March 2026 - Bike Recycling updates
Thanks for patience and support while we’ve been revising Bike Recycling processes over the last few months. Myself, Dan and Phil J have collected feedback from as many participants as possible to evolve the bike recycling project.
It's given us a chance to reflect on how brilliant the project is, and how we've gone from an empty underground bunker to a thriving and exciting community project. In particular, we would like to thank Nick Popham and Martin Lewis for all of their hard work and efforts in making the workshop the space it is today - we wouldn't be where we are without them. We’re really excited about the new processes and hope they will make it easier for us to get more bikes out to people who need them.
The most significant update is the specification of three distinct functions within the Bike Worcester Bike Recycling project, all of whom interact with each other and report to the Bike Worcester trustees.
The roles are:
Administrative lead: responsible for almost everything customer facing, including the website, social media, and customer communications. This role will also be responsible for ensuring the project meets the trustees’ requirements for QA and safety.
Workshop lead: responsible for the workshop and the bike recycling process itself, including the risk assessment and operative plan. This role will be responsible for managing the workshop volunteers and ensuring that the bikes are recycled to an acceptable standard to allow for easy sign off.
Stock lead: responsible for the storage of bikes in the storeroom at Friary Walk, including triaging donations (with input from the administrative lead to ensure bikes meet demand), helping ensure the workshop is stocked with bikes to fix, and selecting bikes to prioritise and managing relationships with other projects (e.g. Spokes, Hewell, etc.) to ensure that stock levels are managed effectively.
Volunteers are welcome to apply for the workshop lead and store lead: these roles are currently being fulfilled by Rob Collier with input from others. Applications or expressions of interest should be addressed to info@bikeworcester.org.uk. Our lovely Phil Jones is the administrative lead, but he will welcome support on aspects of the admin lead job description. The roles above refer to Bike Worcester’s bike recycling project where the focus is on generating a reasonably high throughput of affordable every day bikes. There are discussions about other ways the workshop space can be used (e.g. for classic bike fixes or other projects) - if you’re interested in something slightly different, please express interests via the email link above.
If there are any questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch. As with all Bike Worcester projects, any plan or process is subject to continuous improvement and development, and we will attempt to incorporate any and all feedback. We are really grateful for all of the support and feedback we have received from the community, and we look forward to continuing to work together to make the bike recycling project an ongoing success.
Rob, Dan and Phil J
Admin Lead
Role Title: Administrative Lead
Reporting To: Bike Worcester Trustees
Location: Remote / Occasional Workshop Presence
Purpose: To manage the project’s digital presence, ensure legal and insurance compliance through the sign-off process, and handle the commercial and customer-facing aspects of bike sales.
Requirements & Organisational Collaboration
This section outlines how the Administrative Lead interfaces with the Workshop Lead, Stock Lead and the Trustees.
Strategic Partnership: The Administrative Lead works in close partnership with the Workshop Manager to ensure that the volume of bikes being repaired matches the project's capacity for sign-off and sale.
Liability Safeguarding: The Administrative Lead is the primary "gatekeeper" for safety. They ensure that no bike leaves the premises without meeting the requirements defined by the Trustees and our insurers.
Exclusion of Workshop Operations: The following functions are not within the purview of the Administrative Lead and are delegated to the Workshop Manager:
Physical organisation of the workshop and tools.
Technical decisions on specific repair methods.
Allocation of specific bikes to volunteers during sessions.
Operational Review: The Administrative Lead will lead the 4-to-6-week review sessions with the Workshop Lead, Stock Lead and Trustees to ensure the "workflow loop" (Repair → Sign-off → Sale) is functioning without bottlenecks.
Safeguarding: due to their interaction with members of the public and other volunteers, it is a requirement of the Administrative Lead to hold an Advanced DBS certificate
Key Responsibilities
This section defines the core administrative and legal functions of the role.
Sign-off & Safety Management
Outcome: gives Trustees confidence that Bikes leaving the workshop are safe and covered by Bike Worcester insurance policy
Authorisation of Sign-off Personnel: Maintaining the "Authorised Sign-off List.", including process for adding or removing approved mechanics
Coordinating Sign-off Sessions: Managing the calendar to ensure authorised personnel (e.g. Trustees) are available to inspect completed bikes. The goal is to ensure the Workshop Lead’s "ready" rack is processed promptly.
Compliance Documentation: Ensuring every bike has a completed and filed safety checklist. Maintaining the digital or physical archive of these records for insurance purposes.
Digital & Public Presence
Outcome: Worcester residents can find and buy a suitable affordable bike
Website Management: Keeping the Bike Worcester/Bike Recycle web pages up to date with current project goals, location hours, and donation criteria.
Inventory Visibility: Ensuring that bikes cleared for sale are accurately represented to the public (e.g., via web listings or sales galleries).
Communication Channels: Managing the central project email and high-level public inquiries (donations, partnerships, and external events).
Commercial & Strategic Oversight
Outcome: accurate and reliable project KPIs are available to Bike Worcester trustees
Pricing Strategy: Setting the sales prices for refurbished bikes based on market value, project costs, and our goal of providing affordable transport.
Financial Reporting: Tracking payments taken for bikes and ensuring funds are correctly allocated to the Bike Worcester accounts.
Data & Impact Tracking: Recording the number of bikes processed and sold to provide data for funding bids and annual reports.
Workshop Lead
Role Title: Workshop Manager
Reporting To: Bike Worcester Trustees (Dan, Rob, Tim)
Purpose: To oversee the workshop premises, maintain a cohesive workflow across sessions, and manage inventory (bikes and parts) to ensure the project meets its core goals safely and efficiently.
