard 8-hour days
- The chair is unoccupied evenings and weekends
- You have no hot-seating
If you are in the second group, explore our task chairs or executive chairs, which are built for standard working hours. For those who prefer active sitting, the HÅG Capisco 8106 encourages movement through the day. If you are in the first group, the 24/7 chairs collection is the right place to start — principally the RH Secur24 (sold as the BMA Secur24 before BMA Ergonomics merged into RH in January 2025) and the Control Master 24/7.
The impact of hot-seating
Every handover is a full readjustment — seat height, seat depth, backrest angle, armrests and headrest.
Hot-seating, where several employees share one workstation across a roster, is what actually separates the two categories. A single-user chair gets sixteen hours a day and two days a week in which nothing is loading the foam or the mechanism. In a 24/7 environment it gets none of that, and every handover is a full readjustment of seat height, seat depth, backrest angle, armrests and headrest.
The failures that follow are gradual rather than dramatic: flattened seat cushions, gas lifts that sink under load, tilt mechanisms that lose their tension range. A purpose-built 24/7 chair is built around that duty cycle rather than around a single owner.
Ergonomics in a 24/7 environment
Adjustability matters more here than anywhere else, because the chair has to fit several different bodies rather than one. Operators in control rooms and dispatch centres often cannot leave the desk for long stretches, so the chair has to support good posture without being re-earned every shift.
What to look for: seat depth adjustment, independent backrest angle adjustment, multi-directional armrests, and enough seat height range to cover the actual size spread of your roster rather than a notional average operator. For background on movement and posture, read our guide to ergonomics and movement.
Premium task chairs in heavy-use roles
The Aeron’s Pellicle suspension spreads load rather than compressing, which is a real advantage across a long shift.
Some premium task chairs are built to a standard that handles demanding use, even though they are not 24/7-rated products. Two are worth knowing about.
The Herman Miller Aeron is best known for its Pellicle suspension, which spreads load and breathes rather than compressing like foam — a genuine advantage over long shifts. Herman Miller chairs bought through Chair Dinkum are parallel imports and carry our own 12-year warranty covering frame, tilt mechanism, gas lift, base, armrest structure and suspension materials, explicitly including 24/7 use. That last clause is unusual and is worth weighing against a shorter manufacturer term written for the same duty.
HÅG chairs such as the HÅG SoFi Mesh are built around HÅG in Balance, a mechanism designed to keep the sitter moving rather than holding one position. Note the warranty condition, though: Flokk's 10-year HÅG term applies to normal use of up to 9 hours a day and steps down to 5 years beyond that, so a HÅG chair in a continuously occupied room is on the 5-year term. More on the range in our complete guide to HÅG ergonomic chairs.
Enhancing your 24/7 workstation
Screen height is what keeps the neck out of the problem when an operator watches several displays at once.
A good chair is one part of the workstation. Monitor arms matter in a control room where operators watch several screens at once, and getting screen height right is what keeps the neck out of the problem — a solution like the CBS Flo dual monitor arm allows precise positioning. Our guide on how to choose a monitor arm works through the decision.
Alternating between sitting and standing also helps across a long shift. Sit-stand desks let operators change posture without leaving the console.
Frequently asked questions
What is a 24/7 chair?
A 24/7 chair is a heavy-duty ergonomic chair designed and tested for continuous use across multiple shifts. It uses a reinforced mechanism and base, high-density foam and heavy-duty upholstery, and the ones built for the job carry BS 5459-2, the British standard for heavy-duty and 24-hour office seating, alongside general standards such as EN 1335.
Can I use a standard office chair for 12-hour shifts?
You can, but check the warranty before you do. Manufacturers commonly condition the headline term on hours of use per day — Flokk warrants HÅG chairs for 10 years in normal use up to 9 hours a day and 5 years beyond that — so a standard chair on a 12-hour roster may already be on a shorter term than you think. The mechanism and gas lift are also built for lower duty than a purpose-built 24/7 model.
Are 24/7 chairs suitable for heavy users?
Often, but read the specific figure rather than assuming. The Control Master 24/7 is published at a 200 kg maximum user weight, with the warranty void if that is exceeded. RH publishes a general maximum user weight of 150 kg across its range. Figures for maximum static load circulate for the Secur24, but static load and certified user weight are different measurements and we do not publish the static figure as a capacity. Ask us and we will confirm the certified user weight in writing. Our guide to office chair weight ratings explains the distinction.
How long should a 24/7 chair last?
Judge it by the warranty term written for your actual duty rather than by a general claim. Flokk provides a 5-year warranty for RH chairs approved for control room 24/7 use, and the Control Master carries a 5-year manufacturer warranty. Herman Miller chairs bought through us carry Chair Dinkum's own 12-year warranty, which explicitly includes 24/7 use. Full terms are on our warranty page, and they are in addition to your rights under the Australian Consumer Law.
What is the best fabric for a 24/7 chair?
One that is durable, easy to clean and permitted by the manufacturer's own cleaning guidance. Ask the mill's published abrasion figure and write a minimum into the specification. On RH chairs, also confirm the fabric is an RH approved 24/7 fabric — upholstery outside that list is not covered by the 24/7 warranty term. Where fire-retardant CMHR foam is required, it must be specified at the time of order and adds lead time; it cannot be added afterwards.
Our recommendation
For Australian control rooms, dispatch centres and security operations, specify a purpose-built 24/7 chair from a manufacturer that publishes a warranty term written for continuous use, and ask for BS 5459-2 by name. Where the occupancy is closer to a long single shift than genuine round-the-clock, a good task chair with the right adjustment range will do the job for less.
Browse the 24/7 chairs range, the Herman Miller or HÅG ranges, or contact us for advice on specifying seating for your facility. We supply control rooms, emergency services and monitoring centres across Australia.
