For: Facility operators planning cardio purchases, and dealers helping them size an order.
The decision: Whether low or uneven use of cardio equipment is a demand problem that needs more machines, or a floor problem that costs far less to fix.
60-second answer: Compare use across identical machines in the same bank. If identical units are used unevenly, the cause is usually physical: what can be seen from the entrance, how quickly the console starts, visible cleanliness, noise, spacing, glare or awkward access. Walk the floor at peak and off-peak, fix what you find, then re-measure. Only even, low use across identical units is a genuine demand question.
Working is not the same as chosen
A service report answers whether a machine functions to specification. Cardio equipment member experience answers a different question: will someone choose it over the one beside it? Members rarely report why they skip a machine; they use a different one. Operators then read the resulting occupancy as a demand signal and order more units, when the cheapest capacity on the floor may be machines already owned. This is different from availability: a skipped machine is usable but not used, while an unavailable one cannot be used at all; see usable availability.
Records to pull
- Session counts by asset for identical models in the same bank, at peak and off-peak, from console or facility software.
- Service records for the same units, including any noise reports.
- Photographs of the bank at opening, peak and mid-afternoon.
- The layout drawing, with spacing and walkways marked.
Floor-walk scorecard
| Check | Service record | What the member notices | Usual fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sightline from the entrance | Not recorded | Nothing looks free, or the bank is out of sight | Reposition, or open the partition |
| Console to first stride | Firmware current | The machine asks questions before it moves | Quick-start setting where the console allows it |
| Wipe station position | Cleaned on schedule | Visible residue from the last user | Place supplies within the bank |
| Noise at working speed | Within tolerance | This one sounds broken | Raise noise as a service item even without a fault code |
| Side spacing | Meets the installation drawing | Too close to a stranger | Remove a unit or widen spacing |
| Screen glare | Display working | Cannot read the screen at certain hours | Blinds, or rotate the row |
| Traffic behind the user | Not recorded | People keep passing close behind | Reroute the walkway |
| Entry and approach | Not recorded | Awkward to get on | Clear approach space; consider entry height when specifying |
Where the two middle columns disagree, the member column usually governs occupancy. Members also leave gaps between themselves at busy times, so a bank’s practical capacity can be smaller than its machine count; mark where gaps form at peak before concluding more machines are needed.
Telling a demand problem from a floor problem
- Uneven use across identical units points to position, noise, glare, spacing or console setup, all of which can be fixed without buying anything.
- Even, low use across identical units is a genuine demand question.
- Even, high use with queues may justify more units, once you have confirmed that skipped positions are not hiding available capacity.
Fix the physical causes, re-measure over a few weeks, and only then decide on replacement or expansion. Replacing a machine members avoid for a reason that a blind or a move would solve wastes capital; when replacement is the right answer, see repair or replace and cardio quote gaps.
For dealers sizing an order
Asking for asset-level session data before quoting more cardio is a credibility move: it can show that a smaller order plus a layout change meets the customer’s need, or it can justify the larger order with evidence. Accessibility and approach space also matter for inclusive use; see clear floor space.
What to do this week
- Pull session counts by asset for each bank of identical machines.
- Photograph the bank at three times of day and walk it at working speed, listening for odd units.
- Mark the positions members skip at peak.
- Fix the cheapest causes first, then re-measure before ordering.
Continue with FEX
FEX editorial guidance: the scorecard and diagnostic rules are FEX analysis, not a measured industry benchmark.
Editorial update, October 8, 2026: Removed an unsupported console-press threshold and an estimate of how many machines in a bank members actually use, plus a standards-committee link and an association link that did not support the claims beside them. Added a demand-versus-floor diagnostic and separated underuse from unavailability.
