Upholstery Workshops: Staplers, Adhesives and Foam

Upholstery workshop safety: what happens in the workshop?

A sofa set enters the upholstery workshop as a timber or metal frame and leaves with its fabric stretched and packaged. In between there is a flow in which foam is cut and glued, wadding is wrapped, fabric is cut and sewn, and it is fixed to the frame with hundreds of staples. Upholstery workshop safety therefore looks not at a single machine but at several different risks that follow one another on the same bench.

Furniture manufacturing (31.00.01) is in the hazardous class in the hazard class list renewed in 2025. A business that produces upholstered furniture or only does upholstery should check the NACE code of its own main activity separately. Among furniture manufacturers in Bursa and the surrounding provinces, İnegöl in particular, the upholstery workshop is often in the same building as panel sizing, finishing and assembly, which means risks carry over from one to another.

Work step	Main hazard	First measure to look at
Foam cutting	Knife, band-knife cutting machine	Blade guard, distance between hand and blade when cutting
Gluing foam and wadding	Solvent vapour, flammable aerosol	Extracted gluing area, ban on ignition sources
Fabric cutting and sewing	Cutting machine, needle, repetitive movement	Machine guard, workstation layout
Fabric stretching and stapling	Staple penetration, ricochet, noise	Trigger mode, eye protection, hose discipline
Turning and carrying frames	Back and shoulder strain	Adjustable trestle, two-person lift
Stock and packaging	Foam fire load	Stock limit, control of heat sources and space in front of panels

The upholstery stapler: how do pneumatic stapler injuries happen?

The pneumatic upholstery stapler is the most used tool in the workshop, and most accidents happen in three situations:

Penetrating the hand. The hand holding the fabric taut is very close to the stapler's nose. The staple can pass through the fabric and thin covering and into a finger.
Ricochet. When a staple hits a hard knot in the timber, the metal frame or a previously driven staple, it changes direction and can hit the eye or a co-worker.
Unintended firing. Carrying the tool with the trigger pressed can cause it to fire when the nose touches the floor or a leg. On some tools in contact-trip mode, a recoiling tool can fire a second time.

Rank the measures like this:

Know the trigger mode. Many pneumatic staplers have a single-shot (sequential) and a contact-trip (bump) mode. Check the manufacturer's instructions and prefer single-shot mode for precise stretching work and hard frames; write into the instruction which tool is used in which mode.
Keep the hand out of the staple's path. The hand holding the fabric is not on the possible path of the shot. Using stretching pliers or a holding fixture keeps the hand away.
Clear jams with the energy removed. The air hose is disconnected before removing a jammed staple. Working on a tool with the hose connected while looking into the nose can result in a shot to the face.
Set the pressure. The tool is used within the pressure range recommended by the manufacturer. Higher pressure than needed increases both ricochet and noise.
Wear eye protection. Because of the ricochet risk, those using staplers and those working next to them wear impact-resistant glasses.
Do not clean yourself with compressed air. Pointing the hose end at the body can force air under the skin and send particles into the eyes.

The air receiver of the compressor supplying the staplers is subject to periodic inspection at least once a year under the work equipment legislation; for details see our article on pressure vessels and compressor tanks. When the impulsive noise of pneumatic tools combines with compressor noise, the noise level in the upholstery workshop can be higher than expected. We plan noise measurements with authorised laboratories; if the result exceeds the 85 dB(A) upper action value, wearing hearing protection becomes mandatory.

Foam adhesive vapour: working safely with spray adhesive

A large proportion of the adhesives used to fix foam to the frame and foam to foam contain solvents and are sprayed with a gun. Foam adhesive vapour creates two separate problems:

Health: Solvent vapour can cause headache, dizziness and irritation of the eyes and airways. Some solvents can affect the nervous system with long-term exposure. The fine droplets created during spraying are also inhaled.
Fire: The vapour is flammable; vapour concentrating in an enclosed, airless corner can ignite from a spark.

First, know the product. Sections 2 and 3 of the adhesive's safety data sheet show the hazards and the solvents it contains, and section 8 shows exposure limits and recommended protective equipment. We explained how to read the sheet in our article on the safety data sheet. Then work through the hierarchy of controls:

Substitution: If there is a water-based adhesive suitable for your work, try it first. The most effective measure is never creating the vapour at all.
Extraction: Gluing is done at a bench or booth with rear or downdraught extraction. General ventilation alone does not adequately clean the air the employee breathes.
Separation: The gluing area is separated from the sewing and stretching benches, so that only the person gluing is exposed to vapour.
Ban on ignition sources: There is no smoking, no open-flame heaters and no spark-producing equipment in the gluing area. Rags contaminated with adhesive are collected in a lidded metal bin.
Personal protection: For residual exposure, what is needed is not a dust mask but respiratory protection with a gas filter against organic vapours. Choose the filter type based on the safety data sheet; for details see our article on gas mask filter colour codes.

