You don’t need to have a mugshot to get into the gym, but soon you will need to have a handprint.
Big changes are taking place at the Beaman Fitness Center, and many are them are due to the implementation of Fusion, a new software that works as an access system into gym facilities and is designed to create a smoother experience for gym members and employees.
It is already on the Beaman’s computers, but the most notable change for members is slated to debut early in 2013 when biometric hand scanners are added to the gym’s entrance.
“It will take a while to get used to,” student employee Audrey Owens said, “but it will honestly be so worth it.”
Graduate assistant Aimee Drabyn said that when it is implemented, students will have to provide their handprint when they visit the gym and it will stay on file for the rest of their time at Belmont. This will replace ID swiping entirely.
Easier access is not the only function Fusion serves.
“Some of the changes we’ll have in the next two years are going more web-based so that we can do our group fitness classes through the web,” Drabyn said. “People will be able to go online and schedule those.”
Equipment rentals and reservations will be web-based, as well. Fusion is also a point of sale system, which means that all financial transactions for things like locker rentals or memberships can go through it.
It will also help the facility keep better data and records on its members, making it a worthwhile investment in the eyes of the department.
“Before, we were only able to see how many people were coming in by counting,” Drabyn said. “Now, we can actually see the demographics, so we can know how many females are coming in or what types of majors are coming in. It’s so much more efficient for our everyday processes, and it’s really easy because everything is online.”
Owens agrees.
“Fusion has made work easier by combining all the parts of my job at the desk into one system. Everything that I need to do, I can access through the system. It will all be in one place.”
This efficiency has been long-awaited, since the implementation of a system like Fusion has been in talks for about nine years. Now the challenge is for users and staff to adapt to the changes as they take place.
– Adriana Figueroa