You are a sport scientist investigating how two sports organisations manage their health, safety and security. You must include an example of promotional material

After looking at the security in dyrons I was quite surprised with the level of safety they have there, but then again they can’t be found liable for theft and therefore they probably see that as a lower priority. Of the three times I visited dyrons and went into the pool area I noticed that there were two lifeguards in attendance at all times, and not only were they in attendance they were walking around which I think is a lot more productive than being sat in the big tall chair falling asleep like most lifeguards do. The lifeguards were very strict on the rule of the pool and saw several occasion during the five or ten-minute periods that I visited the pool were members of the public were informed that they were breaking the rules. In terms of how the public behaved in the pool whenever someone stepped out of line a member of staff was there to inform them that they were breaking the rules. When I looked into the pool area the first time I noticed four members of staff on the slide, which shows they obviously see the water slide requiring a lot of attention they had one member at the top, one at the bottom by the queue, one by the exit of the slide and one member half way up on the stairs to make sure the public didn’t run on the stairs and there is a lot of excess water on the steps because of wet feet and from the overflow from the slide and so the steps can become quite slippery and so it is very important that you don’t run on the stairs as there is a very big risk of an injury or accident. Something I thought that was very good in terms of safety was the amount of signs they have placed around the pool, there where several signs displaying ‘no running’ around the pool as well as ‘no diving’. They also had a number of other signs like ‘no food or drink’, ‘no outside shoes’ and ‘no inflatable toys in the pool’. I think if you have enough of the signs around the pool people get the idea that most of these signs are there because what you would be doing could be extremely dangerous especially running around the edge of the pool, as the floor around the floor is hard and when it gets wet it becomes extremely slippery. Refer to appendix for articles on the consequences of unsafe leisure centers.

Managing health in a leisure center is very similar to managing the safety in a leisure center they both deal with trying to keep the public as safe as possible. If you looked around dyrons I think they have made a conscious effort to inform customers about some of the health issues involved with using the leisure center. Throughout the center there are posters concerning infection such as verrucca’s and how you can prevent them and how they start. They also have posters that inform you of the danger of swimming out of your depth and the importance of having professional swimming lessons rather than learning to swim with a friend or parent, however good swimmer they are it doesn’t compare to a professional instructor. Some people say that when you go to swimming pool’s and leisure centers there are so many rules in prevents you from having rules, to a certain extent that could be true but with the risks that come with running leisure centers these days a few extra rules is worth it. These days if you don’t cover every angle with health, safety and security you can be sued for almost anything it is so important not only for your own benefit but for public safety that the enter covers every angle. Sometimes there are certain rules, which the center will enforce even though it is ‘touch-and-go’ whether it is safe but for the complete feeling of ease for everyone concerned they still enforce the rule. For example in most pools diving is completely and it probably is very safe to do so in dyrons, but because most members of the public who attempt to dive during public hours having been taught to dive the risk increases a lot, this Is why they only allow diving during swimming clubs which are supervised by instructors. Having said that there is case that some centers do focus too much on the aspects of health and safety and sometimes the slight element of risk can never really be eliminated and that by trying to eliminate it they are reducing the amount of fun than can be had by the public. In regards to dyrons I think they probably have the balance about right, something I think they should probably look at is the way they divide the public section of the pool to the lane section, it is divided by an elasticated barrier which does separate the two sections but isn’t incredibly safe, a lot of the time members of the public learn on the barrier and that can cause injuries to both the person leaning on the barrier and the swimmer in the lane, although dyrons try to prevent this happening I would suggest that they don’t have any times during the day when lane swimming is booked at the same time as the public opening times. I’m sure there is enough time to fit both into the schedule and if they could separate the two it would eliminate any risk and it would also mean that the lane swimmers would not have any distractions from what they are doing and they wont have to worry about smashing into anyone. While talking about making lane swimming separate from the public I believe dyrons and all pools should make the life guard courses and public swimming completely separate as well, I feel it is unfair for people trying to become life guards to have to deal with other people putting them off while doing their course, the course usually only takes place twice a year at the most and so I’m sure they can make sure when the lifeguard course enters the practical stage that the public isn’t in the pool at the same time.

After looking through some of the safety procedures that dyrons have introduced I would certainly put forward the idea that during peak times that there should always be four members of staff on the water slide. I have been there before when there have only been two members of staff and people still managed to break the rules and misbehave and when I went there the other week when there were four members of staff there the slide looked completely safe. I don’t know if this is a rule they have set that four members of staff should be there at all time, but I would suggest they do as it seemed to eliminate almost all misbehaving and seeing at it can the potentially the moist dangerous part of the leisure center it is important that it is kept safe at all times. In terms what are the benefits of managing health and safety, it can be and endless list what you really should be considered is what could happen if you don’t manage health and safety. Well firstly after a while customers would realize that your establishment is unsafe and ‘word-of-mouth’ spreads quickly and people would soon find other places to go. That is probably a reasonably positive outcome if you don’t manage health and safety compared to what could happen. Without proper health and safety procedures the likelihood is that a lot of accidents would take place and they could even be so serious that there maybe even fatalities and because of the lack of health and safety procedures the center would be closed and not only would you have broke the law because when offering a public service it has to meet certain safety standard you would probably have a law suit on your hands as well. If someone died in the leisure center a member of the leisure center (most probably management) would be found guilty of a dangerous establishment and the likelihood is that someone would end up in jail.

