Building managers
Crews record at places the company serves, so each place says yes first. The company owner asks the building manager with a one-page letter. If a place says no, the company skips it and records somewhere else.
On this page
Who asks whom
The owner of the company asks. The building is the company's client, and the company's agreement with Colby says it has each building's permission before anyone records there. Your part is to make the ask easy: send the letter, help fill it in and answer what you can.
| Who | What they do |
|---|---|
| The company owner | Asks each building or site for an OK, keeps the signed letter, and tells the crew which areas to skip. |
| The building or property manager | Says yes or no, writes down rooms to skip, and passes the letter to the building's owner if they are not the owner. |
| You | Send the letter, help the owner fill it in, answer common questions and pass the rest to Colby. |
| Colby | Agrees with the owner where the crew will record and who must give permission before anyone records, and answers questions the owner cannot. |
| The crew | Records only at places that said yes, skips the areas on the letter and pauses if someone walks in. |
Who to ask at a site
Ask the person who signs the company's contract for that place or runs it day to day. At an office park that is usually the property manager. At a single-tenant site it may be the office manager or the owner. If the manager does not own the building, they pass the letter on or say who can sign.
The same goes for other kinds of work. A crew that works at a customer's shop, kitchen, warehouse or yard needs an OK from whoever runs that place. Every place counts, including one the company calls its own. When it is not clear who should sign, the owner settles it with Colby before anyone records.
What the letter says
The building letter is one page, sent by the company, not by Colby. The owner fills in the blanks (date, manager's name, company name, building name, their phone) and the letter tells the manager:
- The company works at the building and has joined a program run by Colby AI, Inc., which pays companies to record their crews' real work.
- A crew member wears a phone on a headband, at the forehead and tipped down. It films hands, tools and the spot being worked on. It does not scan the room like a security camera.
- Colby owns the video, uses it to help AI and robot teams learn hands-on work, and may share some of it with those teams.
- The company works on the same schedule, with the same crew.
- What gets recorded: hands and tools, the surface or equipment being worked on, and shared areas only when no one else is in them.
- What stays off camera: offices, desks, papers, screens, phones, people, and any area the manager names.
- The manager can say no, name areas to skip, or change their mind later, and recording stops that same day.
It ends with a signature line, a date, a printed name and a blank for rooms or areas to skip.
How the owner asks
- Fill in every blank before printing. Use the place's full name so the OK covers the right place.
- Hand it over at the next walk-through, or save it as a PDF and email it.
- Show the headband, or a picture of the camera's view, so the manager sees it points down at the work.
- Say where the video goes: Colby owns it and may share some of it with AI and robot teams.
- Ask the manager to sign and date it and write down any rooms to skip.
- Keep the signed copy with that place's contract, take a photo of it, and tell the crew which areas to skip.
Questions managers ask
| The manager asks | The answer |
|---|---|
| Is this a security camera? | No. It sits on a crew member's forehead and points down at their hands and the work. |
| Will it record our staff or tenants? | No. People stay out of the picture, and the recorder pauses if someone walks in. Shared areas are recorded only when no one else is in them. |
| What about our files and screens? | Offices, desks, papers, computer screens and phones stay off camera. |
| Where does the video go? | Colby AI, Inc. owns it and may share some of it with AI and robot teams learning how hands-on work is done. |
| Can we keep some rooms out? | Yes. Write them on the letter, and the crew skips them. |
| Can we change our mind later? | Yes. Recording at that building stops the same day. |
| Will our service change? | No. Same schedule, same crew. |
| Can we see the company's contract with Colby? | Its terms are private. The letter and Getting your building client's OK explain the program, and Colby can answer anything the owner cannot. |
| Who is Colby? | Send them Who we are, or have the owner call Colby at (480) 542-7526. |
Places that need extra care
Medical and dental offices, schools and daycares, and government buildings hold private records, like patient charts, student files and case papers, that must never end up in a video. Expect some of them to say no. Owners have heard no from government sites before.
If one says yes, the owner asks the manager to name the rooms the crew may record, like a lobby or a break room with no files or screens, and writes those rooms on the letter.
Some contracts between a company and its client have their own confidentiality terms. If the owner's contract with a client has one, the owner should read it before asking, and skip that site when in doubt.
When a site says no
- Thank the manager and do not record there. Don't push. One account is worth far more to the company than a few hours of video.
- Record at the places that said yes.
- Tell the crew before their next shift which places are off the list.
- If a manager says yes and later changes their mind, stop recording at that building the same day.
If every place says no, the company cannot record yet. Set the owner to Waiting on them in People and follow up when they pick up a new account or site. Never suggest recording a place quietly, or recording one corner of it, without an OK.
How you can help
- Send the owner the letter as soon as they show interest. Buildings are often the first worry, and a ready answer keeps things moving.
- Offer to help fill in the blanks. An owner with many sites may want a short list of which ones to ask first.
- Suggest starting with the sites where the owner knows the manager best.
- Write down which sites said yes in the owner's notes in People, so you know where the company can record.
Questions
Does the company need a letter for each building?
Yes. Each place gives its own OK. A yes from one building does not cover another.
Does a yes by email count?
Yes. The owner keeps the yes by email with that building's contract, the same as a signed letter.
We work at night when the building is empty. Do we still need the OK?
Yes. Get the OK first even when no one is there.
Does the building get anything?
The letter asks for an OK and offers nothing in return. Colby pays the company. Do not promise a building money or anything else.