When comparing quotations for a new outdoor shelter, choosing the lowest price can seem like the obvious way to control costs. But if two shelters have different materials, capacities, installation requirements or security features, the headline prices are not really comparing the same thing. For facilities managers, estates teams, schools, procurement professionals and businesses, the…

A cycle shelter that works perfectly well at 4pm in July can feel very different at 5pm in November. As daylight hours shorten across the UK, weaknesses in cycle storage can become more noticeable. Poor lighting, limited visibility, isolated locations, inadequate locking points and awkward routes to and from a cycle shelter can all affect…

After years of supplying outdoor shelters and facilities products to organisations across the UK, I have noticed something interesting: the problems that cause the biggest headaches are rarely the most complicated ones. Whether an organisation is installing a smoking shelter, cycle shelter, bike storage facility, canopy, outdoor seating area or other facilities management product, the same…

Installing a cycle shelter is about more than finding an unused area of ground and putting a structure on it. The location of your cycle shelter can have a major impact on how often it is used, how secure cyclists feel leaving their bikes there and how easily people can move between the shelter and…

For businesses that provide a designated outdoor smoking area for employees or visitors, the British weather can make choosing the right shelter particularly important. Rain, strong winds, cold temperatures and year-round exposure can quickly highlight the weaknesses in a poorly designed or badly maintained shelter. An all-weather smoking shelter therefore needs to offer more than somewhere to…

For businesses, schools, hospitals, warehouses, factories and other organisations, managing smoking on site can be more complicated than simply deciding where employees and visitors should stand. A well-planned outdoor smoking shelter can help create a clearly designated smoking area, keep smokers away from entrances and busy pedestrian routes, reduce cigarette litter and provide protection from the British…

Whether you manage a school, workplace, office, university, hospital, retail site or public building, providing somewhere safe and practical for people to leave their bicycles is becoming an increasingly important part of managing outdoor facilities. A well-designed bike shelter does much more than keep bicycles out of the rain. It can help protect bikes, organise cycle parking,…

The summer holidays provide schools with something that can be difficult to find during term time: an opportunity to inspect, repair and improve outdoor facilities without hundreds of pupils moving around the site. Before pupils and staff return in September, facilities managers, school business managers, caretakers and site teams should take a careful look beyond…

As the summer holidays end, schools across the UK are preparing classrooms, checking equipment and getting their sites ready for another busy academic year. But there is one area that can easily be overlooked during the back-to-school rush: school cycle storage. September is a natural time for pupils and staff to establish new routines. For some…

By Mans Khan, Owner of Tamstar Ltd For many years, I’ve worked with facilities managers, schools, warehouses, manufacturers, offices and public sector organisations across the UK. One thing I’ve noticed is that while workplaces continue to evolve, one facility remains just as important today as it was when smoke-free legislation first came into force in…