Measuring solvent exposure is part of the risk assessment under the Regulation on Health and Safety Measures for Work with Chemical Agents. We plan the measurement with authorised laboratories and enter the result into the risk assessment. For the health effects of solvent vapour, read our article on solvent vapour exposure.

Foam fire risk: the fire load of the upholstery workshop

Polyurethane foam ignites easily, grows a fire very quickly and gives off dense, toxic smoke. The Regulation on the Fire Protection of Buildings cites plastic foam and sponge workshops as examples of high-hazard premises. What increases the foam fire risk in an upholstery workshop is usually not a single ignition source but stock spread between the benches.

Apply these rules on site:

Only the daily requirement at the bench. Foam blocks and rolls are kept in the store and brought to the production area only as needed.
Offcuts collected at the end of the day. Foam and wadding offcuts do not accumulate under the benches.
Space in front of panels and heaters kept clear. Foam and fabric rolls are not stacked in front of electrical panels, sockets or heaters.
Escape routes kept open. Packaged sets do not narrow corridors and emergency exits.
Extinguishers of the right class. Foam, fabric and timber are Class A fires; extinguishers are selected accordingly.

For spread to neighbouring workshops, fire walls and shared measures, see our article on fire in İnegöl furniture workshops. Our regional planning notes for businesses in İnegöl are on the İnegöl OSGB page.

Upholsterer ergonomics: the cost of working bent over

An upholsterer's day is spent moving around a heavy, bulky frame, bending, kneeling and stretching fabric with the arms. Upholsterer ergonomics problems start quietly; lower back pain, shoulder and elbow strain and complaints in the wrist from repetitive stretching movements turn into lost working days over the years.

Strain	Where does it come from?	Measure
Bending forward	Upholstering the frame on a low trestle or on the floor	Height-adjustable, ideally rotating upholstery trestle
Turning and carrying frames	Turning the set over, carrying it between stations	Turntable, wheeled transport trolley, two-person lift rule
Kneeling	Working on the lower edge and leg area	Raising the frame, knee pads if needed
Stretching fabric	Constant pulling with the arms, bending the wrist	Stretching pliers, task allocation, short and frequent breaks
Prolonged standing	The whole shift at the bench	Anti-fatigue mat, opportunity to sit at intervals

An adjustable trestle is often the investment that pays back fastest in an upholstery workshop: bringing the work to the employee's elbow height reduces both bending and the strain of stretching fabric. For lifting heavy frames, the Regulation on Manual Handling first requires manual handling to be reduced with mechanical aids. For lifting technique, see our article on manual handling and lifting technique, and for repetitive movements, repetitive movements on assembly lines. The workplace physician monitors musculoskeletal complaints during periodic examinations; if complaints increase in the same department, workstations are reassessed.

A short checklist for the upholstery workshop

Ask these questions on a site round of the upholstery workshop:

Are the trigger mode and working pressure of each stapler written in the instructions?
Have employees been taught that the air hose is disconnected when clearing a jam?
Do those using staplers and those working next to them wear eye protection?
Is the extraction in the gluing area working, and are its filters clean?
Is the adhesive's safety data sheet in the gluing area and in Turkish?
Is the respirator filter suitable for organic vapours, and is its change date known?
Is there more foam at the bench than the daily requirement?
Is the space in front of panels, sockets and heaters clear?
Can upholstery trestles be adjusted to the employee's height?
Is the two-person lift rule applied for heavy frames?

Every "no" on this list should become an action row in the risk assessment. For the workshop as a whole, you can use our furniture workshop OHS checklist. At Bursa Sistemer, we treat the upholstery workshop as a separate department in furniture businesses; we enter the hazards into the risk assessment and follow up the closure of actions on site during OHS specialist visits.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a dust mask enough for spray adhesive?

No. FFP-class dust masks capture particles, not solvent vapour. For residual exposure, respiratory protection with a gas filter suitable for organic vapours is needed; the filter type is chosen from the product's safety data sheet. Measures such as extraction and substitution come first.

What protective equipment should an employee using a pneumatic stapler wear?

Impact-resistant eye protection against ricochet is the basic measure. If the noise measurement exceeds the upper action value, hearing protection is also mandatory. Gloves do not prevent staple penetration; the real measure is keeping the hand away from the staple's path.

Is the compressor in the upholstery workshop subject to periodic inspection?

Yes. Compressor tanks, as pressure vessels, are inspected at least once a year by a competent person registered on EKİPNET (the Ministry's register of persons authorised for periodic inspections). If the manufacturer's instructions give a shorter interval, that interval applies.

When is the upholstery workshop risk assessment renewed?

In the hazardous class, it is renewed at least every four years. It is updated without waiting for this period when changes are made, such as switching to a new adhesive, buying a new type of stapler or moving the upholstery workshop to another department.