FITNESS CENTER SAFETY

As the operator of a fitness center, you have a responsibility to ensure that your gym is a safe environment. These days, any injury that is suffered by a user of your commercial fitness equipment could result in a claim being submitted to your insurance carrier or even result in a liability law suit being filed against your organization.

The first step in safety is to educate the users of the fitness center by posting signs that discourage unsafe practices, such as: “Do not allow children to use the equipment without adequate adult supervision.”, ”Please do not leave a treadmill running when you are not on it.”, Do not walk backwards on the treadmills.” ,“Please do not drop the dumbbells.”, “Please return dumbbells to the rack when you are done with them.”, “Bare feet are not permitted in the fitness center.”, "Proper footwear must be worn at all times." or ”Please report equipment defects to the staff.”

Establish rules for your gym such as: no running, appropriate footwear must be worn, minors are not permitted in the fitness center without an adult, no horse play, etc. Post the rules in a few conspicuous places to encourage compliance. If your fitness center is sponsored by a homeowners’ association or similar organization incorporate the fitness center rules into your welcome package.

The next most important step is to keep your fitness equipment working properly. Keep in mind that if a person gets hurt on your properly functioning gym equipment, it is more than likely their own fault. If they get injured on broken or defective equipment, it is more than likely your fault. Therefore, if you have a piece of exercise equipment with a serious trouble, it should be removed from service until it is repaired and all equipment irregularities should be addressed.

Sometimes the equipment in unattended fitness rooms get damaged by misuse, unsupervised youngsters, and occasionally by someone who harbors a grudge against the sponsoring organization. Therefore, it is advisable to do a daily walk through and look for anything that is obviously wrong, such as frayed gym cables, ripped upholstery, damaged cardio equipment, power cords, broken shrouds or covers, unracked dumbbells, etc.

In order to keep your gym equipment working properly, it is highly recommended that you have a preventive maintenance program performed by a qualified fitness equipment service company.