Arba for Work Case Study
– Bicycle Shelter
The Client
The Commissioners of Irish Lights (www.cil.ie)
- appointed under statute to act as the General Lighthouse Authority
for the island of Ireland - are responsible for the superintendence
and management of aids to navigation around the entire coast of
Ireland, its adjacent seas and islands. Headquartered in Dún Laoghaire,
County Dublin, the organisation engages just over 200 full-time
and 75 part-time staff to fulfil this remit in various locations
around the island.
The Project
Arba was engaged to provide a bicycle shelter from its standard
range, and install it at the company’s headquarters in Dún Laoghaire
in the Summer of 2008.
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The Background
It was during Spring 2008 that the need for a weather-proof bicycle
shelter came to the fore. “While there was an open rack on site, it
did not facilitate properly securing the bicycles, or protecting them
from the elements,” recalls Arthur Ward, Transport Logistics Manager
with The Commissioner of Irish Lights. “This was, therefore, not acceptable
to many staff members, who were otherwise keen to cycle to work.” In
an effort to fulfil this need and help promote a healthier lifestyle
amongst the Commissioners’ workers, management approved the purchase
of a covered bicycle shelter in the early Summer.
It was Arthur’s job to source it. He started by doing
a search on the Internet, which proved very worthwhile. “It quickly
brought me to Arba’s website, where I found exactly what I was looking
for,” he remembers. “The curved
poly cycle shelter, stood out for a number of reasons;
it had panels to the ground on three sides, providing extra protection
against the often-strong sea breezes here. In addition, the frame was
treated with a hot zinc finish, which would help preserve it against
the corrosive, saline atmosphere in this coastal location. It was also
available in the size we wanted – for 10 bikes – and came with a full
backup and installation service. It nearly seemed to good to be true
...”
Without delay, Arba was invited to quote for the job,
as were two additional suppliers. While there was little variance in
the three firms’ pricing, Arba’s competitors fell way behind when it
came to flexibility; flexibility in terms of being able to build to
the desired specification, and in their apparent willingness to go the
extra mile to meet their customer’s needs. What really clinched the
deal for Arba, however, was the fact that they were the only supplier
able to deliver and install the unit within 2 weeks from order confirmation.
“This was a significant factor,” Arthur clarifies, “as some work was
being done on the grounds at that time. It was important that the new
bicycle shelter would be incorporated into this and completed while
the builders were on site.”
The new bicycle shelter was delivered and installed
to schedule and without incident. Arthur directed the Arba team to work
directly with the builders to ensure that the groundwork was suitable
for the shelter before it arrived. “This worked very well, and left
me out of the day-to-day loop.” The true value of working directly with
the manufacturer became apparent when The Commissioners needed to change
one rack to accommodate narrower, racing bicycle wheels. While this
might have involved repeated requests and delays, Arba, being in direct
control of the overall process, were able to produce and install the
replacement rack in just a few days. “I found Arba excellent to deal
with in every way,” Arthur says in summary. “In fact, I hope to be in
a position to order a motor bike shelter from them in the near future!”