In terms of security, I wasn’t really very impressed with some of the security in dyrons. I think security is obviously a low priority in dyrons as most of the security devises that they do have don’t look they have been updated very regularly. After through the majority of the center I didn’t see many security cameras and for a big center they should have at least one in every area, there certainly were not cameras in the two fitness centers of the squash courts. There was a camera in the main reception area and that is the only one I noticed inside, the other camera I noticed was on the entrance. I think when talking about security the most secure are in the center has to be the changing rooms, and the fact that there were many lockers dented and with no locks in shows me that they obviously have regular crimes in the changing rooms. Although you cannot have cameras in the changing rooms I do believe they would benefit from having cameras outside the female, male and mixed changing rooms. At least then if they did have crimes reported to them they could get some idea for who was doing it and they could have some information over to the police. Although I understand the fact that they see replacing lockers a pointless task as in likeliness they are going to get broken into I do suggest that they ought to have some sort of lock on the changing rooms where only people who have paid to use the facilities can get in, either through a security number lock or by a key lock and I also think they should repair all the lockers that are broken as leaving broken locks gives a bad feeling towards the public as they see the unrepaired locks and they are probably going to think it is going to happen to them as well. In regards to the security on the outside of the center, you cannot really protect the outside to a great extent unless thou were to employ a security guard and obviously that is going to cost a lot, but I believe fitting cameras and putting up signs saying that cameras are in 24-hour surveillance is a good deterrent. I also think that there should be cameras pointing directly at he bike park as this area is hot spot for crime and deserves attention to encourage people to cycle to the center.

EXETER COLLEGE FITNESS CENTER

Health

Most people join a gym because they consider themselves to benefit, there are certainly a lot more that join a gym because they are unfit than people that go because they want to improve their strength or something else. Joining a gym is especially popular with middle-aged people from ages 30-50 and although they might have experience with fitness they probably wouldn’t have been to gym before and if they have there would have been many changes since the last time they went. It is important that before they are just allowed to go on the equipment that they are properly trained if you do not know what your doing on a machine you will not only receive no benefits from the exercise but you could also give yourself an injury or cause an accident. Even if you have used other gyms before it is still important that you are trained on the machinery, as the equipment could be different to other gyms you have been to and the members of staff at this gym have no idea if you have been trained before. In the Exeter college fitness center you have to pay for an induction which is separate to your charge of using the gym, an induction will usually take between 30minuts and 1hour depending on you experience, what an induction doe sis introduce you to the machinery and to make sure you know how to use it and how and what it benefits. There is no point going a machine that builds your arm muscles when you want to tone your back. You also want to make sure you can use the machine and equipment safely so you that you don’t cause injuries or accidents.

As well as taking part in an induction it is also necceassry by law for you to fill out a health questionnaire, this is used to help you and the members of staff. Usually as a beginner you will require help from members of staff when devising a fitness program and they cannot do this unless they have some knowledge of your medical background, there is no point then giving you a lot of weight lifting if you suffer from a bad back. The health questionnaire is also required for legal reasons as it takes the responsibility away from the members of staff as if you have not disclosed any injuries or health worries then the member of staff cannot be responsible for the actions that occur from your workout. (See end of assignment for an example of a health questionnaire)

Safety

A fitness center can be a dangerous place at the best of times and especially for beginners, there are a lot of heavy machinery and hi-tech equipment that can be dangerous if you are not properly trained. For a fitness center to work in a safe environment there need to be strict rules that everyone keeps to. You not only jeopardize your own safety when you break the rules but you also endanger other customers of the gym. So it is important that every fitness center or gym have a well written and thought out set of rules. It also so important that every single person that enters the center is aware of the rules. For this to be achieved every member of staff should ensure that there are many posters placed around the gym and that they are clearly visible so that everyone is aware of the rules. I think that everyone who signs up for a membership should be given a set rules as well so at least by doing this the members of staff will know that there can’t be any excuse why anyone is breaking the rules and that means they can’t get in trouble for not informing people of the rules. Having a proper set of rules not only benefits the staff it also benefits customers of the gym and will make their gym experience a better one as they will be in the knowledge that they don’t have to worry about other members being stupid and breaking the rules. This can only benefit their experience and will hopefully mean that they receive greater benefits from their workouts. For government guidelines on safety in gyms go to appendix.

I think for any type of public service to run successfully and safely there need to be rules. Gyms or fitness centers can potentially be very dangerous places and without the proper safety precautions serious accidents can take place. The above rules are all well and good but there aren’t enough safety rules involving using equipment to make people aware. Here are my rules for a typical gym or fitness center. I would say that the rules above have been well presented and people I likely to take the time to read them, as the poster is colorful and reasonably eye-catching.

