How can we scale without losing focus? Better yet, how can we scale and remain profitable? Consultants around the world are being paid big bucks to answer both questions for fitness companies.

Here’s one answer we’ll give you for free: top fitness businesses are using automation to scale at pace - but it’s not by using ChatGPT for their emails.

Automation is often seen as a tool to offload your human labor and cut costs, but in reality, the strength of automation is completely the opposite. 

The strength of automation is the ability to reassign priorities.

 It’s about reshuffling machine work to machines, and human work to humans. When your people can focus on what they do best, your fitness business can scale, stay profitable, and efficient. We’re going to get technical in this article. Ambitious franchisees, read on to discover how the real stuff gets automated by top fitness franchises like Soul Cycle, Fitness First, and KX Pilates.

What is CI CD?

CI/CD stands for Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (or Deployment). It’s a methodology used in software development that streamlines the process of integrating code changes, testing, and delivering software updates. The main goal here is to automate as much of the software development lifecycle (SDLC) as possible, reducing manual errors, speeding up delivery times, and helping time-poor developers to focus on innovation instead of mundane tasks. 

In a CI/CD pipeline, each change to the codebase is automatically tested and deployed, ensuring that updates are rolled out reliably and frequently. This is especially useful for ambitious businesses in chaotic markets like boutique fitness, where digital tools and platforms need to stay in step with rapid growth (not to mention customer demands).

Automating your CI/CD delivery 

“Automating CI/CD is great for ensuring consistency between your deployments, there's a layer of developer error that exists using manual deployment methods that can easily be handled by services a lot of git providers supply, such as Bitbucket CI/CD. Using these tools can bring in extra validation steps as well, for example automatically running any test scripts you have available in your code base, ensuring these pass prior to any deployment occurring, lowering the chance of any issues during the deployment process.” ~Senior Software Engineer Jake Beatty

For example, SoulCycle automated their continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) by using Harness to automate the deployment process across their services. This includes automating the deployment to 5+ Kubernetes clusters and 100+ pods.

They report that deployment time has been reduced from 60 minutes to 10-15 minutes per developer. The QA and verification time has also been reduced by 80%, with QA engineers now taking just one hour instead of 3-6 hours each.

What are the best security standards for CI/CD pipelines?

The best security standards for CI/CD pipelines prioritize both the integrity of the code being developed and the systems that run them. Here are a few prominent ones:

1. SLSA (Supply Chain Levels for Software Artifacts)

This focuses on preventing unauthorized modifications to software artifacts during the development pipeline.

2. OWASP CI/CD Pipeline Security

This standard outlines various threats and recommendations specific to CI/CD pipelines, from securing the code repository to monitoring the deployment process.

3. CIS Benchmarks

These are configuration guidelines aimed at securing different technology components within a CI/CD environment, from servers to container orchestration tools.

Is SLSA the best standard for CI/CD pipelines?

While SLSA provides a robust framework, whether it’s the “best” standard depends on your organization’s needs. For fitness businesses utilizing software to scale, SLSA is a strong contender for its emphasis on security in a time where data breaches can be devastating. However, other standards like the OWASP CI/CD Pipeline Security Guidelines or the CIS Benchmarks may be equally relevant depending on your business’s operational complexity and compliance requirements.

Automated work order management for planned and preventative maintenance

Fitness First uses facilities management software Expansive FM to automate and manage work orders across their 49 sites. This automation ensures that work orders are handled efficiently, reducing downtime and improving overall operations.

The system supports planned preventive maintenance (PPM), helping to keep equipment in optimal condition and reducing the likelihood of unexpected failures. Automated maintenance management helps in reducing equipment downtime, ensuring that facilities are operational and safe for use.

Automating data comparison

KX Pilates uses Hapana to automate their data comparison across all clubs.

By leveraging Hapana’s advanced automation capabilities, KX Pilates can efficiently track and compare key metrics, allowing them to make data-driven decisions and enhance overall club performance.

Data comparison is starting to move from the trend phase to the non-negotiable phase.

For example, data comparison can allow you to analyze membership growth trends, attendance rates, and revenue performance across multiple locations.

Automation secrets revealed: free ebook

Automation trends for fitness studios and gyms are beginning to dominate the global conversation. With all kinds of new automation software and ideas floating around the cultural imagination, which will be the best for your gym - and which might end up as a liability?

At Hapana, we keep a finger on the pulse of fitness trends. Download our free ebook on the newest trends in automation for boutique fitness studios, and our breakdown of the most and least helpful trends for your business.

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