If you are still on the fence about implementing a preventative maintenance program in your facility, take a look at the top five reasons you will want to include preventative maintenance into your standard operating procedures.
- Maintain a Positive Facility Image. If you do preventative maintenance on your equipment, as suggested by the manufacturer, not only do you prolong the life of your equipment and maximize your investment, but you can maintain the high quality image you have worked so hard to establish for your fitness center.
- Maximize Your Staff. When you don’t properly maintain equipment, it is more likely to break down. Much worse, you don’t know when it will break down, so it will most likely happen while members are present. Suddenly, your front desk attendant or a Group X instructor needs to divert their attention away from the task at hand to help with the emergency. That leaves your members without the help they need checking in, signing up for classes, asking questions about personal training, spending more money with your facility, etc.
- Quicker Action on Warranty Claims. If you have a well-documented preventative maintenance program that adheres to manufacturer suggested work, when and if you need to make a warranty claim, there is a higher chance that you will get quick, timely attention. If you are doing your part to keep the equipment working right, the manufacturer is more inclined to respond quickly to your problem and it’s most likely to still be covered under the initial warranty or extended warranty, whichever applies.
- Saves You Money. A Texas A&M University program on maintenance management said that repairing a broken down piece of fitness equipment costs 30 times more than regularly scheduled maintenance. With savings that cut and dry, there is little explanation required. Preventative maintenance just makes financial sense and cents.
- Keep your Members Safe. This is probably the most important benefit to preventative maintenance for both you and your members. If you are doing routine, organized preventative maintenance work on your equipment, you are keeping it safer for your members. You are more likely to know when a problem is about to occur with a piece of equipment.
While it might seem easier to purchase new equipment every few years or just wait for a problem to arise before paying attention to your fitness equipment, the reality of the situation is that preventative maintenance should be the only way to operate your business. You save time and money on repairs, you uphold your fitness facility’s image and, most importantly, you create a safe environment for your members and employees.
Bruce K. Gehrig, M.A. is founder and president of FitnessAssets.com. He has over 20 years of executive fitness management experience. Bruce can be reached at bgehrig@fitnessassets.com or 866-334-3870 x 201
