Engineering That Moves

Field Service Engineer · Precor

August 2025 to Present

After more than a decade working in field service, you'd think I'd be used to arriving somewhere and being presented with something that doesn't work.

Then I entered the world of commercial fitness equipment.

Treadmills. Bikes. Cross trainers. Strength equipment. Consoles. Networks. Connected fitness systems.

Machines designed to be walked on, run on, pulled, pushed, lifted, sweated over and generally subjected to a fairly brutal existence every day.

In August 2025, I joined Precor as a Field Service Engineer, working across the UK on Precor and Peloton commercial fitness equipment.

It brought together many of the things I'd learned throughout my career.

Mechanical engineering. Electronics. Diagnostics. Networking. Software. Customer service.

And, increasingly, something else.

Asking how field service itself could be better.

A Gym Looks Different From Behind the Covers

Most people walk into a gym and see exercise equipment.

I don't anymore.

Remove the covers from a treadmill and there's an entire machine underneath.

Motors.

Drive systems.

Belts.

Bearings.

Sensors.

Control boards.

Power supplies.

Wiring.

Communication networks.

Software.

Then add connected consoles, network infrastructure and digital services and suddenly the treadmill in the corner isn't quite so simple.

My job is to understand how those systems interact and, when something goes wrong, work out why.

The Fault Description Is Only the Beginning

A service job might arrive with a description of the problem.

But that's a symptom.

My job starts when I arrive onsite.

I independently diagnose, troubleshoot and resolve technical issues across Precor and Peloton equipment.

Sometimes the problem is obvious.

Sometimes it absolutely isn't.

And those are usually the interesting ones.

You inspect.

Listen.

Test.

Check the service history.

Follow the system.

Eliminate possibilities.

Understand what the machine is telling you.

Then make a decision.

After years in field engineering, one principle has become increasingly important to me:

Parts aren't diagnostic tools.

Mechanical Meets Digital

One of the things I enjoy most about modern fitness equipment is the collision of different technologies.

A single job can require mechanical knowledge one moment and software or networking knowledge the next.

My responsibilities include making sure hardware, software and network components of connected fitness equipment are operating correctly following service work.

So diagnosing a machine isn't always about finding the worn component.

Sometimes you need to understand what's happening electronically.

Sometimes it's configuration.

Sometimes it's communication between systems.

Sometimes it's network-related.

And occasionally the machine appears perfectly healthy while stubbornly insisting that it isn't.

That's where things get interesting.

Repair Is Only Half the Job

Of course, not everything is reactive.

A significant part of field service is preventing failures before they happen.

I carry out preventive maintenance, routine adjustments and inspections, helping ensure equipment continues operating correctly and safely.

Commercial fitness equipment has a hard life.

A treadmill in a busy gym isn't being used occasionally.

It can spend hour after hour absorbing thousands of foot strikes while belts, rollers, bearings and motors keep everything moving underneath.

Preventive maintenance gives you the opportunity to spot something developing before it becomes the reason a machine is switched off.

And that matters.

Because good field service shouldn't simply be:

Broken → Engineer → Fixed.

The better question is:

Could we have prevented it becoming broken in the first place?

Safety Comes Before Uptime

Fitness equipment is designed to have people climbing onto it, running on it and lifting significant weight with it.

That means there is a point where engineering stops being about availability and becomes about safety.

Every repair, adjustment and inspection has to leave the equipment operating correctly and safely.

If it doesn't, the job isn't finished.

And if equipment isn't safe to use, getting it operational quickly isn't the priority.

Making it safe is.

The Customer Sees Precor, Not the Org Chart

Just like my previous field roles, I'm often the person standing in front of the customer.

That makes the job about more than fixing equipment.

As a Field Service Engineer, I'm also representing the brand.

I explain faults and repairs, provide advice on product operation, care and maintenance, answer questions and help customers understand what's happening with their equipment.

Because there's a substantial difference between saying:

Fixed.

and:

Here's what happened, here's what I've done, and here's what you need to know.

