Case Study: Equipment Room + Office Reset for Gym Facility

The Client:

A local gym and wellness center struggling to maintain functional and efficient shared spaces for staff and trainers. The equipment stock room and gym office had become chaotic, disorganized, and difficult to use day to day.

The Challenge:

The placement of equipment didn’t make sense. Staff wasted time hunting for frequently used items, and the gym office lacked structure, making day-to-day operations stressful and inefficient. There was no logical system for categorizing or storing items.

The Goal:

To create a professional, easy-to-navigate space that:

  • Allowed staff to access equipment quickly

  • Reduced stress and wasted time

  • Supported daily routines with a clean, efficient office setup

  • Encouraged long-term maintainability

Our Approach:

We began by conducting a full walkthrough of the equipment room and office during active hours to observe how the space was being used in real time. We looked for common friction points such as:

  • Items frequently used but stored in hard-to-reach areas

  • Clutter hotspots where supplies were regularly dumped or forgotten

  • Unclear zones where equipment categories overlapped

  • Workflows that forced staff to double back or search repeatedly

We also interviewed team members to understand their daily routines and what frustrated them most about the space. This helped us identify what needed immediate attention vs. what was a matter of preference or habit.

 

Using the 5S method: (Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, Sustain)

To ensure long-term efficiency and sustainability, we applied the 5S Method—a workplace organization framework designed to reduce waste and increase flow:

Sort: Removed unused or outdated equipment and materials

Set in Order: Assigned clear, labeled locations for all items

Shine: Cleaned the area thoroughly to create a fresh, inviting space

Standardize: Establish consistent placement and organization rules

Sustain: Provided staff with training and visual guides for upkeep

 

The Result:

The transformation dramatically improved both function and flow within the gym’s back-end operations:

Faster Equipment Access: Staff could now locate and retrieve frequently used items in seconds instead of minutes, allowing for smoother class setups and transitions between sessions.

Clear System = Less Stress: Team members reported feeling less overwhelmed by the space, knowing exactly where everything belonged and how to return it after use.

Professional Presentation: The organized equipment room and clean office created a stronger visual impression, boosting morale internally and reinforcing professionalism to outside partners and visitors.

Increased Floor Space: By eliminating clutter and rethinking layout, we freed up key floor areas, improving safety and ease of movement.

Sustainable Upkeep: Because the system was intuitive and labeled, the staff didn’t need to be constantly reminded or re-trained—organization became part of the culture.

Overall, the gym gained a more productive, professional, and peaceful work environment, directly supporting their client experience and day-to-day operations.