Privacy and keep-out

What stays out of the picture

The camera points down at the hands, so most of this takes care of itself when the angle is right. A camera aimed ahead at the room is both the most common reason hours are turned down and the most common way people and screens end up in a video.

Get the OK first

Before anyone records at a place, the company gets a written OK from the building's owner or manager. The building letter does this in one page: what the camera sees, what stays off camera, and a line for rooms to skip. Every place needs one, including the company's own shop or yard.

• Ask the person who signs the company's contract for that place, or who runs it day to day. If they do not own the building, they pass it to the owner.
• Keep the signed letter with that place's contract, and tell the crew about any areas to skip.
• If the manager says no, the crew does not record there. Record at the places that said yes.
• If the manager changes their mind later, recording at that place stops the same day.

Each person who records reads the crew sheet and says yes first. Recording is their choice. Anyone can say no or stop at any time, and saying no must not cost them hours or a good route.

Why it matters to buildings

A building manager answers to tenants. A camera they did not approve, or a video that caught a tenant's papers, puts the company's contract with that building at risk. One account is worth far more to an owner than a few hours of video. When you talk to owners, say this out loud: the OK and the keep-out list protect their business first.

Why it matters to Colby and the teams who use the video

• Colby owns the video and may share some of it with AI and robot teams who are learning how hands-on work is done.
• The company's agreement with Colby says it has the building's permission and the consent of everyone in the video, and that it keeps sensitive information off camera.
• Video that shows private information, like ID cards, bank cards, mail, invoices or a screen with personal data, is turned down.
• Video with nudity or other content that breaks the recording app's rules is removed by its review, often before it shows as rejected.

If something gets recorded by mistake

A pay stub left on a desk, a screen someone forgot to lock, a tenant working late. When it happens:

1. The recorder pauses right away.
2. The recorder tells the owner or crew lead that same shift.
3. The owner tells Colby which recorder, about when, and what was in view.
4. Colby explains what to do with that video and how to avoid it next time.
5. The owner adds the spot to the crew's skip list, or changes when the crew records there.

Make sure crews know they will not get in trouble for reporting it. A crew that is afraid to report keeps quiet, and that is worse for everyone. Do not tell a building a video has been deleted until Colby confirms what happened to it.

How to talk about it with an owner

More on talking with building managers is on Building managers, and what you can and cannot say is on What you can promise.

Questions

Read next

• Building managersCrews 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.
• What you can promisePromise only what Colby's contract and review will back up. Here is what you can say, what you must not, and why each rule protects your business.
• Camera setupHow a recorder puts the kit together and wears it so the camera sees both hands for the whole shift: clip, strap, angle, light, battery, storage and upload.
• What gets acceptedAn accepted hour is real work at a normal pace, filmed from the forehead with both hands in the middle of the picture, in good light, on an accepted task. Only accepted hours count, for the company and for your $2.00 per accepted hour.