From last year, several Postechians have written posts about the decrepit facilities in the gymnasium on the POSTECH Lounge, the Q&A, and the Suggestions/Recycling of POVIS. They complained about broken fitness equipment and the situation that broken fitness equipment were not repaired and managed. In a recent post, not only the writer but also other Postechians complained about the lack of facilities management.
In 2014, three treadmills, the chest press machine, the shoulder press machine, the lat pull down machine, and the long pull machine were replaced with new ones. And in 2016, the belt of the cable cross over machine and leather covers of the fitness equipment in the Fitness Center were replaced. In spite of these broad scale replacements, new fitness equipment also kept getting broken and many users have complained.
The answer from the Office of General Affairs and Safety mentioned that this year’s project is related to improving the sport facilities. The project is to further enhance the facility fee by efficiently operating the overall sport facilities on the campus. The project is not directly related to the purchase of fitness equipment, however, it includes the content about the necessity of the reinforcement of some facilities. There are other problems about the gymnasium such as outside conditions and locker rooms. The project is expected to solve these issues. The project runs from March to December, the changes that can be immediately implemented will be completed right away, and most of them will be resolved by setting up a business plan this year and securing a budget for next year.
Then, why is it so hard to repair the broken fitness equipment immediately? The budget is the problem. The budget for the purchase of fitness equipment includes repairing fees, but it is for last year’s broken equipment. For repairing facilities, in that year, the budget should be compiled, and next year, the plan will be implemented. In other words, repairs without last year’s plan cannot be implemented, so obviously, repairing will be done one year late. Moreover, though the Office of General Affairs and Safety requests the budget for the purchase of fitness equipment, it is difficult to secure the budget because it is not high on the priority list. In fact, this year’s budget for the purchase of fitness equipment was 3.6 million KRW, which has been reduced by more than two million won compared with last year’s budget of 6 million KRW. With this year’s budget it is difficult to buy just one piece of fitness equipment.
In regards to this situation, the General Affairs and Safety Organization also feels sorry for the situation that the team cannot solve the problems immediately and effectively. Lately, the Office of General Affairs and Safety is trying to figure out the need for fitness equipment and the gymnasium equipment for next year. The team will request the budget to the Planning and Budget Office after getting estimate sheets about the equipment that users have requested. Next year, will Postechians be able to exercise with new fitness equipments?