ASTM Committee F08 on Sports Equipment and Facilities issued two standards for motorized treadmills in September 2001:

• F 2115, Standard Specification for Motorized Treadmills, and
• F 2106, Standard Test Methods for Evaluating Design and Performance Characteristics of Motorized Treadmills.

“Treadmills meeting the standards will have enhanced design and operational features that should reduce injuries on these products,” said Harvey C. Voris, vice president of Engineering, Paramount Fitness Corp., Los Angeles, Calif.

Specification F 2115 establishes parameters for the design and manufacture of motorized treadmills. “The overall safety of the product will be enhanced when the specification is applied correctly,” said Voris, who chairs ASTM Subcommittee F08.30 on Fitness Products.

Test methods in F 2106 provide reliable and repeatable methods of evaluating motorized treadmills assembled and maintained according to the manufacturer’s specifications. It is intended to be used with F 2115 to ensure reliability.

“The specification represents the consensus of what it takes to design and manufacture a functionally safe treadmill,” said Voris. “The test method assists testing labs and manufacturers in determining if their product meets the specification.”

Stability, motorized drive and incline systems, control panels, hand and footrails, and rear roller guards are among the parts covered.

A subcommittee task group devised the standards with additional stakeholders. The group included treadmill and fitness product manufacturers, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, attorneys, test labs, and the chairman of the European EN957 Standards Committee. Voris, the subcommittee chairman, led the group with vice chairman Steve Lenz, director for Mechanical Engineering, Life Fitness Division, Brunswick Corporation, Franklin Park, Ill.

“Fitness products in general had no safety standards until the early 90s,” Voris explained. “[ASTM Subcommittee] F08.30 was reformed in 1993 to develop industry safety standards in response to the development of safety standards in the European community. Warning labels, selectorized strength equipment and treadmills were the first goals of the reformed subcommittee. The CPSC had a specific interest in treadmills from the injuries that they were seeing to consumers.”

Direct technical questions to Harvey C. Voris, Paramount Fitness Corp., Los Angeles, Calif. (phone: 323/721-2121). Committee F08 meets May 7-10 in Pittsburgh, Pa. For meeting or membership details, contact Jim Olshefsky, manager, ASTM Technical Committee Operations (phone: 610/832-9714). //

Copyright 2002, ASTM