David Lloyd Clubs in the Netherlands and the UK have become the first health and fitness clubs to be awarded the new FITcert certification for management, operations, health & safety, fitness trainer qualifications, as well as club supervision requirements. Europe’s largest health, fitness and group is now on track to achieve the highest Level 4 at all of its 131 clubs in nine countries by the end of summer 2023.
The move gives independent verification of David Lloyd Clubs’ highest health & safety standards and processes, further establishing the operator’s leading market position in the European health and fitness industry.
FITcert has been developed by the international industry body EuropeActive in conjunction with main industry operators, technical experts and the Royal Netherlands National Standards Body (NEN) provide overall quality control.
FITcert is the main driver for improving health & safety and operational excellence, as well as the highest standards in member services across the whole European health and fitness industry.
Conforming to EN17229 European standards (for fitness facilities), the FITcert scheme assesses health, fitness and leisure businesses against a range of stringent criteria to show that they meet a high standard in management practice.
FITcert has been developed so that clubs can demonstrate that they operate to rigorous standards, providing a safe and appropriate environment for members.
The four-stage certification scheme has been created by leading health & safety experts working with the European and NEN’s direction, to develop standards for clubs covering operations, management, customer service, supervision, and fitness trainer qualifications.
Levels 1 and 2 are overseen by EuropeActive, and qualifying clubs can then proceed Level 3 and 4 assessment conformity and certification stages. Levels 3 and 4 are managed by one of four independent inspection bodies licensed by NEN.
David Lloyd Clubs has partnered with Dutch independent inspection body IFCI Register (International Fitness Certification Institute), and all clubs in the Netherlands and UK were awarded the highest Level by Monday 10 April 2023.
The business is on track to receive certification in all nine European countries in which it operates by the end of the summer, and if successful it will become the first large health and fitness business to be awarded this prestigious three-year certification.
Stephen Brown, Business Support Director David Lloyd Clubs commented; “Operational excellence runs through the heart of our business, and health & safety has always been our number one priority.
We are proud to be the first major European operator to achieve this independent certification and it is the clearest way of showing our commitment in providing high-quality and safe places for our members and team.
The promotion of the FITcert certification by EuropeActive is a significant milestone for our industry as it will help to drive consistently high standards across the board, which is great news for all operators.”
EuropeActive President David Stalker commented; “Our congratulations go to David Lloyd Clubs for being the first to achieve the gold standard of level 4 FITcert certification.
It is a milestone for our sector, and already many other leading operators are following David Lloyd’s example by signing-up for FITcert. It is unquestionably the best way we can prove that we are a professional and responsible industry.”
Raymond Van Oerle, Co-director of ICFI Register said; “Level 4 is in many ways the gold standard for the fitness industry. To certify against level 4, we performed on-site inspections at many David Lloyd Clubs throughout the continent.
During the inspection each of the EN17229 criteria was assessed, only when a club complies with this standard the certificate can be issued.
The fact that we were able to complete all required assessments in a very short time speaks to the standard that David Lloyd Clubs maintained already – as we could get started with onsite inspections right away.
With one of the biggest operators in Europe committing to level 4, FITcert has proven its pragmatic approach and is well and truly off to the races!”