Furniture

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General Guidelines for the Purchase of Furniture Products

The University of California system has a “Primary” use contract with Steelcase, Inc. for office furniture. This Office Furniture Contract does not include conference room, lobby, lounge, lab, classroom and auditorium spaces.  The stated intent of this agreement is that all ten UC locations use Steelcase exclusively for the purchase of typical, everyday general office furniture, filing systems and seating applications to the greatest extent possible.

Office Furniture Covered under this Agreement

  • Tables (to be located in an employee/student’s office space)
  • Chairs (to be located in an employee/student’s office space)
  • Filing cabinets
  • Free standing steel and laminate desks
  • Bookcases
  • Paneled office systems
  • Task chairs and side chairs

ALL NEW OFFICE FURNITURE MUST BE STEELCASE AND BE PURCHASED VIA PURCHASE ORDER THROUGH BKM OR DIRECTLY THROUGH  DISTRIBUTION SERVICES (CAMPUS STOREHOUSE)

The Storehouse stocks a small selection of chairs and lab stools. They also purchase/process all custom orders for chairs and file cabinets for the campus. Please contact Judy Hodge @ x25542 to set up an appointment. You can also visit the Steelcase website for pre-specified product selection as well. Furniture returns will be assessed a 35% restocking fee, except in the case of a Store house error. 

BKM Contact Information

Mike Wytrykus, BKM Account Executive
Cell Phone: 760-402-3392
Office Phone: 858-569-4709
Email: mwytrykus@bkmsd.com

UCR's Furniture Buyer is Kathy Ensign x23007

Alternate Channels for Furniture Purchases (Exceptions)

USED OFFICE FURNITURE AND OTHER THAN “OFFICE” TYPE FURNITURE MAY BE PURCHASED THROUGH ALTERNATE CHANNELS AS DESCRIBED BELOW:

  • Used Furniture: In cooperation with Procurement Services, used furniture which meets or exceeds UC’s specifications, UCR Procurement Services requirements and can be bought for significantly less than used Steelcase furniture may be purchased.
  • Other than Office: Laboratory, classroom, conference room and lounge furniture may be bought from other vendors provided it complies with the UC (BUS-43) and UCR Purchasing policy and California Department of Consumer Affairs, Bureau of Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation requirements. Laboratory furniture should be purchased from a laboratory supply contract source such as Fisher Scientific or VWR whenever possible. For classroom, conference room and lounge furniture alternatives, consideration should be given to other UC agreement sources before an alternate may be selected.
  • Match Existing: In limited cases office furniture may be required to match existing furniture. All reasonable efforts must have been exhausted to utilize agreement sources.
  • Ergonomic Considerations: (Subject to submission of a written evaluation by EH&S and in cooperation with Procurement Services guidelines). Steelcase is a major producer of ergonomic seating. Steelcase products should be the first seating products considered for ergonomic seating applications and should be utilized for every other purpose in which they will meet the minimum requirement. When Steelcase products CANNOT meet the minimum requirement nor reasonably address the special ergonomic needs, products from the following UC agreement sources should be considered (listed in alphabetical order):
    • Ergogenesis*
    • Haworth*
    • OfficeMax*
    • Workrite*

When the contract products from the above 5 sources cannot meet the minimum requirement nor fulfill the special ergonomic needs, products from the following UC price schedule sources may be also be considered (listed in alphabetical order):

    • Humanscale*
    • One Source*

In the event the requirements are so unique that they cannot be reasonably fulfilled by any one of the above 7 suppliers, Procurement Service may on a case by case basis grant exceptional approval to use an alternate supplier.Such special requirements must be sufficiently documented to illustrate the effort made to determine that no agreement source is capable of fulfilling the special need. Typically, a note from the employee’s doctor or a recommendation from the Campus Ergonomist is required.

Furniture Fire Resistance

All “upholstered furniture” is regulated by the California Department of Consumer Affairs, Bureau of Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation. The following Technical Bulletins apply to UC Riverside:

  • Technical Bulletin 117 (TB 117) - All furniture sold in California must meet this Bulletin. Refer to the Procurement Services for additional assistance.
  • Technical Bulletin 133 (TB 133) - TB 133 requires that manufacturers of upholstery for all buildings on campus meet strict fire safety requirements. The Fire Safety Division has developed guidelines for both spinklered and non-sprinklered buildings.

UCR Procurement Services may consult with the UCR Campus Fire Marshall for final determination of ‘appropriate fitness for use’ of furniture specifications.