24/7 Gym Security

Does your gym or fitness centre operate 24/7? If so, you need to invest in a security solution to protect your members, your centre and your revenue from tailgaters.

Tailgating is one of the most common security breaches faced by gyms and leisure facilities. It can be unintentional, tied to acts of common courtesy like holding a door open for someone, or deliberate, where an unauthorised person might try to slip in undetected for unlawful or unauthorised activity. This is particularly an issue for 24 hour gyms as the entrance cannot always be monitored.

So, what can be done about it? When it comes to tailgating, not all security solutions are created equal and the solution that best fits your building will depend on many factors, including the specific entry point you want to secure and its layout, the reason for controlling access, and budget.

While you may think your gym or leisure centre can get by without an access control system or be deterred by set up costs (both financially and time), not having this functionality for your gym could be costing you in more ways than you think.

Opening Hours

Having an automated access control system can allow you to extend the operating hours of your gym without the necessity of hiring more staff or increasing wage costs by requiring staff to work later. By having an entrance control system that coordinates this entire process you can guarantee round the clock security while also allowing your customers to spread out their workouts over a longer period of time, reducing demand on staff and equipment. 

Once this functionality has been integrated into your existing systems it allows you to to develop a more in depth understanding of your customers and their behaviours, namely the busiest times. This then provides the opportunity to implement time based restrictions on memberships, offering cheaper off-peak alternatives helping to diminish frustrating wait times or overcrowding.

Costs

Installation of an entrance control system in your gym can also help reduce costs. As the system feeds user data to management you begin to develop a better understanding of the busiest times, frequented areas, poorly or well attended classes and how members are using your facility. This understanding helps you to better plan staff rosters, better allocate human resources to certain in-demand areas, better coordinate maintenance as well as tell you which areas of your gym to invest into.

With fewer or no staff required to monitor the entrance of your gym, it frees up staff to focus on giving tailored attention to your customers and helping them reach their fitness goals, rather than being stuck in reception. Unlike your staff, our machines don’t get tired, need breaks or require days off so you can allocate your people power to where it matters most. 

In addition to loss of revenue through people accessing your facility without paying, other costs might include theft, vandalism or destruction of assets and equipment, as well as physical threats to staff and gym users. 

Visitor Security

Arguably the most important benefit of installing an entrance control system for your gym is the ability to provide peace of mind for your club members, knowing there will not be any unauthorised entry. Being both user friendly and intuitive but also secure means, authorised entrants can enter quickly while tailgaters or those with intent to damage property, are kept from entering. 

In addition to protecting your users and equipment, entrance control solutions can ensure the security of staff areas and stock rooms, preventing accidental or purposeful entry through physical barriers that cannot be ignored or missed.

With density limits and member capacity being enforced, the enabled tracking features can be invaluable for helping you to know in real time how many members are in your gym. This can be crucial in emergency scenarios, where you could be working with an inaccurate head count, but also incredibly helpful for determining how many people can enter with health and safety protocols. 

Tailgating detection solutions include products such as Centaman Entrance Control’s Door Detective.

How does it work?

The Door Detective creates an infra-red field across a doorway to monitor people entering and leaving. It works in conjunction with your access control system to verify whether a user is authorised or unauthorised. These types of solutions provide a low-level deterrent and will alert you to tailgating incidents. These systems will not however prevent tailgating, at least not on their own.

Benefits

Tailgate detection solutions have a far smaller footprint than tailgating prevention solutions, which means they can easily be fitted to most entry points, regardless of available space and layout. 

These systems also have a faster throughput, making them more practical for high-traffic access points. Solutions such as Door Detective also have less impact on users, as they are virtually invisible to them during normal use.

Drawbacks

These types of solutions typically require staffing in order to respond to and stop tailgating as it’s happening. This requires integration with more comprehensive security systems such as CCTV which may incur an additional cost.

It’s also worth considering that while tailgate detection solutions typically cost less to purchase up front, the ongoing operational costs are higher than for tailgating prevention solutions. This might include the need to staff access points, time and resources to respond to incidents and loss of productivity and disruption should an incident arise. For the likes of leisure facilities, where access is on a user pays basis, a loss of revenue may also occur.

Tailgating prevention solutions, such as Centaman Entrance Control’s security portal range, make it virtually impossible for an unauthorised person to gain access to your building. They are ideal for unmanned entrances and provide a greater level of security than traditional turnstiles or speedgates.

How does it work?

Security portals work by closing the door behind a person as they enter the portal. Once the door is closed, the anti-tailgating system checks if only one person is in the portal. Any other relevant security checks can also be undertaken at this time. Once the checks have been passed, a second door opens to let the authorised person into the secure area.

Benefits

Clear benefits of tailgating prevention solutions include:

• Reduced revenue leakage and increased membership, as people will have to join to use facilities, rather than being able to tailgate behind an authorised user
• Ensuring a safe environment for people using your gym or leisure facility, particularly outside normal hours; and greater peace of mind for you.