The Furniture Industry Research Association

About us - FIRA

For 60 years, FIRA has developed many of the test methods that form the basis of furniture standards worldwide. Today FIRA offer not only furniture testing, but a host of other services to the furniture industry:

FIRA Service Technicians

FIRA Service Technicians offer a nationwide furniture complaint handling service for dozens of clients, including some of the biggest names in retailing.

The Furniture Ombudsman

The Furniture Ombudsman is an independent dispute resolution service in the furniture and floorcoverings sector with its own separate membership.

ukfirst

ukfirst works with furniture companies to help achieve world class performance in quality, cost and delivery through manufacturing, process improvements and the implementation of Lean techniques.
Now available Lean Interactive, is an innovative computer based training package, developed by ukfirst, and suitable for all manufacturers - not just the furniture industry. An extremely cost effective and time efficient way to introduce Lean concepts to the workplace.

Consultancy, research and expert witness services

Consultancy, research and expert witness services are another big part of FIRA’s work; for example, helping companies achieve environmental management standards such as ISO 14001; to become members of FISP (Furniture Industry Sustainability Programme, of which FIRA is one of 11 industry supporters); in ergonomic design; and - as acknowledged experts in furniture - in court cases.

The FIRA Certification Schemes and Awards

For product and service excellence; including the coveted FIRA Gold Award; the recently introduced Certification Scheme for School Furniture to encourage improvement in the quality of furniture used in education; another new addition is the Furniture Footprinter, a comprehensive online carbon footprint measurement tool developed specifically for the furniture industry.

Furniture Testing

Furniture testing remains a core part of FIRA’s business, as you would expect from a pioneering organisation.

FIRA Training and Events

FIRA Training and Events continue to grow, with over 50 training courses held each year, monthly e-news and a regularly updated website which contains over 3000 pages. The FIRA-organised National Furniture Conference is one of the key dates in the industry calendar.

Where we are…

If you need to come to FIRA please have a look at our find us page. This page has detailed directions to FIRA by road, rail, foot and air.

FIRA is a member of BM TRADA Group Limited, whose other members include:

BMTRADA Certification

TRADA Technology Ltd.

Chiltern International Fire / Chiltern Dynamics

CCB Evolution Ltd.