Nursery Furniture Inspection Procedures

A lot of people put in good money for high quality nursery furniture due to the fact that safety for babies or toddlers is one of the major concerns when talking about these types of furniture. Each nursery furniture piece is required to undergo a series of inspection that adheres to different quality control standards from ANSI, ASTM, BS, EN, ISO and BIFMA to ensure that strict safety standards have been met to the highest quality.

Several nursery furniture inspection processes have to be met to ensure that the safety standards are strictly followed. The sole purpose of having these inspection processes is to ensure that minimal accidents can occur with high quality nursery furniture sets. Here are some of the most common accidents that can occur with several nursery furniture sets:

• Injuries due to misuse (wrong assembly)
• Injuries related to the product’s physical assembly (loose parts)
• Injuries related to poorly constructed nursery furniture
• Injuries that started because of poorly crafted instructions
• Injuries related to the inadequate design of the nursery furniture

  Listed below are some of the nursery inspection processes needed to meet the safety standards of most quality control organizations:

  VISUAL INSPECTION

  Each part of the nursery furniture piece will undergo a visual inspection, where each piece will be analyzed and observed to ensure that no damage(s) such as cracks, splinters, dents and/or wood chips are visible or detected during the initial assembly of the product.

  MEASUREMENT AND WEIGHT INSPECTION

  Each part of the nursery furniture piece will be inspected, measured and weighed for its net weight to ensure that all similar products are uniform to the quality standards set. The inspection that would take place for items like cribs, high chairs and baby changing stations will undergo a weight capacity test to ensure that the estimated maximum weight limit is followed.

  CONTAMINATION INSPECTION (For Mattress and Cot or foamed materials)

  The purpose of this inspection is to inspect and verify that no traces of poisonous or contaminated agents have infiltrated the foam to be used by cribs, beds and cradles for nursery furniture. Verify that each cot or mattress being inspected have zero residues of any toxic agents to ensure safe use right out of production.

  INTERNAL INSPECTION

  The purpose of this inspection is to inspect and verify the total count of bolts, screws, joints and other small components needed for certain nursery furniture items. This is to verify that each product has passed the safety standards and is ready to use for assembly purposes.
  STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY INSPECTION

  The purpose of this inspection is to ensure that each nursery furniture piece will undergo a series of inspection processes to verify that all internal parts, mechanisms, wood, legs and other important component has passed the safety standards for daily operation. Here are some of the nursery furniture sets that have been highlighted for this article:

  Bassinets and Cradles

  Inspect each piece of the nursery furniture for any damages and/or loose joints, splinters and other destructive factors. The major components inspected for these items include:

  Legs – thoroughly inspect each furniture leg to verify that it has the same height and diameter like the others in production.
  Locks – thoroughly inspect and verify if the locks are effective, baby-proofed and are working as expected.
  Screws and other small components – thoroughly inspect each small component like screws, bolts and joints and verify that they are in place during installation to ensure a sturdy finished product after assembly.

  Changing Tables

  Inspect each piece of the changing table for its base stability to ensure that the furniture is structurally sound and reliable for use. According to several safety standards, the changing tables must incorporate a restraining device with a functioning lock for all changing stations to ensure that all tables are safe for use. The major components inspected for these items include:

  Safety Strap(s) – Inspect each changing table safety strap(s) to ensure that each strap is functioning as expected.
  Drawer and/or Shelves (if applicable) – inspect each drawer and/or shelf of the changing table for any wood chips, splinters, loose part(s) and other noticeable defects that came during production to ensure safe use and operation.

  Cribs

  Inspect each crib for any damages and/or loose joints, splinters and other destructive factors. The major components inspected for these items include:

  Slat – thoroughly inspect if each slat of the crib is complete, free from any cracks, loose components, and other noticeable damage during production. Verify if each slat being used for the crib is placed precisely 60mm apart from each other to ensure safe weight distribution and comfort.
  Mattress – thoroughly inspect and measure the diameters of each nursery mattress to be used to ensure that each mattress will uniformly fit to a standard crib. Verify if the head and footboard attachments are working as expected.
  Corner Posts – thoroughly inspect and measure the corner posts of each crib to verify if each post is at least 1.5mm in height or below to ensure that it adheres to the safety standards for nursery furniture.
  Latch – inspect and verify if each latch of the crib is working and is baby-proofed to ensure safe daily use.
  Small components – inspect each screw, bolt and joint to be used on the crib for any signs of weak materials, construction, and damage or lose treads to ensure a sturdy and stable crib after assembly.

  Cradles
  

  Inspect and verify the base and components being used for the cradle for any signs of splinters, cracks or noticeable damages to ensure safe use before and after assembly. The major components inspected for these items include:

  Bottom Base – inspect and verify if the bottom base of the cradle has a stable, wide and sturdy bottom to ensure that no issues can arise during initial use of the product.
  Legs – thoroughly inspect and verify if each leg of the cradle has a sturdy and tight finish. Verify if the locks for the legs are working as expected to ensure that no accidental folding can occur during product usage.
  Small Components – inspect and verify that each bolt, screw and joints to be used by the cradle is complete, damage-free and is tight and secure once assembled to ensure sturdy product use on a daily basis.

  Tables and Chairs:

  Inspect and identify each component being used by chairs and tables to be inspected for any signs of damage, defects or loose joints to ensure sturdy and safe use. The structural integrity of each table and chair must be strictly met to adhere to the safety standards. The major components inspected for these items include:

  Chairs/High Chairs – thoroughly inspect each waist and crotch support and restraints to be used for each chair to ensure that the locking mechanism is working as expected and is free from tangles or defects.
  Locks (High Chair) – thoroughly inspect and verify if the lock for the chair(s) being inspected is working as expected and is baby-proofed to ensure safe daily use of product.
  Buckle – as per the British Safety Standards for nursery furniture, each high chair should come with a buckle. Inspect and verify if the buckle attachment adheres to the safety standards set by the nursery furniture firm.
  Folding Mechanism (if applicable) – inspect and verify that the folding mechanism of the chair or table is working as expected and has no signs of damage, misuse or misassembled parts to ensure safe use.
  Storage:
  Inspect and identify the different nursery furniture storage compartments being used for any signs of moss buildup, damage, splinters and other known anomalies that occur during item production. The major components inspected for these items include:

  Changers and Dressers – thoroughly inspect each drawer for any signs of damage, wood chipping, splinters and mildew buildup to ensure that product is ready for the initial roll-out.
  Toy Box/Chests – inspect and identify each toy box/chest for any signs of damage, wood chipping, splinters and other anomalies that came during the production to ensure safe and efficient storage use. Verify if each toy box/chest has hinges, lids and springs that are working as expected to prevent any potential injury for infant or toddler use.

  PRE-SHIPMENT INSPECTION

  The purpose of this inspection is to identify, inspect and verify the certain nursery furniture’s overall build to check if the product passed all the inspection processes that it undergone. The inspection process involved for this procedure involves assembly, disassembly and reassembly of each nursery furniture piece to ensure that all the components are in working order and is more than ready for product rollout.