Cleaning/Sanitizing: Page 55

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Keep Your Equipment in Great Shape

There are simple things owners and managers can do to avoid problems and keep equipment running. Common mistakesProvide more power. A proper power supply is a must. You need proper power outlets in place before the equipment arrives. For treadmills, each outlet should be a 20 amp, dedicated circuit. That means one circuit per product. Otherwise, one unit will rob power from the next, damaging drive boards. Have an electrician do the wiring before products arrive.Make and enforce rules. Have rules that help you maintain your equipment. One of these, especially in areas with snow and ice, is not to allow street shoes or boots onto your fitness floor. Sand and salt is very corrosive. It follows people into the facility and onto the equipment, where it gets into moving parts and causes unnecessary wear and tear. Even in warm places, similar problems occur: Beach sand gouges out grooves in treadmill decks. And food is a bad ingredient everywhere. Try a little soda or juice on a product to make things sticky and dirty.Send a messageWacker and his staff follow up the good first impression with good examples. They make three inspection runs every day, putting things into place, checking cables on strength equipment, inspecting cardio equipment for trouble. He says people see their attentiveness, and get the hint to keep things orderly. Even the weightlifters take note. "The last thing you want is a weightlifter not putting 150-pound dumbbells away," he says.Stop inefficient cleaning habitsEvery facility owner should either sign a maintenance contract with an outside company, or hire someone on staff to make sure that someone who knows about the products inspects and cleans them. This sort of technician should inspect for loose or damaged parts before the wear damages the machine or endangers members.

Climbing Wall Basics

Location, programming, staffing and marketing all play a role in the success of your facility's climbing wall.Climbing and bouldering walls have broadened the appeal of rock climbing. However, the sport retains a specialized image, and requires foresight in design, strong promotion and programming, and enthusiastic staffing to ensure that the wall will be well-used. Climbing has an edge over repetitive gym-based exercise because of the thrills, skill and challenge involved. Members may join your fitness center purely on the basis that it has a climbing wall, and to all facility visitors, a climbing wall can present an impressive visual impact.Climbing continues to be a fast-growing sport, and climbing walls have broadened its appeal with the convenience and comfort of indoor facilities. When deciding whether to install a wall in your fitness center, consider design, location, atmosphere, maintenance, routing and marketing to ensure your climbing facility is a success.Approach wall suppliers to help you focus on the climbing concept most suited to your situation. Brewer's Ledge, Boston, Mass., poses a straightforward question to its clients: "What are your goals?" A fitness center may be looking to create a complete climbing center, a simple place to experience a bit of rope work or a feature to help promote the fitness center as a whole. Conant Brewer, president of Brewer's Ledge, says this consultation phase is critical, as clients often have never clarified the purpose of their climbing facility.Shane S. Riffle, senior program director of Ralph J. Stolle Countryside YMCA, Lebanon, Ohio, says the main considerations when designing a climbing facility are cost of construction and operation, potential usage, marketing opportunities and programming potential.Location is essential for climbing walls. Climbing walls can provide fitness centers with a visual feast, which can attract not only users but can entertain observers. Situating your climbing wall behind the reception area, for example, can provide a striking backdrop.Many facilities have found an opportunity to convert underused areas to climbing. Countryside YMCA, for instance, converted a racquetball court into a climbing facility. To help create atmosphere, it painted a mural of Arches National Park on one of the open walls.Atmosphere is a key component in design, and can have a powerful effect on the popularity of your climbing area. Dirk Bockelmann, director of sales at The Boulder Rock Club and the Colorado Mountain School (BRC), Estes Park, Colo., says that his facility pays attention to dust management, lighting and temperature control, and ensures music is upbeat and suitable.EquipmentOn the other hand, BRC does not use auto belay systems. "They would allow our members to use the facility when they do not have a climbing partner; however, they require significant training and maintenance," says Bockelmann.Once you have your climbing facility installed, whether it is successful in large part depends on the energy of those staffing it. "We hire people who are friendly and safety-conscious," says Riffle. "You can teach skill, but good customer service is a must."Maintenance is often taken care of in-house. And Brewer says that, with most facilities, maintenance is usually handled by in-house staff. "The key issues on belayed walls are rope and belay inspections, documentation of all maintenance and trying to keep the holds clean," he says.Riffle says Countryside YMCA cleans holds and performs daily safety inspections. In addition, he says the climbing wall is annually inspected by an Association for Challenge Course Technology-certified builder. He adds that it is important to follow the manufacturer's instructions to ensure a well-maintained wall.As climbers grow familiar with a wall, existing routing patterns (i.e., where the holds are placed) can lose their initial challenge. Change keeps people interested. "Route-setting, from a manufacturer's perspective, is never done enough," says Brewer. "This is an area that, as climbing grows to many different types of facilities, could stand much more work and thought."BRC changes its entire route library every two months. This means all holds and tape are on the wall for a maximum of two months. "Our course-setting team manages this process, led by the manager of operations, who uses a bell curve graph to cater to all levels of climber," says Bockelmann.UsageAt the Y, a wide age-range of members uses the climbing wall, from as young as four years old to older adults. "We try not to attract the hard-core climbers, so as not to intimidate our beginner population," says Riffle. "For us, it is a fun way for members to experience this sport in a ... non-intimidating environment."While the safety and convenience of climbing walls, bouldering and climbing machines like TreadWall have broadened the appeal of climbing, it is still far from being an all-inclusive activity. Older adults, obese people and those with disabilities are largely excluded by the nature of the activity. However, it is not difficult to imagine equipment aids that would, for example, support some of the climber's weight or compensate for disabilities. "As far as I am aware of, there are no commercially available devices to assist disabled climbers," says Bockelmann. However, he gives an inspirational example of one of the BRC members, Malcolm Daly, president of climbing gear company Trango, who lost his leg in an accident but climbs several times per week using a custom-made prosthetic limb.A downside is that climbing is still viewed as a specialized activity and, therefore, it is most suited to a facility that can attract a suitably large pool of interested users. In addition, climbers can be a different breed, and may not "gel" with other facility members.Atmosphere, routing, programming and promotion are vital to ensure a vibrant wall. Given its visual impact, a busy wall can createmore interested participants. An inherent problem with even a large climbing wall is that only a small number of people can make use of it at one time. Group classes can help to spread out users over the day and week. Fitness centers canincrease wall usage during non-peak times by offering special access to community groups and schools. Promotional events can also work well, such as climbing races, individually or in teams. Climbing walls offer good opportunities for corporate away-days and associated events, which can also boost usage.Bockelmann says BRC uses local print media for advertising and promotion."Close ties with the local climbing community and the nurturing of our community role are very important to the BRC," he says. "The local community is what supports and promotes the club, and so communicating well with this group is paramount to our growth."Keys to successThe Ralph J. Stolle Countryside YMCA, Lebanon, Ohio, has approximately 195,000 square feet of facilities; climbing is a relatively small component. Named "The Summit Climbing Center," this climbing facility was made by Eldorado Wall Company and features a rocklike texture, along with a TreadWall. Classes are offered as an introduction to rock climbing. In addition, the center offers private lessons taught by American Mountain Guide Association-trained instructors. The Summit is also available for birthday parties and group rentals.