I believe that these are not only rules but advice as well which can be very helpful, obviously you cannot make a person drink water but if you are doing a lot of cardiovascular work it is important that you balance the water loss through sweat with the amount of water you drink, it is easy to become dehydrated by not drinking enough water while exercising. It is advised to drink water half an hour before cardiovascular work to prevent stitch while training, it is best not to drink too much water while training, as this will cause a stitch, little amounts of water are o.k. the best thing to do is stock up with water after your work-out. Although it Is extremely important to cover everything when devising rules you must get the balance right between creating too many rules and eliminating the fun element from exercising, you mustn’t put people off by having a list of fifty rules but then again you mustn’t have a list with 2 or 3 three rules. I feel I have covered the main areas of safety and hopefully at least every aspect is covered by one rule. I have used general safety rules such as “Do not wear jewellery”, but have also included specific an unique rules like “Shoelaces must be done up when on treadmills.” If I were in charge of health and safety in a gym as my profession I think I would take a different approach to devising rules within the gym. I would devise a small poster for every section in the gym, cardiovascular, free-weights, machine weights, bodyweight resistance (chin-ups & dips etc.) and floor work. I would then also have the general rules of the gym. This means that people you only use cardiovascular wouldn’t have to worry about looking at rules for the free-weight section. If I was solely in charge f health and safety I would create a comments box in terms of health and safety and would recommend that people suggests rules that would like to see in place and ones they think shouldn’t be in place, I would also regularly check government guidelines for health ad safety and what types of rules they recommend that fitness centers should enforce. I would hopefully set-up a newsletter to the customers involving possible changes in rules and regulations and give them another way of improving staff-customers relations and find another way of helping the staff improve their gym. Although I have included some important rules and guidelines I still feel I have been too vague and haven’t included enough rules. I don’t know enough about what rules are necessary in gyms and so in the future as I already have stated I would devise it into sections so that the posters don not look to crowded with rules which may put customers off. I think I have devised the distribution and evaluation procedures well, it is very hard to evaluate whether your rules and regulations are having a positive or negative affect on the gym and the only to do this is to interact with the public and make sure you have constant updates of what they are thinking and what they believe is right and wrong. People’s opinions change a great deal and it is important to keep up-to-date.

Although this is an eye-catching poster, which clearly demonstrates the rules of the gym, still not everyone will read the rules. The only way in which you can be certain that everyone has a copy of the rules is to give everyone a copy before they are allowed to sign up for the gym. If you give them the rules with the induction slip and heal & safety questionnaire you can feel at ease that you have done your best to make sure they have the ability to read the rules of the gym. I also think it is necessary to place the poster up in the gym, it should be placed on the gym door just inside the entrance and exit and in both female and males changing rooms, possibly in the toilets as well. If the rules are drilled into you, you are more likely to obey them. It is hard to evaluate whether the gym rules are working and whether they are correct for the gym, I suggest that each member of the gym can have three boxes on the gym membership card every time they break a rule seriously they should receive a black cross if they get three black crosses then they should banned from using the gym until further notice. I think the gym staff should devise questionnaires and hand them out to customers, which give them the chance to comment on improvements for the gym and the gym rules. This means the gym staff gets an idea of the paying publics opinion of the rules and whether it is creating a positive affect or a negative. The questionnaires could be given out every three months as this would mean that the rules and gym gets reviewed four times a year, which is relatively regularly.

SECRUITY

Leisure centers are well known for attracting thief’s, not only on the inside of the center but also around the outside as well.

A lot of leisure centers have realized to encourage customers or employees to ride their bicycles for daily travel trips; they need to ensure that they are provided with secure parking for their bikes.  This requires placing the right type of parking area in the right location. 

A commonly used bike rack is the inverted "U" rack.  This type of rack allows the frame of the bike and at least one wheel to be secured to the upright posts of the "U."  

Although still widely used, the old style of bike rack where only the front wheel is locked to low uprights are no longer recommended.  These racks can damage expensive rims if a bike is knocked over and do not protect the whole bike if locked wheels have quick release levers.

For long-term parking (all day or longer) bike lockers are a good choice.  Lockers can usually accommodate two bikes with access at each end of the locker.  The advantage of lockers over racks is protection from the elements and more security from theft. 

Another possibility for long-term bike parking is covering an area in an open parking lot with racks beneath.  Enclosing the covered parking with a fence adds an added element of security.  Enclosing a space inside a parking structure for bicycles, using two or three stalls for auto parking and adding racks can also provide secure parking for bikes. 

Wherever bicycle parking is located, it should be in an area that has high visibility to passing pedestrian traffic and/or the windows of nearby buildings.  The more conspicuous the bike parking is, the less comfortable a bicycle thief will feel in attempting a theft.

The students mainly use Exeter College gym, but it also has a reasonable amount of the general public that uses the gym. The main problem with the situation with the gym in regards to attracting the public is that there isn’t any public parking around the fitness center and there for the only way of getting to the center is by bike, walking or getting the bus. I have noticed the majority of the public that us the fitness center use cycling as their method of transport of getting to the center. This means that has to be a bike parking area and security to protect the area. I would say that the bike park around the fitness center can hold around fifty bikes, which is a good amount, and it also has a hi-tech video camera which points directly at the bike park. The camera is in operation 24-hours a day and is watched by security guards during college hours. Having a safe and secure are to park your bikes encourages the public to use the college’s facilities and although the college do not provide bike locks it does gives you that feeling that your bike is safe and secure. There are also assigns placed around the bike park area that there are cameras in 24-hour operation which also ‘puts off’ criminals.

