Third Space is working with Orbit4 on a system that’s revolutionising the management of its equipment and its operational performance

In the fast-paced world of fitness, gym operators face challenges managing equipment, service contracts and maintenance schedules. Orbit4 enables operators to manage everything from service requests to supplier contracts from one central dashboard.

Health club management teams can make faster, more informed decisions by easily tracking the costs of service agreements and identifying ageing or problematic assets using real-time data on equipment purchases.

The team at Third Space partnered with Orbit4 last year to reduce operational costs and ensure a smoother, more efficient gym experience for both staff and members, by optimising assets across its estate.

Simon Kilby, fitness operations manager, said: “Orbit4 has been a game-changer for us. First we successfully achieved the key goals we set out from the outset and now we’ve gone even further.

“Analysing our asset base can be done so much faster. Most importantly, we now have the confidence to make evidence-based decisions moving forward.”

You don’t know what you don’t know
“We had incredibly efficient processes for tracking memberships and customer experience and we wanted the same level of visibility of our asset base and the costs tied to it,” says Kilby.

“As operators, we were already excelling in customer service and providing best-in-class clubs, but when it came to our equipment and service levels, we wanted to further heighten our levels of efficiency and service delivery.

“With our policy of buying best-in-class and staying ahead of the market, managing multiple suppliers, warranties and service contracts became a growing challenge,” said Kilby. “Orbit4 consolidated that process into one streamlined platform, allowing us to manage data on both a macro and micro level.”

Scope of works
Steve Ruffell, UK country manager for Orbit4, says: “At the start of our contract, Third Space had 1,300 assets across nine clubs and 10 different equipment brands with 20 service contracts – all with varying end-dates.

“The company wanted to capture and streamline everything, deploy a solution that simplified the reporting process for facility managers and – once implemented – track, monitor, and present data to aid decisions for future procurement. It was a challenge we couldn’t wait to take on.”

Kilby says “Collaboration and partnership are essential to overcoming challenges and ensuring the system evolves with our specific business needs. The team at Orbit4 has been superb, not only in understanding and delivering on what we were originally aiming to achieve, but also in listening to our future needs and evolving its product in line with those requests.”

The future of fitness asset management
The Orbit4 dashboard provides operators with a comprehensive view of key metrics, including performance averages, asset valuation, maturity forecasts and open service tickets across an entire estate.

The system also has an Action Centre Alerts Manager to identify priorities and provide system-generated suggestions relating to procurement, based on historical data analysis.

A recent innovation, requested by Third Space, is the introduction of a league table that ranks the performance of service providers and assets, offering clear insights that identify which partners and equipment deliver the best value.

Development and goals
“We pride ourselves on being collaborative partners and continually innovating to better serve our customers,” says Ruffell. “We see our platform as something built by the industry, for the industry and it’s exciting to implement new features that truly make a difference.

“Looking ahead, we’ve also been asked to add facility and operational management checklists, which will make our solution a truly comprehensive package that consolidates everything in one place.

"With this system behind us, we’re excited about the growth of both current and future partnerships.”

Ready to find out more? Go to www.Orbit4.org where our team will be waiting to help you take your business to the next level.