IKEA takes the lead to reduce the risk of tipping

Safety is a fundamental requirement when IKEA develops its products. For our chests of drawers, this means that they’re as stable as possible when used. But no one can predict all the scenarios that everyday living at home can create. So now we've developed the safety feature Anchor and Unlock to reduce tipping risks. First out with the feature is VIHALS chest of drawers.

Accidents often occur where and when you least expect them to. It could be someone using a drawer as support to stand up or children building a blanket fort. That’s why the best way to avoid tipping accidents is to anchor your chest of drawers to the wall. The idea with our new safety feature Anchor and Unlock is to remind people of this while promoting safer use of the chest of drawers. "The feature means that the chest of drawers must be anchored to a wall to be able to open more than one drawer at a time, which significantly reduces the risk of tipping, but doesn’t entirely remove it. By anchoring the chest of drawers to a wall, you unlock the drawers and can open them all at once", says Björn Andreasson from the development team.

Comprehensive approach to safety

VIHALS chest of drawers is the first piece of furniture to be equipped with Anchor and Unlock. During the process, the team developed and tested several proposed solutions before agreeing on the feature. Anchor and Unlock is typical of IKEA in many ways, continues Björn Andreasson. "We’ve always lived up to the safety requirements that apply on the market, but we’re not satisfied at stopping here. Now we make sure to stay one step ahead instead. Everyday living can be unpredictable and that’s why we’re constantly developing our products to help people easily make their homes safer”, he says.