Sitting pretty at the top

A TEAM of schoolgirls are sitting comfortably on the way to making life more bearable for classmates and office workers after spending six months perfecting a prize-winning ergonomic chair mat.

The girls, representing Khawla Secondary Girls School, took home the first prize in the InJAz Bahrain’s fourth Company of the Year competition and have been developing their product ever since.

“We have simply tried to solve a common problem,” said the group’s chief executive officer, Ghufran Saeed, 18, who originally thought up the concept. “As students, most of us have experienced back pain from carrying heavy school bags and being on the computer too long whilst sitting uncomfortably.

“So, we thought why not fix this? However, now it’s developed even further to target not just students, but all people in the workplace.

“The idea is to fix the poor seating posture that people develop after sitting for long periods of time. We know our product is unique and targets a big segment in the market.”

The Plenum Ergonomic Chair Mat prototype beat 13 other bright ideas for the title. Ghufran refuses to take full credit for the success, explaining how she was supported by a group of talented colleagues, namely Amina Bucheeri, 16, head of marketing, Eman Hasan, 17, head of finance, Afnan Janahi, 17, head of PR, Maryam Mohammed, 17, head of production and Sharifa Sanad, 25, a volunteer working for banking giant BNP Paribas and an ex-Khawla Secondary Girls School pupil.

Ghufran from Buquwah, said: “When we won the competition we took the advice of the judging panel and have been improving our product ever since.”

The mat is portable and runs on batteries. It is designed with four motion sensors that detect pressure when the user is seated. When a change in the pressure is sensed, an alarm rings forcing the person to correct their position. It is devised to fit the body and is suitable for any chair.

The team explained that, with time, they hope the user will automatically attain the correct posture, even when walking or performing daily routines, which will eventually reflect positively on their health and life, preventing back, neck and shoulder aches and pains.

The team was lucky enough to receive internships at Gulf Petrochemicals Industries Company (GPIC), sponsors of the competition, in order to receive training in the specific departments they were responsible for. GPIC also dedicated two of its engineers, Ahmed Abdulsalam and Abdulsalam Naji, to assist.

Sharifa from Adliya said: “After making the prototype, we introduced new aspects to our design including the feature that sets our product apart from the rest - the timer.

“We knew the product wouldn’t be efficient if the alarm sounds with every slight movement, so the timer can be set up for any period of time so it doesn’t buzz instantly. Users won’t need to switch the product on and off every time they leave the room.”

The team raised BD180 for making the product from friends and family and insists on returning what was given to them, on top of a certain amount of profit, to every sponsor. They have already sold a chair mat to GPIC as well as the school.

Afnan from Juffair, said: “We visited a professional orthopedic doctor and received great feedback and advice. He gave us a lot of ideas as well as his approval for the product. He loved the idea and even told us to make it thicker and wider to improve it and we’re still in the process of making it even better.”

The mats cost BD35-BD55 each, depending on the type of material used and size, and come with a bag.

Ghufran added. “We want the product to be successful but in any case we have learned how to start up a business, how to be entrepreneurs and how to be leaders as well as develop teamwork, innovation and creativity.”