How To Ensure Your Gym is Safe For Members

As a gym business owner, you are responsible for the safety and well-being of people that exercise and use your facilities. It is important that you and your staff maintain and exceed all the safety requirements and regulations, in order to remain on the right side of the law, but also to protect your customers. In this article, we will discuss how you can ensure your gym is as safe as possible.

Conduct a risk assessment of your gym.

As a gym owner, you are ultimately responsible for anyone on-site, whether they be using your facilities or not. It is not possible to remove all risks, especially at a site like a gym which is built for people to push their bodies, however, a risk assessment should never be ignored. This will establish what the risks are at the gym, whether this is heavy weights or moving machinery, and help plan the steps that can be taken to minimise the risk to users. There is no legal time frame to conduct a risk assessment, only that they are taken on an ongoing basis. We recommend completing a new assessment when new machinery is introduced, a change of layout, or an injury takes place.

Ensure equipment machines are working properly

Conduct regular checks on all equipment to make sure that there are no damages, and that everything is working correctly. Flawed equipment could fall on a gym member and cause an accident or injury, so it’s important to not just consider the equipment, but also the entrance, exits, and storage areas. If someone gets injured, they might file a claim against you and your business, therefore it is important to regularly maintain and check for hazards across the site.

Train your staff

Ensure you hire experienced and qualified personal trainers, that can help people exercise correctly, and ensure that equipment is handled properly. Exercising correctly can help to minimise the risk of injury, and ensure that all equipment is used correctly. It is important to make sure that all gym employees are first aid trained, and know what they should and shouldn’t do in the case of an accident occurring.

Induction and supervision of users

Always ensure that every member receives induction training – this will help clients get the most out of their membership, and also understand how to use the gym safely, proving that you are committed to improving their customer experience. Begin by explain the best way to make use of equipment, explain and obtain some health information for records and go over any hygiene/gym rules that are currently in place. This is also a good opportunity to recommend personal training if they are an inexperienced gym user.