Collaborating with: Store Lead and Admin Lead
Requirements & Organisational Collaboration
This section outlines interactions between the Workshop Manager with the wider Bike Worcester team.
Reporting & Accountability: The Workshop Manager is accountable to the Admin and the Trustees.
Communication & Consultation: Project-level decisions regarding workshop layout, significant changes to stock (e.g., bulk scrapping), or changes to volunteer workflow must be discussed with the Admin Lead or Trustees prior to implementation
Exclusion of Admin & Strategy: The following functions are not within the responsibility of the Workshop Manager and remain the responsibility of the Admin lead and Bike Worcester trustees:
Final safety sign-offs and legal liability
Pricing of bikes for sale
Website management
Project funding and project-level financial decisions, including budget
Operational Review: The Workshop Manager will participate in a review every 4 to 6 weeks with the Trustees to evaluate processes, celebrate successes, and resolve any operational issues.
Safeguarding: due to their interaction and position of responsibility with regards to other Bike Worcester volunteers, some of which are minors, it is a requirement of the Workshop Manager to hold an Advanced DBS certificate.
Key Responsibilities
This section defines the Workshop Manager’s responsibility over the physical space and the workflow of bikes within the workshop
Premises Management
Workshop Organisation: Maintaining the layout of the workshop to ensure a safe and efficient working environment for all volunteers.
Tool Maintenance: Ensuring all tools are present, in good working order, and organised. Developing a system to ensure tools are returned to their designated places at the end of every session.
Health & Safety (Physical): Monitoring the physical space for hazards (e.g., trip hazards, tool safety) and ensuring the floor and work areas are easy to access, clean, safe and tidy (e.g. volunteer rota, etc.)
Workshop Environment and Asset Control
Outcome: A safe, efficient, and organised workshop
Safety Compliance: Ensuring all health and safety policies are strictly followed by all users of the space.
Stock Control: Implementing and maintaining the stock system for parts and consumables to balance costs and workshop space
Tool Stewardship: Ensuring tools are maintained, organised, and available for the next session.
Workshop Standards: Ensuring the workshop is left clean, safe, and free of obstructions at the end of every session
Stock Flow and Preparation
Outcome: A consistent flow of roadworthy bikes that are aligned with the Project’s vision
Planning: Liaising with the Admin Lead to identify which types of bikes are in high demand (e.g., commuters, kids' bikes).
Executing: Prioritising work-stand activity to ensure the right bikes are prepared
Auditing: Ensuring all bikes are prepared to the agreed technical standard and that all mandatory triage/repair paperwork is completed accurately and ready for sign-off.
Volunteer Workflow Direction
Outcome: A productive, supported, and developing team of volunteers.
Session Guidance: Providing a "cohesive plan" for all sessions. This includes advising Session Leads on which bikes take priority (based on input from admin/trustees) and ensuring volunteers are assigned tasks that match both their skill level and the project’s needs.
Skills Support: where possible, acts as a technical point of reference for volunteers, helping to resolve mechanical issues and encouraging best practices in bike maintenance.
Communication
Outcome: A synchronised workflow where the Mechanical and Administrative functions operate in alignment, ensuring no bottlenecks in the mechanical-to-sales pipeline.
Deliverables:
Progress Reporting: Providing regular updates to the admin team regarding the status of bikes currently on work-stands and any technical delays.
Sign-off Identification: Formally identifying and communicating which bikes have completed the mechanical repair phase and are ready for the final sign-off.
Session Planning: Communicating a brief plan or set of priorities for the upcoming workshop session to ensure the Administrative Lead are aware of intended activities.
Operational Responsiveness: Making all reasonable efforts to adapt workshop activities and bike prioritisation in response to requests from the Administrative Lead or Trustees, or other volunteers (e.g., prioritising specific bike types to meet customer demand, etc.).
Feedback Integration: Actively participating in a two-way communication loop, ensuring that administrative requirements (like repair documentation) are treated with equal priority to mechanical repairs.
Stock lead
Role Title: Bike Stock Manager
Reporting To: Bike Worcester Trustees
Collaborating With: Workshop Lead and Administrative Lead
Purpose: To manage the intake and storage of any donated bicycles outside the workshop. To ensure the storage facility is safe, accessible, and populated by bikes that align with the project’s mission. To limit the amount of space that is required outside of the workshop to an acceptable standard (liaising with Friary Walk management as required).
Requirements & Organisational Collaboration
This section outlines how the Bike Stock Manager ensures the flow of priority bikes remains steady
Organisational Alignment: The Bike Stock Manager must operate within the agreed aims of Bike Worcester
The "Triage Gatekeeper": This role acts as the filter between donations and the workshop. They are responsible for the initial "Keep, Scrap, or Donate" decision for the 100s of bikes currently in storage.
Mandatory Collaboration:
With Workshop Manager: To ensure the "Work-Ready" queue matches the workshop’s capacity
With Admin Lead: To ensure the project isn’t holding bikes that are not suitable for sale
Operational Review: Will participate in project review meetings to report on stock levels, storage capacity, and "stale" inventory.
Key Responsibilities
Triage and Curation
Outcome: A curated inventory of bikes that are suitable for the project's goal of everyday use (work, school, shops).
Assessment: Conducting an initial assessment of all stored bikes to determine their viability.
Exit Strategy: Deciding which bikes are inherently unsafe or unsuitable (e.g., ineffective brakes, high-end niche frames, or beyond worthwhile repair) and arranging for their immediate removal/scrapping to free up space
Removal
Outcome: a manageable backlog of bikes which can be moved easily in the event of requests from Friary Walk Centre management
Waste Management: Coordinating the removal of scrap bikes, metal and rubber to ensure the facility remains free of "junk piles."
Links to operative plan and risk assessment available on request.