Ever since I have been attending the fitness center there has never really been any problems with the security of the bike park and there have been very thefts from there. Before Christmas there were a lot thefts from the actual lockers in the gym changing rooms, people had been going in there and forcing the locker doors open and stealing the contents. It started to become a real problem, the men’s changing rooms are actually outside the gym and therefore the gym instructor can’t really keep an eye on them like he can with the ladies changing room, and also there aren’t any cameras that point directly at the changing rooms so the criminals could not be caught directly in the act. It got to the stage where people where having to leave their clothes and valuables behind the desk. After months of deciding what to do the college fitted secure lock of the changing room door which can only be opened using a special code which means that criminals won’t be able to get in without knowing the code. Since the lock has been fitted there haven’t been any thefts reported at all, Even though the lock isn’t completely ‘fall-proof’ I believe it has put-off the criminal or criminals from stealing from their changing rooms.

I have been a regular at Exeter college fitness center for well over a year now, and so far since I have been going I haven’t seen one accident in the time I have been there. It could all be coincidence but I believe this is due to a sufficient health and safety system. Obviously nowhere is perfect but most centers are judged on the amount of accidents there are, and there haven’t been any to my knowledge in the last two years. Before you can use the fitness center you have to fill out a complex health questionnaire, which covers everything you, would expect it to cover and then you have to go through an induction on cardiovascular equipment, machine weights and free-weights. This means that every single person that uses the gym knows exactly what to do on the machines. The equipment that you would expect some accidents on would be the free weight bench press; because of the risk with this exercise it is a rule that you should have at least one experienced person to spot you when doing exercises on the bench press. It is advised that you get a member of staff to help you perform exercises with heavy weights. It is also advised to have a spotter when using the squat machine as well as performer ‘cleans’ and ‘clean and jerks’ as the exercise involves large muscle movements and can be dangerous when performing them on your own.  If there was a fault with the system with the gym I would have to say that there isn’t always a member of staff in the center, the staff often go out for food or other stuff for the odd five minutes and although you can’t really prevent this happening you could recommend them to make sure someone is looking after the center while doing this. Also there has been a broken toilet seat in the fitness center for over six months and I think this is something that should have been sorted out a while ago. In terms of any schemes that could be used to improve health and safety the staff could make sure the equipment is checked daily rather than once a week as some faults are not picked up straight away and sometimes increase over the week without being noticed. I also think some health poster would be useful maybe in regards to steroid use and other fitness related issues. It is important for a college to be as well looked after as possible as it is mainly used by college students a people except less mistakes when dealing with children or young adults and it also builds an attitude towards fitness in the future for the students. If when you go to your first gym it is well run and it is a good atmosphere to workout in, you are likely to continue with exercise in the future, where as if you have a bad experience that may get put off going to fitness centers in the future.

Here is another sign I found in Dyrons leisure center, this sign is for hygiene and it is something that has only recently been introduced and is currently on a trial period it follows the same line as people washing their feet in the foot cleansing bath to prevent the foot diseases like athletes foot and verucas spreading. This sign is aimed at all everyone who is about to use the swimming pool, it is a quite colorful sign and therefore is eye-catching and so people are more likely to follow the sign. The sign is there to prevent people brining unnecessary dirt into the swimming and it will also help prevent clogging up the filter system.

These are other signs that can be found in swimming pools.

AQUATIC & LEISURE CENTRE GUIDELINES (House Rules) 
Children 6 years and Under
Children 6 years and under must be accompanied by a swimming adult in the water. They must be within arm's reach of a parent or guardian, 16years of age or older, at all times. Ratio of children 6 years or under to parent or guardian must be no greater than 3 to 1. 
Children who are not yet toilet trained are required to wear either a pool diaper or cloth diaper and plastic pants.

Hot Spot Areas
Children, 12 years and under, must be accompanied by a parent or guardian (16 years or older) in the hot tub and steam room. For the enjoyment and safety of all, please abide by the policy and guidelines posted.

Bathing Attire
All patrons are expected to wear appropriate swimming attire. "Cut-offs" and under-garments worn underneath swimming suits/shorts are not acceptable. Non-toilet trained children must wear pool diapers. Please remove disposable diapers and place your child in either aquatic diapers (gabbies) or cloth diapers and plastic pants. There should no jewellery worn in the swimming that includes watches and necklaces.

A list of these guidelines were published of an A5 piece of paper which were found on the information desk, apparently they were also placed in a pile by the entrance and also in the viewing lounge and in all the major sections of the leisure center, for example the changing rooms, fitness center and sauna areas. In terms of making sure that people stick to the rules, the lifeguard outside the changing room will check the swimming attire and that no jewellery is worn they will also make sure that adults are not supervising too many children. It is the member of staff at the desk that should make sure that if a child is under six that there are supervised by someone over sixteen and they will ask for identification if they believe the person to be under sixteen. The reason they have placed the leaflets in the places they have is to attract the attention of adults, as the likelihood is that children aren’t going to read leaflets anyway and so its best to educate the adults who in turn can educate their children. In terms of making sure the rules are abided by there is a heavy responsibility placed upon the staff.

