July 29, 2015

Keeping Your Fitness Facility in Shape

Imagine this. You go to the gym with the intention of doing cardio on the elliptical while watching your favorite show. You exit the locker room, headphones in hand, and make your way to the only open machine. You get on and begin your cardio, only to discover the television attached to the machine doesn’t work. Now you have two choices, either you work out and miss your favorite show, or you go home and miss your workout.

As the owner of a fitness facility, you never want your customers to consider missing their workout just because a piece of equipment isn’t functioning properly. So, what’s the easiest way to prevent this from happening? Implement a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS).

What are the advantages of having a CMMS in your fitness facility?

• It helps keep equipment in shape. Your customers are concerned about getting themselves in shape. They shouldn’t have to worry about what shape the equipment they're using is in.
• A CMMS can save you money. Scheduling regular preventive maintenance tasks to check the condition of your equipment can help you find and fix problems before they start. Finding faults in the equipment and performing regular maintenance on each machine will help ensure that they continue to perform at an optimum level for years to come. Repairing a piece of equipment is generally a lot less expensive than replacing it.
• It can help bring in new members. When I’m looking for a new gym, one thing I look at is the condition of the facility. Is it clean? Do the machines work? Is the building in need of repairs? When a gym isn’t in good condition, it really puts me off. Who wants to spend time at a gym that looks run down, and that has equipment which doesn’t work right? No one. By using a CMMS, you can schedule maintenance routines that will ensure your facility looks great. New members won’t be able to resist!
• Keep track of warranties and maintenance manuals easily. You can store pdf versions of warranties, manuals, or any other documents electronically directly in your CMMS system. This will help workers with repairs when they are at the facility. They won’t need to search for the manual, as it will be in their CMMS on their tablet or smartphone.
• Easily track parts and inventory. Fitness facilities have tons of assets and equipment, whether it be the free weights, the treadmills, or the tools needed to fix machines. All of it is important and should be tracked. When a piece of equipment goes down, a worker can save valuable time by checking their CMMS to find out exactly where the tool they need to fix the equipment is located. This will save valuable time, and decrease downtime losses.
• A mobile app allows for faster repairs. If you’re shopping around for a CMMS, make sure you find one with a mobile app (such as MAPCON Mobile). This app will become a very valuable resource. Most of them are compatible with tablets and smartphones, meaning it can be used anywhere. This will empower all of your employees, from the front desk workers to the personal trainers, to report issues with the facility as soon as they are noticed. Reporting issues sooner will lead to the equipment being fixed sooner, which is definitely a good thing. Also, workers can access manuals directly from the app.

So, now that you realize your fitness facility needs a CMMS, what’s the next step? Simple. Set up a FREE demo with us, or download an evaluation of the software and explore it for yourself!