FMJ.CO.UK SUSTAINABILITY FOCUS
JULY 2020 37
challenges with existing building stock is
working with small and irregular spaces, but
there are smart ways to space-plan that can
improve capacity without compromising on
the user experience, and user-experience is
paramount to a successful facility.”
All of which is within an FM’s remit and the
innovation needed is what the sector prides
itself on. So, why is there some reticence to
engage with cycling?
“Developers and Asset Managers have
typically been the earlier adopters as they
see the commercial value of providing their
tenants with high-quality bike and change
room facilities,” says Bonnici. “In the last
few years, this portion of the building - the
wellness space - has gone from a back-ofhouse
feature to one of the main features
that agents use to lure and retain occupiers:
It’s very competitive amongst the real estate
players so they see the value in getting this
space right.”
COVID DRIVEN DEMAND
There’s a commercial
advantage for FMs to
use cycling to deliver
sustainability
in the form
of wellness,
not just low
carbon gains.
But despite
what Five at
Heart argue,
this can be
a hard box to
tick even before
COVID-19 and its
consequences.
Breda Smead,
Operations Director, SmartSec
Solutions has seen a 30 per cent increase
in demand for cycle racks and typically car
park spaces that are being used for external
bike parking.
She says, “Some people will want to
drive to work to avoid public transport,
that’s going to put more pressure on the
facilities manager who typically oversees
this area. It’s going to mean they need new
processes to manage this scarce resource
in a transparent and fair way. Many of
the buildings we support have closed
their shower facilities because their risk
assessments require them to sterilise or
deep clean them between use and this is
seen as impractical. Organisations need
to be careful how they position additional
cycle racks. Bike the can be an issue
depending on the access and egress from
the building. If shutters are particularly slow
or on a delayed timer a thief can be in and
out by the time the shutter closes.”
Bonnici has the answer: “Go digital. Use
things like access control and digital locks
for kit lockers. Demand for bike spaces
and lockers is always shi ing and going
digital o ers FM’s the control to adapt and
manage the amenities as needed. From a
tenant perspective, they have a better userexperience
if they can operate / access using
their swipe cards or even their phones.”
There are plenty of options and suppliers
like CyclePods, Turvec, Green Roof Shelters
and Cycle Works to name a few. You
just need to find the space and specify
accordingly. However, the issue of dealing
with parking pressure is paramount. Do you
create space for bikes by taking it from car
parking? COVID-19 might (nobody knows
yet) conceivably increase commuting by car
and some FMs are concerned about parking
pressure because their sites’ parking was
already experiencing excess demand at
peak on weekdays, pre-COVID. Many of
them will need to reallocate parking space
from car to bicycle. This takes cojones in
many settings, but it is the sensible thing
to do in terms of making best use of
space – a er all 10 to 20 bikes
can fit in the place of one
car. It is unbeatable.
So, on a site, FMs
are experiencing
the same
space (road)
reallocation
issues as
highways
engineers
in local
authorities.
What is important
is for the right
solution to be found
by facilities teams working
alongside HR.
“It is an HR and wellbeing issue, but
they need the FM team to assist in setting
up the facility and usually managing it,” says
John Garrard of Incentive FM. “It needs to
be a directive from the employer, and they
must be happy to pick up the costs for this.
If there is a desire for the employees to cycle
to work this can be advertised using posters
or websites to advertise the fact. We o er
a cycle to work scheme which has good
uptake, but the sta rarely use the bikes to
travel to work.”
Vaida Stankute: “Confidence is an issue.
People are scared to cycle in London
because of the tra ic and potential
accidents. You always hear scary stories. I
tell them that you get used to it and you’re
fine so long as you’re careful. It’s a bit like
being a pedestrian. Just because there’s a
green light, it doesn’t mean you don’t look
around and double-check. You have to do
that as a cyclist.”
What can FMs do about this? Simon Venn,
Mitie’s Chief Government and Strategy
O icer, argues the Government must do
more to provide safe infrastructure, which
means barriers and protection not just paint.
“One way the Dutch responded to the
1973 oil crisis was to invest in cycling
infrastructure to guarantee their people
could keep moving if fuel for cars ran out.
It was not the main factor, but it played a
part in kick starting the cycling revolution
across the country and helped create
the bicycle culture The Netherlands has
now,” he explains. “The Dutch attitude is
about functionality. The bike is a utilitarian
transport method. We can drive that change
here to combat the climate crisis and as a
response to COVID-19 if the government use
it as an opportunity to put the infrastructure
in place.”
SUSTAINABLE DELIVERY
Not everything about using bikes to improve
sustainability is in the remit of FMs. But a lot
is, including some day-to-day operations.
The delivery sector – companies like DPD,
FedEx, UPS, DHL Express and City Sprint
have all proven that the last mile can be
There’s a commercial
advantage for FMs to use
cycling to deliver
sustainability in the form of
wellness, not just low
carbon gains.”