I think that these guidelines are fair, and are general guidelines set by the aquatic governing body, so these three main sections are a nationwide ruling. This means that every swimming pool should make sure that these guidelines are followed and to do this the customers need to be aware of the rules. It is important that young children are accompanied by adults as they wont be confident swimmers and while left alone the danger of drowning is increased a lot and this puts extra pressure and responsibility on the lifeguards, so it is important that the leisure center protect their employees as well as the customer. It also means that the lifeguards don’t have to keep watching someone that is young and they know have a higher risk of drowning. If they had to do this their attention on other events would be reduced. It is also important to make sure that every child is getting enough attention if the pool, if an adult is looking after seven or eight children it is impossible to keep an eye on all of them at once and so it defeats the point of the child being accompanied by a child. It is important that each child is well looked after and I believe that any more than three children per adult would be unsafe. In regards to swimming attire although you may think wearing a watch or a necklace is completely danger free it can cause a nasty accident. For example you could get your watch caught in the filter or you could cut someone else, the major thing is jewellery can be easily lost and even if there wasn’t a rule that you couldn’t wear jewellery it would be recommended that jewellery not be worn as it can easily be lost and it wasn’t worth the risk to lose it. The aquatic have also imposed a rule in which no garments should be warn underneath either swimming suit or shorts, this can be very dangerous as most normal clothing can get very heavy when wet as it isn’t designed the same as swimming wear, and if you had cramp you would finds it difficult to float because of the extra resistance.

Obviously its hard to really criticize the guidelines as they have most probably been created in conjunction with government guidelines are therefore there would have been a lot of debate over them in the first place and I hardly think anything a student can come up with will be any safer than what a government can come up with but you can draw up some interesting conclusions and evaluations. Obviously this is only a small section of the government guidelines so I can hardly criticize for leaving things out, but there are a few things to talk about. In my opinion I would consider an adult to be of age eighteen and I think it is strange that they have defined an adult of anyone aged sixteen years and above. I think it puts a lot of pressure upon a sixteen year-old and they could easily eliminate the responsibility by moving the age up to the real adult age of eighteen. I think if you place the adult age for drinking, voting and being responsible for yourself in terms of the law at eighteen then you should make the age of being in charge of a child under six eighteen as well. It is true that there probably isn’t much difference between a sixteen year old and eighteen year-old but given that argument why not just increase the age by two years. I think the ruling concerning how many children an adult is safe to look after is exactly right, it is almost impossible to keep concentrating on four or five children at once and especially as most children under six are still beginners they will need constant attention and therefore it would be unsafe for an adult to look after anymore than three children. In my opinion they have set the age of being aloud to swim on your own to low, (although most swimming pools raise the age limit) I believe that it should be raised to at least eight and possibly ten, I still feel a seven year-old should not be considered a good enough swimmer to be unaccompanied in a swimming pool, I also think it is unfair for the lifeguards on duty to have to pay extra attention to swimmers because they do not looked advanced enough. Having said that it is quite rare that the age is set at six, I have been to swimming pools especially outdoor pools where the age is twelve which is possibly too high but it is better to be too caution than set the age too low. It is better to have slightly less custom than deal with more accidents.

Basically what the guidelines have done is set limits the lowest they can possibly go, which means most centers will use there own judgment and realize to be extra safe raising the age of the adult and lowering the amount of children aloud per adult. The aquatic guideline is something you have to abide by but you can alter it to make it safer but you cannot for example allow five children to be supervised by an adult or classify an adult as a fourteen or fifth teen year old.

Although I can’t really criticize the government guidelines a great deal and can criticize the way in which Dyrons have advertised the rules. As I stated earlier the only time I came across the guidelines were on the counter on the desk and I had to be told where else I could find them in the center and for me to have to ask in itself is a disgrace. For people to obey rules they have to be well advertised, and although the actual leaflet would be hard to convert to a simple poster they could make it more colorful. I believe there should have a several of the full guidelines placed around the entrance for everyone to see and I also think they should have turned some of the points on the guidelines into small signs or posters. For example they could have a picture of a small child with armbands on with the red circle around it and a red line going diagonally through it, with a caption underneath saying ‘6 and under accompanied by an adult at all times’. The same could be done for having more than three children per adult; the same style poster could be used with a picture of children with armbands on with an adult, with a caption saying ‘an adult should supervise no more than three children’. I think there should be poster placed on the entrance door so people know before they even enter the center and then there should be several posters or leaflets with the whole set of guidelines on it, or a member of staff should hand the leaflets out when each person has paid. In terms of making sure that customers stay within the rules, the extra posters and leaflets, will help with this, but I feel the sole responsibility should not be placed upon the employees, I think management should oversee a lot of this rather than leave it up to the staff and if just general staff are to be enlisted with this responsibility then I think they should be trained to ensure the quality and to make sure they know what they are doing. There is no point having just general staff dealing with this as they are likely to make mistakes and if they are trained they are likely to make people stick to the guidelines with more efficiency.

