Fit Start
Fitness Program
Custodial Services at The University of Texas at Austin does more than keep our buildings in top shape. As time goes on, many of us find it harder to stay healthy. With hectic schedules we often forget to take care of ourselves. Custodial Services has decided to focus on the well-being of our employees by taking a few minutes to prepare them physically and mentally for the start of their work day.
In the fall of 2010, Custodial Services began working with the university Kinesiology Department’s Fitness Institute of Texas (FIT) to create a program specifically for our custodial staff. Like most universities, we are fortunate to have many resources available to us to supplement our expertise in a multitude of areas. Following a few visits with the Kinesiology Department’s FIT staff we embarked on a cooperative effort to develop and implement a program aimed at reducing workplace injuries.
Development included looking at job descriptions for each function that is performed, then interviewing and observing our staff in action, and finally running some trial programs to see what did and didn’t work for our staff. The goal of the warm up program is to prepare our employees for the demands of the job and help reduce the risk of injury.
Our Award-Winning FIT Start Program:
Our program was the recipient of APPA's Effective & Innovative Practices Award. The APPA award recognizes programs and processes that enhance service delivery, lower costs, increase productivity, improve customer service, generate revenue, or otherwise benefit the educational institution.