Fitness Equipment Health

To keep your members happy, your equipment must be working and maintained. TreadmillsMechanical wear leads to electronic component wear. When walk belts become rough, friction increases and motors have to work harder. The electric current through the drive board increases to the point where the weakest component breaks under the strain, and the treadmill grinds to a stop.Technicians say that most fitness centers do not clean their treadmills properly. Someone may clean around the product, and even wipe off the display and the landing strips, but what is not visible is usually left untouched. "The top of the machine might be clean, but underneath there's an inch of dust," says Patrick Rollings, a service technician for Wellspring Fitness Equipment in Waukesha, Wis. "Most [fitness centers]clean what they see, but not anything you don't see."A good technician might spend 40 minutes on one treadmill. Tasks include inspecting motor brushes for wear, cleaning and waxing walk decks, inspecting the walk belt, adjusting drive and walk belt tension, checking electrical connections, lubricating lift motors and inspecting roller bearings for wear. For a more detailed list of regular maintenance tasks, and for product-specific information, visit your treadmill manufacturer's website.Compared to treadmills, cycles are easy to maintain. For starters, they don't have the friction of the treadmill walk belt and deck, they don't have a high electrical current going through the drive board and they don't have to pull a 200-pound body on a belt that's dragged across a stiff, wood deck. A cycle can last a long time without the care required of a treadmill.Elliptical trainersAs with cycles, elliptical bearings require inspection, and idler pulley springs and belts tend to loosen with age and use. The ramp, track or rail of the elliptical, depending on particular product design, should be cleaned thoroughly because gunk that collects here makes for a bumpy ride for the user, and it might cause unnecessary wear on bushings and bearings.Strength equipment is a different matter altogether. There is usually nothing electronic -- only mechanical parts to wear. Belts and cables require inspection for safety. And nuts and bolts might loosen up, especially if they're situated in a stress area.