Apart from the customers the staff are the most important part of a leisure center. Leisure can be extremely dangerous places if they aren’t run properly and safely and to do this you need properly trained staff to make sure that the center runs safely. In order for the members of staff to work to their full potential they need to have guidelines that they have to follow. In order for them to serve the public to the best of their ability they need to know what’s required of them, this is where a set of staff guidelines comes into place. I think that when you are employed you should be issued with the staff guidelines and told to read through the guidelines to make sure you know what they are as they will be the most important part of your job. The set of guidelines should be made into a poster like I have done and I would put the poster up in many places in the leisure where only staff are allowed and they should also be place in the staff so that it can be seen by all staff. I think each member of staff should be issued with a new staff guidelines sheet every month and they as the employer you know the staff have no excuse if they break the guidelines, as you know personally that they know exactly what they are and they have no excuse to forget what the guidelines are. Just like any job if you make a mistake it can potentially be very dangerous and everyone makes mistakes, but because a leisure center deals with public safety it is important to be strict with staff as people’s life’s could be at risk if staff are incompetent. It is important that you check regularly that all your staff are aware of the rule, as a way of evaluating you could set regular exams possibly every month as a way of tracking the progress of your staff. It is unfair to set all the rules for staff without some feedback and I think there should be a staff representative who voices complaints or suggestions to the leisure center hierarchy and there should also be a comments box set-up for confidential suggestions or complaints regarding rules, regulations and other topics. This should be reviewed every month to make sure that complaints or suggestions don’t get put on the “back burner”.

CUSTOMER CHARTER

Much like sports teams leisure centers will have aims that they want to fulfill, and each district will set goals to provide to the public, Dyrons falls into the teignbridge district and here is the Customer Charter that I found upon my entrance to the leisure center.

In General We Will:

• Ensure the center is clean, safe and well maintained.
• Listen and be responsive to comments, complaints and suggestions within 5 working days.
• Maintain a balance program of activities and services, which cater for the needs of all sections of the community.
• Publish up to date and accurate customer information for all activities. (Through are notice board)
• Have clear technical standards for all-important features of the service and meet them.
• Make Prices competitive and fair to ensure value for money.
• Undertake regular surveys of our customers to ensure that we continue to meet their stated priorities.

The staff at dyrons plans to make the center clean, safe and well maintained. In order to do this they employ cleaners not only for the suites and rooms but also for the pool, which is the most important element of the cleaning process. I have already explained how the center is kept safe and well maintained. As I explain later on dyrons has a customer comments section, which they say they will respond to within five working days, it is important that they do this, as customers do not accept delays especially when dealing with complaints or other comments. I think five days is plenty of time for both parties involved as that gives the center plenty of time to respond but it also means that the customer isn’t waiting too long for a reply. I think publishing up-to-date information is so important as people do not want to turn up to the center for an activity when actually the times have changed but they weren’t informed. Dyrons says they do this by using the notice board I would also suggest using the desk as using a notice board at the entrance with any recent changes to timetables. It is important for a local leisure center to cater for the as much as the public as possible, this include running activities for the disabled and offering wheelchair access. A good idea would be to produce surveys to the public to see what they want to see at their local sports center it is important for the center that they know what the public what the center to offer. There is no point doing five clubs of archery a week when only two people turn up each week they must get the balance right. I think getting the price right is so important not only for the leisure center but also for the public, they shouldn’t price anyone out of the leisure center but yet they need to make profit as well. They may also consider offering reduced prices at certain times of the days for pensioners and the unemployed.

A lot of customers that go to leisure centers will unsure that there are customer charters, for customers to be completely aware of them they need to clearly available for them to see and they also need to be eye-catching rather than just a plain old list of writing. When I went into dyrons I spent a couple of minutes looking a the notice board to look for some information on my assignment and I have to admit the customer charter although reasonably colorful did not stand out a great deal, and for the customer that jests passes through the corridor passing the notice board it needs to stand out a lot more. I did ask at the desk if I could have a copy of the customer charter but they informed me that they only had one and so I had to photocopy it, I think for the customers to know what sort of service the dyrons leisure is providing them with the customer charter should be well shown and publicized. As with the rules for the center I believe the charter should be advertised better are they certainly should be more than one copy in the middle I would recommend that the customer charter be placed on every single notice board as well as all major suites such as sauna, squash courts, main sports hall, fitness suites and changing rooms. When I asked them how they were going to know when to make improvements to the center and the charter they told me they used the customer comments system, and although there where plenty of available pieces of paper to write your comments on the comments box was not well advertised. For people to make comments they need to know where they can do it, having said that when you want to make a complaint about something you usually go straight to points needs to be amended, which is a good idea as peoples opinion are constantly changing.

