How DLR Leisure Achieved Gold Standard Accreditation Across Three Sites with Leisure Accreditation Software

The Results: Gold Standard Success and Operational Transformation

The impact of OpsPal became dramatically clear in September 2025 when all three DLR Leisure facilities underwent Ireland Active National Quality Standard assessments.

Accreditation Success: Gold Standard Across All Sites

The Results:

• Loughlinstown: Ireland Active Gold Standard ✓
• Meadowbrook: Ireland Active Gold Standard ✓
• Monkstown: Ireland Active Gold Standard ✓

All three facilities achieved Gold Standard—the highest level of Ireland Active accreditation—in their September 2025 assessments, with awards formally presented on 31st October 2025.

This wasn’t just about passing an assessment. Gold Standard represents excellence in operational management, safety, customer service, and continuous improvement. Achieving it across all three sites simultaneously demonstrated consistent, organisation-wide operational quality.

The Assessor’s Reaction:

The Ireland Active external assessor was “highly impressed with the OpsPal system”, telling DLR Leisure staff, “Everybody should be using OpsPal if they want to know what is going on in their business.”

This endorsement from an independent accreditation assessor—someone who evaluates leisure facilities professionally—validates OpsPal’s impact on operational excellence.

Time Savings: 180 Hours Freed Up

The most quantifiable benefit was the dramatic reduction in accreditation preparation time.

Traditional Approach:

• 15 hours per week per manager
• 4 weeks of intensive preparation
• 3 key staff members involved
• Total: 180 hours of preparation work

OpsPal Approach:

• Business-as-usual operations
• Evidence available on demand
• No special preparation required
• Total: 0 additional preparation hours

Impact:

Those 180 hours were freed up for productive operational work rather than paperwork compilation. Managers could focus on leading their teams, improving services, and serving customers rather than scrambling to prove compliance.

But the benefit extended beyond the hours saved. The stress, uncertainty, and reactive firefighting that characterised traditional accreditation preparation were eliminated. Staff could approach assessments with confidence rather than anxiety.

“Business as usual”: Operational Excellence as Standard Practice

Perhaps the most significant transformation was philosophical: accreditation preparation ceased to be a special project.

What Changed:

As Niall Cull noted: “The prep for accreditation would normally take weeks to pull together. With OpsPal it was just business as usual.”

This simple statement represents a fundamental shift in operational approach:

Before OpsPal:

• Compliance was something you prepared for
• Accreditation meant intensive special effort
• Evidence had to be compiled retrospectively
• Quality was demonstrated periodically

With OpsPal:

• Compliance is built into daily operations
• Accreditation assesses existing practice
• Evidence is generated automatically
• Quality is demonstrated continuously

This shift from reactive compliance to proactive operational excellence is transformative. DLR Leisure no longer prepares for accreditation—they simply show assessors how they operate every day.

Policies Up to Date and Read by All Staff

One of the critical requirements for Gold Standard accreditation is demonstrating that all staff are working to current policies and procedures.

OpsPal Enables DLR Leisure to Prove:

• All policies are current and version-controlled
• Every staff member has access to relevant policies
• Staff have actually read policies (not just been sent them)
• When policies are updated, staff are notified automatically
• Read receipts provide audit trail of compliance

The Accreditation Impact:

When the Ireland Active assessor asked, “How do you ensure all staff have read your safeguarding policy?” DLR Leisure could demonstrate—within seconds—exactly who had read it and when.

This level of systematic proof impressed the assessor and demonstrated the kind of operational rigour that Gold Standard requires.

Risk Assessments: Current, Accessible, and Proven

Risk assessment management transformed from a paper-based administrative burden to a systematic, auditable process.

OpsPal Capabilities:

• All risk assessments stored centrally
• Version control ensuring currency
• Assigned to relevant staff based on role
• Read receipts proving staff have reviewed them
• Update notifications when assessments change
• Instant access during inspections

The Assessor’s View:

When asked about risk assessments for specific activities, DLR Leisure could immediately show:

• The current risk assessment
• Who had reviewed it
• When it was last updated
• What control measures were in place

This instant accessibility and systematic management demonstrated best-practice risk management—exactly what Gold Standard requires.

Task Completion with Proof

Daily and weekly operational tasks—cleaning schedules, equipment checks, maintenance activities—were transformed from unverified activities to systematically tracked processes.

OpsPal’s Task Management:

• All tasks scheduled and assigned
• Staff complete tasks digitally
• Photo evidence can be attached
• Completion timestamps recorded
• Overdue tasks highlighted
• Management visibility across all sites

Measurable Impact:

Whilst it’s difficult to quantify task completion increases (paper-based systems didn’t measure this), the qualitative change was clear. As Niall noted, staff “started actioning all tasks in a diligent, professional way.”

The Accreditation Benefit:

When the assessor asked about cleaning schedules or equipment maintenance, DLR Leisure could show:

• The scheduled tasks
• Completion records
• Photo evidence where relevant
• Consistent completion rates
• Site-by-site comparison

This systematic approach to task management demonstrated operational discipline across all three facilities.

Problems Logged Through to Completion

Equipment failures, maintenance issues, safety concerns—all operational problems now have a complete audit trail from identification to resolution.

The OpsPal Problem Management Process:

1. Logging: Problems reported digitally by any staff member
2. Assignment: Automatically routed to responsible person
3. Tracking: Status visible throughout resolution process
4. Evidence: Photos and notes document actions taken
5. Closure: Resolution recorded with timestamp
6. Analysis: Patterns and trends identifiable

Accreditation Benefit:

The assessor could see:

• How quickly problems were addressed
• Who was responsible for resolution
• What actions were taken
• Response time patterns
• Effective operational management

This transparency demonstrated that DLR Leisure takes operational issues seriously and manages them systematically—key criteria for Gold Standard.

Instant Access: Seconds Instead of Weeks

Perhaps the most dramatic operational change was the speed of evidence retrieval.

Before OpsPal:

• “Can you show me your water testing records?” → Hours of searching
• “How do you track staff training?” → Compile spreadsheets from multiple sources
• “Who has read your emergency procedures?” → Uncertain, paper signatures maybe

With OpsPal:

• “Can you show me your water testing records?” → Instant digital display
• “How do you track staff training?” → Complete matrix visible in seconds
• “Who has read your emergency procedures?” → Read receipts displayed immediately

The Assessor’s Experience:

Every question the Ireland Active assessor asked could be answered instantly. No delays, no “I’ll get back to you,” no uncertainty—just immediate, confident demonstration of compliance.

This instant accessibility impressed the assessor and demonstrated the kind of operational control that characterises Gold Standard facilities.

Sped Up the Accreditation Process

Beyond making DLR Leisure’s life easier, OpsPal actually accelerated the assessment process itself.

How OpsPal Speeds Assessments:

• No waiting for staff to locate documents
• Instant demonstration of compliance
• Clear audit trails immediately visible
• Evidence presented systematically
• Assessor can verify claims in real-time

The Benefit:

Assessors can complete their evaluation more quickly and confidently when evidence is immediately accessible. This efficiency benefits both the facility and the assessor—and likely contributed to the strong positive impression OpsPal made.

Three-Site Consistency

Operating three separate facilities creates inherent challenges in maintaining consistent standards. OpsPal solved this.

Consistency Benefits:

• Same tasks, same standards across all sites
• Centralised policies ensuring uniformity
• Comparative visibility allowing benchmarking
• Management oversight across all facilities
• Best practices shared systematically

Accreditation Impact:

All three sites achieving Gold Standard simultaneously demonstrates that OpsPal enables organisation-wide operational excellence, not just individual site success.