Equipment Servicing and Maintenance

Outside service companies can often provide the depth of experience that no single employee could offer. If you have several facilities, hiring your own employee might work. If not, then an outside service company could be your answer. Outside service companies can often provide the depth of experience that no single employee could offer.Qualifications of a good service company include knowledge and response time. You need a company that can not only handle preventive maintenance, but that canalso fix equipment quickly when it breaks down.* Is the company familiar with the products in your facility? If not, its representatives face a learning curve that may mean downtime for your product.* Does the company have the depth to fix every product in your fitness center? There should be at least one technician certified to work on each brand of product in the facility.Next, find out how the company does business. Is it professional? How quickly can a technician arrive for an unscheduled repair? Does someone answer the phone when called? These questions can shed light on the company's mode of operation. In an emergency, you will need someone who knows what to do.Another factor in your choice of service providers is value. Compare plans of various companies in your area. Different companies offer different levels of service and different rates. A start-up service company might work for $25 an hour, while an established company with clientele might charge $100 or more for the same work.The next item of business is the service plan: How often should a technician perform various jobs? Every manufacturer lists on its website a recommended maintenance schedule for each product line.Some aspects of the maintenance schedule are situational. Dirt accumulation depends greatly on usage and the environment. The more the product is used in a dirty environment, the dirtier it gets -- and the more often it requires cleaning. Keep this in mind when setting up a schedule for your facility. Remember that maintaining the equipment too often may, in the long run, cost less than maintaining it too seldom. Err on the side of more maintenance rather than less.The service company's preventive maintenance contract should be specific and clear. Many contracts include an estimate of the time to be spent on a particular type of equipment and then the cost for the work.The main chore of any preventive maintenance program is cleaning. For fitness equipment, cleanliness relates to longevity. Dirt takes its toll through daily wear and tear, so keep equipment clean.

Prevent Defense

A forward-thinking, comprehensive approach to equipment maintenance can help protect a club's most prized possession: its positive image.