QUALITY POLICY

Dyrons Leisure centre shall strive to continually improve the level of service to its customers, through the commitment and dedication of management and staff. This will be achieved by:

• Operating and adhering to a formal quality management system that complies with the requirements of ISO 9001:2000
• Enhancing the skills of Dyrons Leisure Centre employees, through training and career development, recognizing that Dyrons Leisure Centre employees are the most important resource.
• Encouraging and fostering a spirit of teamwork, so that everybody can contribute to the success and improvement of Dyrons Leisure Centre.
• Establishing, monitoring and reviewing the Teignbridge Leisure Department Quality Objectives.

QUALITY OBJECTIVES

Dyrons Leisure Center quality Objectives are:

• Aim to maintain the swimming pool water quality within the range +0.2 to +0.3 on the langelier balance water index.
• To ensure the cleanliness of the building is maintained at the specified standards at all times.
• To ensure that the correct resources are serviceable and available for use at the specified time of the activity.
• To ensure there is always sufficient numbers of trained staff on duty to operate the leisure centre safely.
• To run an effective booking system that will ensure maximum usage of the facilities.
• To plan and produce swimming pool timetables to inform the customer of pool availability.
• To plan and produce a range of information leaflets to inform our customers of the service we provide.
• To operate an effective communication system to obtain customers’ views and comments about the services provided.
• To ensure every member of staff receives sufficient training to maintain/enhance their skill levels in all aspects of their work.
• To continuously improve the services provided.
• To manage the infrastructure, environment and resources in order to achieve the objectives listed above.

The quality objectives are there to tell the public what the employees should be providing you with. I think the ones the public will be most interested in are the ones regarding the training of staff. The should expect there should be enough trained staff at all times for the center to be maintained and also that every member staff is sufficiently trained in their job so that they can provide their service to the public to the best of their ability. You do not want an unqualified trampoline coach, coaching you when your doing trampolining especially when you have paid for the service.

The poster was placed on the customer notice board as well as the entrance to all three changing rooms. Every single employee is handed a copy as well when they are employed to the company. They review their guidelines every three months according to government changes and customer and employee comments.

The employee guidelines are obviously something that concerns the employees more than the public but in order to provide correct surface the employee guideline should be available to the public. There were two posters in the center and surprisingly enough they had a lot of color and where well presented and stood out. I thought it was surprising that the employee guidelines were more of a focal point than the customer charter.  But even so as with the customer charter and center rules then need to be advertised all over the center, in regard to the reviewing of the guidelines I think every months is far too long to leave, peoples views and opinions can change daily and you get different customers every day and someone could suggest something the day after the guidelines had been reviewed and therefore could have to wait a further three months before any changes may be made, I think they should check the comments that refer to employee guidelines every month and looking to make changes after every month. I would also develop questionnaires every month, which every employee should complete in regards to progress and suggestions as well as customer surveys, which can help with their service to the public. I think a reward scheme should also be offered for employees that go by the employee guidelines the most; this will only encourage staff to stick to the guidelines and therefore provide a better service

The final poster I found that I thought was interesting was a traffic light system poster for swimmers, which I think is a really good idea. The traffic light scheme is to simplify the swimming lessons breaking them down into the following colours.

RED

Red is the stop sign at the traffic lights, it symbolizes danger this colour is used for beginners, children who are not confident in the water and if they are not taught or supervised properly could be a danger to themselves or others. This class is situated in the learner pool and shallow end of the main pool. Sessions comprise of water confidence and basic swimming skills. Awards will be achieved before children progress to next colour.

YELLOW

Yellow is the stand by colour at the traffic lights, it indicates that there is still an element of danger but it is also saying get ready to go. Children in the yellow class can swim at least 10 meters and are situated in the middle of the pool. Sessions compromise of further development of swimming skills and more advanced water confidence. (E.g. surface dives)

GREEN

Green is a safe colour and means all is clear so you can go. The children in the green classes are situated in the deep end of the pool, they have shown confidence and technique and are now safe to learn the finer elements of swimming and increases their stamina (e.g. tumble turns)

I think this traffic light system is a very good scheme as it seems very fun and as it is aimed at children this is very important. There is no point having a complicated scheme where children are involved as they wouldn’t understand it and therefore wouldn’t’ gain anything from it. This scheme also gives children something to achieve by advancing through the colours. If you wanted to extend this type of scheme into something more complicated for maybe older children you could use the same style scheme with maybe more colours something like a rainbow scheme, with each colour representing an extra level of swimming. Similar to the badge system, which is in place in many leisure centers.

APPENDIX

Most children drown in swimming pools.  
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), emergency departments reported that among children younger than 5 years old, about 320 fatal drownings in 1991 and nearly 2,300 non-fatal near-drownings in 1993 occurred in residential swimming pools. Between 60-90% of drownings among children aged 0-4 years occur in residential pools; more than half of these occur at the child's own home. Compared with in-ground pools without four-sided fencing, 60% fewer drownings occur in in-ground pools with four-sided isolation fencing. 5

What can government agencies do to prevent drownings?

• Mandate and enforce legal limits for blood alcohol levels during water recreation activities. 
• Provide public service announcements about the danger of combining alcohol with water recreation. 
• Eliminate advertisements that encourage alcohol use during boating. 
• Restrict the sale of alcohol at water recreation facilities.
    

How can people guard against drowning?

