4 Ways to Improve Gym Security

Gyms, leisure centers, and health clubs are an integral part of many people’s daily routines. Reports suggest that the average American dedicates almost 12 hours per week to a regular health and fitness regime. Therefore, your average gym will see hundreds of customers each and every day.  Gym security is critical at this volume of people.

Just like in any other public space, gym members will expect to be provided with a safe and secure environment. They want to be able to focus on their fitness activities and not worry about much else. However, for gym owners designing and implementing an effective building security system is often a little more complicated than setting up a few cameras. 

Gym owners must consider a range of important factors including how they handle customers’ private data. They must also consider how to prevent unauthorized persons from entering the property. They must also think about how best to respond in the event of an emergency, and how to protect their staff from harm. This often means that they should deploy an intelligent collection of devices. To help achieve this, here are 4 ways to improve security at your gym. 

Mobile access control 

One of the most effective ways to both improve gym security and provide your members with a more convenient way to access on-site amenities is to develop and install a mobile access control system. All gyms must have a reliable method of preventing intruders from entering the property. Many traditional access control options can be difficult to manage and surprisingly easy to compromise. 

Mobile access control systems remove the risks associated with lost, stolen, or duplicated key cards and fobs by replacing physical credentials with digital information stored within members’ smart devices. Customers must then download a site-specific app linked to their membership account. From here, the staff is able to issue personalized credentials to each user to turn personal phones into digital keys. 

Implementing such a system allows for touchless property access. Additionally, it provides security staff the ability to view and revoke permissions remotely. Finally, it permits gym owners to create integrated booking systems. These systems allow members to reserve certain facilities in-app with their access credentials instantly updated. This improves both on-site security and provides users with a more convenient way to manage their accounts.

Smart security cameras

To ensure that you are protecting customers and staff members from potentially harmful incidents, it’s essential that modern gyms make use of video security systems. However, settling for a traditional CCTV system can place strain on the security staff required to assess live footage manually. 

Thankfully, there is a range of smart video security software solutions available designed to assist on-site security staff in detecting and preventing physical crimes. Many systems use AI technology and intelligent data analysis. For example, you can use object detection software to automatically identify suspected weapons and contraband items. These systems can then instantly notify staff via cloud-based communications. 

In addition, AI-powered security cameras can detect unusual and anomalous events. These can be events such as crowds forming in certain areas to help security staff respond quickly to potentially dangerous incidents. Further software solutions like license plate recognition systems integrated alongside outdoor cameras can detect suspicious vehicles. Additionally, this can help gym owners plan more effective parking management systems. 

Automatic lockdown systems 

For many larger gyms or smaller facilities with limited numbers of available staff, it can be difficult to reliably monitor installed security devices. This makes it difficult to ensure that unfolding emergencies are immediately detected and responded to. This is important especially if all active security devices can only be accessed and adjusted manually.

To address this issue, gym owners should consider utilizing Internet of Things (IoT) enabled devices. They can use these devices to create an automatic lockdown system. When you connect this via a cloud-based security management platform, you can program your IoT devices such as motion sensors and alarms to inform the operation of wider systems. Things like door locks and access control readers can automatically secure specific areas. 

You can integrate these systems alongside smart video security cameras to trigger site-wide lockdowns if needed. This could be in response to detected weapons, unauthorized intruders, and anomalous behaviors. Your on-site staff can be notified automatically via their smartphones to dramatically improve incident responses. 

Intelligent cybersecurity solutions 

Business owners should obviously protect their staff and customers from physical threats. In the modern age, they should also develop trusted systems to ensure that they protect sensitive and identifiable client information. Cybercriminals and significant data breaches are always a risk.

Gym owners are often responsible for a large amount of confidential customer information including payment details and personal data. They should also protect any recorded activity logs captured by on-site access readers and CCTV cameras. This means that staff must protect and secure all stored data. 

To achieve this, it’s advised that all gym communications and data storage systems are subject to some form of encryption. Additionally, they should use advanced cybersecurity measures like multi-factor authentication (MFA) used to prevent unauthorized persons from viewing sensitive information. Additionally, AI-powered data analytics tools can be used to automatically detect potential breaches to provide further security assistance. 

Summary 

Ensuring the safety and security of all customers and staff members will always be a top priority for gym owners. To do so effectively in the modern world, security teams should turn towards smart technologies and integrated systems designed to dramatically improve incident responses. 

Combine the operation of key security devices such as access control, video security cameras, and on-site alarms within a cloud-based management system. You then offer your staff a more holistic view of on-site security. They are then able to program automatic emergency responses whilst presenting customers with a more convenient way to access core amenities. This will ultimately help to improve security in modern gyms.