UCF RWC Gym Equipment Acquisition System Improvement

---

For my systems engineering project, I worked with 4 graduate engineering students with a task to improve a system at the University of Central Florida. The team made a decision that the system that needs improvement would be UCF's Recreational and Wellness Center (RWC) Gym Equipment Selection. Due to user dissatisfaction with the current selection of equipment, the system in which equipment is selected is under scrutiny. Initial findings suggest that equipment selection, and subsequent installation, has a drastic effect on patron and employee satisfaction. This project aims to structure the methods and channels through which equipment is selected for purchase to improve user satisfaction in the choice and availability of equipment. My main responsibilities include technical documentation and external researcher where I gather data external to system of interest including practices of similar facilities, supplier information, and general fitness trends.

The system of interest involves several subsystems whose interactions and functions should be considered during the system design. The work breakdown structure (WBS) illustrates the segmentation of the relevant system of interest.

 The planned implementation of this system design hinges on the ability for the system to communicate quantified and actionable recommendations based on current data and variable constraints. It is believed that by designing a system that accounts for all constraints and the preferences of the system user as well as the system owner, among other stakeholders, that the system will be desirable for use. The communications and findings from the data collection/analysis methods are intended to translate directly to a ranked system that prioritizes based on the most immediate need of the RWC’s users. Discussions with the system owner, RWC administration, may be necessary to facilitate deep understanding and garner buy in. This would be accomplished through the aforementioned communication methods.  

 One of our original goals was to perform visual observations of the gyms and the equipment being used. This would allow us to track the data of machines being used and calculate the average time waited for that type of machine. This would set a baseline from which, assuming implementation of our system, we could measure the successfulness of our system. During an attempt to take some of this data, RWC management shut down efforts without written cause. With regard to the scope of the class, testing methods here on out are explored as to-be efforts. Since this project aims to address satisfaction with equipment selection, two testing methods were proposed by the team. The first and foremost method would hinge on implementation of the system and compare satisfaction with past survey results. However, this method would require RWC management to trust the system to direct funds that, according to them, are not always guaranteed. Another approach would be to look at past facility performance through security camera footage to track instances where patrons did or did not engage with equipment. These interactions could be studied with waits or changes in the users’ intended piece of equipment indicating instances of dissatisfaction. A simulation could be developed and tested against a proposed facility that used the team’s system. This method would require significant work upfront and investment in the use of simulation, which would be completely new to RWC management. 

While it was stated earlier that the baseline for the system tests were halted, the team realized that results could be predicted through comparisons with other university recreation facilities. Those that utilized a quantitative system, similar to that under development by the team, could have their patron satisfaction compared against the RWC’s or other facilities that use a similar system. To accomplish this, the team reached out to several university recreation facilities, some because of proximity such as being in the same state university system, and others for their notoriety or similar student body size. 

With the last project checkpoint on the horizon, the team expects to validate the use of more specific data in greater quantities as the driver of success for the proposed system. The team expects corroboration given the data analysis backgrounds of team members with others in related fields. While the challenges so far have made the project somewhat more difficult, the team feels that the system will still be a robust system that can withstand time and variations in subject patterns (patrons), variations in system owner patterns (RWC administration), and mitigate risk.  

With the goal of improving user satisfaction by informing equipment selection, it was determined that the success of the system, in the eyes of the user stakeholders, would be its ability to identify the most desired equipment. From the system owner’s perspective, RWC (Recreation and Wellness Center) Management, success would involve the ability to select equipment that would see high utilization throughout its life while fitting within the budget. The main decision factors identified were RWC staff opinions, survey data, and field data. However, the team identified flaws in their management of data from these sources and thus the proposed system aims to pull from these factors in a more measurable way. The team felt there was no present means of quantitatively correlating the decision factors to satisfaction, nor tracking them over time. The current system was largely at the discretion of a few individuals who glanced at survey data and field data to decide on their best judgement on how to select equipment. The survey was not found to be present year-round, and the field data taken was of poor quality and specificity, only looking at the occupancy of facility areas instead of specific equipment utilization. Additionally, it was mentioned that specific data is rarely collected, and even then, only over short time intervals. As a result, the team decided that a ranking system could be used, utilizing a modified Pugh matrix. This system also recommends more robust and specific field data collection and year-round survey data to inform equipment selection. The system would consider RWC staff’s ranking of needed equipment. Then, by aggregating field data taken year-round, including overcapacity by measuring the length of queues for pieces of equipment, the population utilization could be considered by the system to provide another ranking. Finally, year-round surveys would provide the voice of the gym patronage to provide direct communication about desires for more, less, or new pieces of equipment. These factors could then be weighed and aggregated to produce a prioritized list of equipment. These weights and frequency of data aggregation could be tracked to tune the system to achieve the greatest success. The resulting list could then inform requirements during the bid out process to vendors for pieces of equipment. Furthermore, from the teams own communications with other schools, it is recommended that best practices from other schools be factored in. 

 With compromised data from the attempt at visual survey, gathering accurate data to populate an educated system upgrade for new machine purchasing and maintenance of the current equipment was impossible. The systems owners, the RWC staff, were a challenge to contact. Ensuring that we were not overstepping and comply with the RWC rules and regulations there are several barriers in the way before our team can collect accurate data and provide vital feed back to the RWC and other similar fitness centers. We learned that to get data from students, we would have had to provide consent forms and privacy notice to inform them that a survey was being conducted during their gym time. This is the legal issue that would have presented itself when performing a survey could have caused further complexity. Consistent communication early on from the RWC staff, gathering information on how to gain access to conduct a survey, would have led to better results. The RWC staff do not currently have a process on how they precure equipment. Without any baseline to start with our systems project, would have needed to start from the ground up; not only encompassing how the gym operates but what equipment is most favored by the users. The users of the RWC are most affected by the current system. Knowing the complexity of the RWC staff's requirements and processes early on could have given our team better insight into fixing the system and choosing another strategy for gathering the data.

  While not an idea, because of unsuccessful survey attempts to RWC patrons and admin, the team would’ve distributed a survey amongst fellow classmates to get initial data. Furthermore, strategies for developing strong communication and cooperation with the RWC management were identified as project areas of improvement. One of the method would be having an academic approach by having our professor contact and notify them about the team’s class project. Another alternative that the team had in mind would be to attempt to secure buy in from the overseeing bodies of the RWC to provide top down encouragement of cooperation for the project. One method would be to establish more frequent meetings with stakeholders to grow comfort and familiarity in contrast to the single meeting that occurred. Overall, the team realized the complexity of managing stakeholder feedback presented both a challenge and opportunity for project effectiveness.