A SADDLEWORTH business has been made an example of by Oldham Council’s environmental health officers and the Health and Safety Executive – and it is delighted!
Diggle-based Kiss Fitness passed its unannounced coronavirus spot check with flying colours.
But a return visit was then made to highlight the Warth Mill gym as a business of best practice in protecting workers, customers and visitors during the pandemic.
They have even been named as one of the top three in the North West.
For owners Steve and Chris Kiss it was gratifying affirmation of their efforts to ensure their premises were as safe as possible for the ‘Kiss family’.
And the Uppermill-based brothers certainly didn’t kick their heels during five months without customers at the state-of-the-art fitness facility.
When members returned on July 25, they did so to a new mezzanine level for their fitness classes, new equipment to try out but most importantly a raft of measures designed to keep the gym Covid-19 free.
Many, however, had previously taken part in free online workouts three times a week and then donated to participate in fitness bootcamps for the NHS.
Members even received their own Kiss designed recipes for healthy eating – all in the distinctive red and black company branding.
“We are so much more than a gym; we are a family,” said Steve. “We even have our own hashtag now #allinkissfamily.
“The members are loving it; they feel safe and comfortable but so do we and that is the main thing.
“We can do as much as we can as gym owners but then it’s down to the customers.
“They are accountable for themselves at Kiss but everyone has so much respect for the gym and being part of the family environment.”
During local authority and HSE spot-checks across the borough businesses and firms are given advice and guidance to manage risk and protect workers, customers and visitors. Where businesses are not managing this, they will take action.
The council recently confirmed: “HSE and local authority inspectors are finding some common issues across a range of sectors.
“These include failing to provide arrangements for monitoring, supervising and maintaining social distancing, and failing to introduce an adequate cleaning regime particularly at busy times of the day.”
However, when it came to Kiss all boxes and more were ticked.
“There is not anything else we could do,” added Chris. “Even if they brought out new instructions, we would already be doing them.
“We are doing things we haven’t been asked to do but we are going above and beyond what the guidelines are.”
On entry members go through a three-step process before exercising: temperature check, key fob track and trace and use of automatic hand sanitisers to avoid cross contamination.
Each customer brings their own towel as well as sanitiser. There are a plethora of antiseptic wipes available to wipe down socially distanced equipment accessed via a one-way system around the floor.
The gym is well ventilated by open windows and fans. Even the pumping music has been turned down to avoid customers having to shout or talk loudly across each other.
There are three separate cardio areas each with reduced capacity.
“Every evening the building is fogged and given a deep clean,” added Steve, who praised Bancroft Waste Logistics Limited for their help ensuring customer safety.
“So, when we re-open the following morning you are coming into a completely sterile environment.
“It is then down to the members to keep the pieces of equipment sterile but everyone is pulling together it shows the community spirit.
“Every person who comes in knows the gym is in pristine condition. And to receive recognition for the right people in the right places proves the hard work and massive investment is paying off.
“We are still a relatively new business and were one of the first forced to close.
“We have been opened two years but five months of that has been spent in lockdown.
“However, we are all pulling in the same direction and hopefully we will come through this together.”
Kiss is open 6am-10pm on Monday to Thursday, 6am-9pm on Friday, 8am-3pm on Saturday, and 8am-2pm on Sunday.
Councillor Arooj Shah, Deputy Leader of Oldham Council and Cabinet Member for Coronavirus Response, said: “We are talking to local businesses and inspecting sites to understand how they are managing risks in line with their specific business activity.
“Being Covid-secure needs to be the priority for all businesses in Oldham.
“It’s a legal duty for businesses to protect their workers and others from harm and this includes taking reasonable steps to control the risk and protect people from coronavirus.
“This means businesses will have to make adjustments to become Covid-secure.
“We advise employers to work with their employees when implementing changes. This will to help increase confidence for workers, customers and the local community.”
“All businesses can be spot checked – it doesn’t matter about how many people are employed or the sector.
“By making sure that businesses have measures in place to manage the risks, we can benefit the health of our residents and workers as well as support the local economy.”
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