You can greatly reduce the chances of you or your children becoming drowning or near-drowning victims by following a few simple safety tips:

• Whenever young children are swimming, playing, or bathing in water, make sure an adult is constantly watching them. By definition this means that the supervising adult should not read, play cards, talk on the phone, mow the lawn, or do any other distracting activity while watching children. 
• Never swim alone or in unsupervised places. Teach children to always swim with a buddy. 
• Keep small children away from buckets containing liquid: 5-gallon industrial containers are a particular danger. Be sure to empty buckets when household chores are done. 
• Never drink alcohol during or just before swimming, boating, or water skiing. Never drink alcohol while supervising children. Teach teenagers about the danger of drinking alcohol and swimming, boating, or water skiing. 
• To prevent choking, never chew gum or eat while swimming, diving, or playing in water. 
• Learn to swim. Enrol yourself and/or your children aged 4 and older in swimming classes. Swimming classes are not recommended for children under age 4. 
• Learn CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation). This is particularly important for pool owners and individuals who regularly participate in water recreation. 
• Do NOT use air-filled swimming aids (such as "water wings") in place of life jackets or life preservers with children. These can give parents and children a false sense of security and increase the risk of drowning. 
• Check the water depth before entering. The American Red Cross recommends 9 feet as a minimum depth for diving or jumping

A mum who rescued her daughter from drowning is demanding an inquiry into a leisure center’s safety procedures.

Seven-year-old Charlotte Ling was one of 30 guests at a children's birthday party at the pool at Corringham Leisure Center when she found herself fighting for her life.

The non-swimmer slipped off a giant inflatable, allegedly unnoticed by lifeguards, and sank in deep water.

Luckily her mum, Angela, spotted what was going on and rushed to her rescue.

She claimed: "If I had not been there Charlotte would be dead. I pulled my daughter from the bottom of the pool. It was the worst experience of my life.''

Mrs. Ling, of Nutberry Avenue, Grays, said she was appalled at the safety procedures at the party and wanted to warn other parents.

She added: "We've been to parties like this before and the children are usually separated into swimmers and non-swimmers and put into different areas of the pool.

"This time they were all put on a giant inflatable in the same pool regardless of whether or not they could swim, and none of them were offered arm bands.

"Only people wearing swimming costumes are normally allowed in the pool area. The only reason I was there was to ask staff for armbands for Charlotte.

"The arm bands were locked away and while someone went away to sort things out Charlotte fell in.

"The lifeguards were all on one side of the pool and could not see what was happening on the far side of the inflatable. They were totally unaware there was a child in trouble.

"The mother who organized the party has lodged a formal complaint about safety failings and I am asking for a full inquiry.

"I want to alert other parents as to what can happen at parties like these.''

Thurrock Council, which runs Corringham Leisure Center, said it was taking the complaints very seriously.

Spokesman Martin Mallin said: "We are conducting an investigation and the mother will be part of that investigation.

"We will act on any recommendation or finding.''

Fitness center safety tips

Do criminals get more from your workout than you do? Don't make it easy for thieves to make you their next theft victim. "Harden the target" by following these simple steps:

• Never take purses or wallets to the gym, if possible.

• If you are unable to leave valuables at home, consider storing them in your vehicle's trunk.

• If you place valuables in your trunk, do so before arriving at the gym, never in the parking lot.

• Never, ever, ever take large sums of cash to the gym and leave in your car or locker.

• Generally, cars in gym parking lots have been broken into more than lockers inside the gymnasium.

• If possible, take only your workout gear and driver's license to the gym.

• Never keep your car keys with you and place on the floor while working out in the gym (we've had thieves steal the keys as the owners were working out).

All individuals in the fitness center must follow all of these rules.

1. Everyone in the fitness centre MUST have been assessed and have their card.
2. Only the coach or fitness centre supervisor may pass out or file the cards.
3. NO GUM allowed.
4. No food is allowed in the fitness centre.
5. Cards, and fitness towels do not leave the fitness centre.
6. Click, don't clank, the weights...soft click.
7. Use your fitness towel & wipe the station dry before rotating to another.
8. Do not bring valuables, books, or backpacks into the fitness centre. Only bring in yourself, ready to workout.
9. No flipping towels or rowdy behaviour.
10. During the summer months, every individual must have a picture ID card that they will trade in for their card at the counter. No wallets or valuables please.
11. If people are waiting to use the cardio equipment, please limit your time to 20 minutes. That is the same time it will take you to do the blue or silver circuit.
12. Membership is non-transferrable. Unauthorized use of your ID card will result in the loss of membership.
13. Use perfect form and full range of motion while on the resistive machines. Complete 12 repetitions while on a resistive machine within the 30-second time period.
14. After adjusting your station, you can always start lifting early, but you can never stay late at a station. You must rotate immediately when the command says rotate and let the next lifter set up his/her pins. You have 20 seconds to set your pins.
15. Report any broken equipment to the fitness centre supervisor at the desk.

All participants, including coaches must be in proper attire when in the fitness center supervising their teams.

REFERENCES

• EARLING TIMES
• Dyrons
• Exeter College Fitness Center