Great customer service doesn't sit beside engineering.

It's part of engineering.

My Van Is Still My Office

Some things apparently never change.

My service vehicle carries the parts, tools and equipment I need to operate independently in the field.

I'm responsible for maintaining accurate records of the parts I use, replenishing inventory and keeping the vehicle itself in excellent working order.

And stock management has become something I've become increasingly interested in.

Because a van full of parts isn't necessarily a useful van.

The real question is:

Does the engineer have the right parts for the equipment they're actually likely to encounter?

Every unused component represents stock sitting somewhere.

Every missing component potentially represents another journey, another appointment and more equipment downtime.

That's not just inventory management.

That's part of service performance.

The Machine Has a History

Every visit generates information.

What failed?

What part was fitted?

Has it happened before?

How old is the equipment?

Is the same component failing elsewhere?

Is this isolated or part of a pattern?

That means accurate service reporting isn't administrative clutter.

It's data.

And when enough good-quality field data exists, it can start telling you things.

Which machines are generating the most work?

Which components repeatedly fail?

What stock should engineers carry?

Where could preventive maintenance make a difference?

What is affecting first-time fix?

Where are customers experiencing unnecessary delays?

That's where my interest in the job starts extending beyond the individual repair.

The Engineer Who Keeps Asking Questions

My role at Precor has also collided with another part of my career.

Software.

I've spent years using field-service systems from the engineer's side of the screen.

I've also had experience learning how software is actually built.

So naturally, I've started questioning things.

A lot.

What information should an engineer have before arriving?

Could equipment history follow the machine throughout its life?

Could parts availability improve first-time fix?

Could service data identify recurring failures?

Could managers see useful patterns without turning field service into employee surveillance?

Could customers receive better updates automatically?

Could the system help the engineer instead of giving them more administration?

Those questions have gradually become more than notes in my head.

I've been exploring how a modern field-service platform could connect the engineer, equipment, parts, customer, office and management into one coherent system.

Not because I want software to run the engineer's day.

Quite the opposite.

I want technology to remove the unnecessary friction so engineers can concentrate on engineering.

From Repairing Equipment to Thinking About the Whole System

That's probably the biggest evolution in how I now see field service.

Earlier in my career, I'd arrive at a job and think:

What's wrong with this machine?

I still ask that.

But now there are usually several other questions following it.

Why did it fail?

Has it failed before?

Could we have predicted it?

Did I have the information I needed?

Did I have the correct part?

What happens to the information I've gathered?

Can another engineer benefit from what I've learned?

Can the customer?

Can the business?

The repair in front of me still matters.

But so does everything surrounding it.

Engineering Is the Easy Word for It

"Field Service Engineer" fits nicely on an ID card.

The reality is considerably broader.

On any given day the job can involve mechanical systems, electronics, software, networking, diagnostics, preventive maintenance, safety, inventory, documentation and customer service.

Sometimes you're repairing a machine.

Sometimes you're investigating something nobody has quite figured out yet.

Sometimes you're explaining a technical issue to somebody who shouldn't need an engineering degree to understand your answer.

And sometimes you're standing in a plant room with very little signal wondering why technology has chosen today to develop a personality.

It's varied.

That's exactly what I like about it.

Fix the Machine. Improve the System.

Precor feels like another step in a journey that started long before I arrived.

Sky taught me field engineering and customer service.

Technical Assurance taught me to look behind the tools engineers use.

Software development taught me that those tools can be changed.

Residential care reinforced the importance of communication, empathy and staying calm.

And now Precor gives me somewhere all of those things can meet.

I'm still happiest with a tool bag nearby and something complicated in front of me that isn't behaving as intended.

But increasingly, I don't just want to understand the machine.

I want to understand the system surrounding the engineer who fixes it.

Because the best field service isn't simply about having great engineers.

It's about giving those engineers the information, tools, parts, processes and support they need to be great.

Diagnose the fault.

Fix the equipment.

Look after the customer.

Learn from what happened.

Then ask how we can make the next visit even better.