Photo of man lifting weights

Inspecting for Safety and Retention

A regular, thorough inspection of your fitness center will improve safety, usability and member retention. New York Health & Racquet Club inspectionsNYHRC uses a 10-point checklist that covers all areas of the facility, from the exterior to the locker rooms, pool, equipment, cleanliness, and appearance and attitude of the staff. Jeff Bodnar, director of operations, says he also inspects for operational issues such as daily payroll completion, proper promotional signage hung, etc. Health department regulations are also tracked on a checklist (a list that highlights the major components of the Health Department's inspection to ensure safe operation of the establishment).Finally, the general manager inspects the facility again using the same walk-through checklist. The fitness center is also "walked" each hour by one of the MODs to ensure that everything is in order. If an incident/accident is reported, the checklists from these days are attached to the incident report.Stephen S. Roma, chief operating officer, WOW! Work Out World!, Brick, N.J.,says the chain has a set of inspections for every system in the facility.WOW! inspections focus on the following key aspects: cleanliness, maintenance, sales tours, member and prospect greetings, group fitness classes, fitness assessments and personal training appointments. Some inspections are carried out hourly, some daily, some weekly and some monthly.Objectives of inspectionsRoma adds that inspections are performed in an effort to compare against benchmarks and to give feedback to the appropriate staff person.A further benefit of a sound inspection system is that it can prolong the life of equipment. Any problems or maintenance needs can be spotted and dealt with early on before they have a chance to worsen. Early identification of a leak in a room, for instance, could save thousands of dollars worth of repairs, and forego extended downtime.Inspection tipsThe inspectors. Inspections can be conducted by personnel from different levels of the organization. A supervisor may carry out a facility-wide inspection, as can the general manager. Different people are likely to identify different issues, so your chances of catching all problems will increase with each different inspector.There are other important sources of information to ensure a facility is well-inspected. Fitness centers should always have an open line of communication between the members, staff and management. This occurs through casual conversations and management being present and available. Some form of suggestion box can also be effective for members who are reluctant to approach a manager with their concerns.Mystery shoppers can offer fresh insights from the user's perspective. "It's always great to have an inspection occurring when no one really knows about it," says Roma from WOW!. "This particular element of being inspected and not knowing it is the real value for us. It keeps everyone moving in the right direction, even when it appears as though a superior is not watching."Bodnar provides an example of how "familiarity blindness" can lead to management overlooking problems. "I had managed a mid-town club for a-year-and-a-half," he remembers. "One of the doors leading to our pool area had a 'push' sign on it. For 18 months, I had been pulling the door to open it.... I had never bothered to notice the sign that said 'push' until I received a note from my mystery shopper that the signs were reversed. I sheepishly changed the signs that day."Use your fitness center. There is no better way to identify problems than by using the facility yourself. Work out there, and encourage your staff members to do the same before or after their shifts. "You won't be able to tell that the window sill by the leg press is dusty unless you get on the leg press machine that is blocking the path to the window," says Bodnar. "You will be amazed at what you see and experience when you are on your equipment for 10 minutes rather than just quickly walking by it."Do not rely on memory. In a large fitness center on a thorough walk-through, you could easily identify 30 minor and major issues that need to be dealt with. Relying on memory, you may remember 20 to 25 of them. Those forgotten could be just the ones members stumble upon, opening the floodgates to dissatisfaction, injury and litigation.Inspection is only as useful as the action that follows. You can inspect continuously, but if no action results from your inspection, your efforts have been wasted. "I can ensure that the problems found on the checklist are dealt with in a timely fashion, because I personally walk each club, each week," says Bodnar. At NYHRC, part of each general manager's and assistant manager's compensation plan is a checklist bonus. "The managers will get a list from me of any deficiencies I find, and if these deficiencies are glaring, they will miss their checklist bonus that week," says Bodnar. "It is a very effective way to ensure that the managers have a stake in the cleanliness and smooth operation of the club on a daily basis," he says.Final tipsListen to members. Often, a user will be the first person to spot or experience a problem with your facility, so make sure you talk to them. When talking with members, besides asking how their workout is going, ask if everything is working fine on the equipment or in the locker room. It can be challenging to get bonafide feedback from customers because they feel uncomfortable. WOW! uses anonymous online surveys, which Roma says are revealing: "The key question on our survey that appears to correlate most with future business with that customer is, 'Would you recommend WOW! to a friend?'"Positives and negatives. Inspection, like all good forms of criticism, should identify both the positive and negative. Inspections can be used to identify positives -- for instance, happy members or great service from a staff member. Roma says inspections are what enable employees to grow and develop, as well as create opportunities for praise and correction. "Inspections combined with feedback are what all employees want, but would never actually admit to," he adds.

Equipment Maintenance Is Key to Success

Maintenance is key to the success of any fitness center. Maintenance affects everyoneLogs reduce liabilityA case involving a member injured on a piece of equipment at a Health and Tennis Corp. facility underscored the need for equipment safety inspection records. According to Doyice J. Cotton, a consultant to the fitness industry, inspection records saved the day for the company." Had there been no evidence of regular inspections, and the equipment been found faulty, Health and Tennis Corp. of America would probably have been found negligent in this case, and been liable for damages," Cotton wrote in the March 2003 issue of Fitness Management (p.30).Besides helping meet member expectations and avoiding liability issues, a preventive maintenance program can help you get your investment out of a piece of equipment. Equipment that isn't maintained breaks down more quickly than equipment that is maintained. Service technicians agree on this point. "Having a maintenance program can actually cost less than not having a maintenance program," says Senad Haskovic, owner of US Fitness Service in Chicago, Ill. "If something breaks, I charge more to get there and a higher rate per machine," he says. "Plus, there's the cost for parts. And there's the inconvenience of down-time. A maintenance program really makes sense."While unexpected breakdowns create extra repair expenses, the lack of a regular maintenance program shortens the product life. This translates into the need to buy new equipment sooner than would otherwise be necessary. The lack of maintenance means that facility owners don't get the biggest bang for their buck. Profit gets eaten up by repair fees and by new equipment costs.

Field Research

Before choosing an outdoor playing surface, organizations need to understand the potential up-front and recurring costs associated with both natural and synthetic turf

Gym & Fieldhouse

Analyze These

Accurately calculating a sports suface's lifecycle cost depends on a combination of factors, including investments in installation and maintenance

Stadium & Arena

Outside Pitch

From pedestrian plazas to shrubs and shade trees, the ground surrounding a a sports venue play an important role in selling spectators and participants on the overall game-day experience

Remote Control

Computerized automatic controllers serve as an aquatic center's onsite eyes, ears and, yes, brains, allowing facility operators to monitor mechanical systems from near and far

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