Marc Dugas
Multivista Senior Director of Operations & Support
Visual documentation and reality capture data—be it photos, 3D Laser scans, or aerial/UAV images and mapping—is essential to helping teams better build and manage projects. But there are times when it’s useful to have a more human element involved.
Owner Training Videos (OTVs) are essentially video versions of a facility’s training manuals where knowledgeable professionals explain exactly how to use or repair important and complex systems such as fire suppression, HVAC, alarms, and more.
Created and archived properly, these videos preserve valuable knowledge in an accessible format, increase employee safety, help ensure systems function properly and are maintained correctly, and reduce training times and the risk of knowledge loss through staff turnover for the lifecycle of a facility.
The construction industry is seeing tighter and shorter project timelines so preserving and transferring important knowledge is now more important than ever. Owner Training Videos, while complex, can greatly assist building handover processes and deliver huge savings over the lifetime of a facility but only if the videos are produced correctly and easy to find.
Want to dive right in? Jump ahead to a specific consideration:
- Image Quality/Camera
- Sound Quality/Microphones
- Lighting
- Equipment Operator
- Director
- Presenter
- Editor
- Access
Creating high-quality Owner Training Videos requires prioritizing planning ahead, niche skillsets and proper equipment. Be warned! Just waving your phone around on a selfie-stick is not going to cut it, so here are eight best practices to producing great OTVs:
Image Quality/Camera
Be sure to use a camera capable of recording high-definition video that’s also durable enough to withstand the rigors of multiple set-ups on a busy jobsite. Also, be sure to bring extra batteries or power supplies to last through the duration of the shoot.
Sound Quality/Microphones
Construction sites are loud and machine rooms can be even louder. Not being able to understand what an expert is explaining on an Owner Training Video with poor sound can be useless, even dangerous. To ensure your OTV has clear, intelligible sound it’s best to use a combination of recording equipment. A lavalier “clip-on” microphone should be attached to the shirt of the presenter. Give them a handheld mic as well to capture backup audio. Finally, a “shotgun” or on-camera microphone can act as a third line of defense in the case of equipment failure. Whoever is recording the video can wear headphones as well, to monitor what the recorded sound actually sounds like. Remember, it’s very difficult to “fix” sound quality after it’s been recorded so the best action is to do it correctly while in the field.
Lighting
Film (and video) is an art of light. With poor lighting your video may not capture the important information or details the presenter is discussing. It’s never a good idea to assume that every area of a construction site will have decent lighting so having supplemental light is essential. As well, with changing lighting conditions from one area of a jobsite to the next, the camera’s settings (such as white balance) will likely need to be adjusted from location to location.
Equipment Operator
- If you are scratching your head over what “white balance” is from the previous point, you probably shouldn’t be operating the camera. Professional video and audio equipment require constant adjustment based on environmental factors such as light, background sound, distance to subject and/or machine/system details, and more. A professional operator knows how to use the equipment to best capture the information needed. On top of all that since they are shooting on a construction site the operators should also be trained in jobsite safety and be comfortable navigating the space safely unsupervised (and without affecting sub-trades or others trying to do their jobs).
Director
Someone needs to steer the ship. It can be the same person running the recording equipment providing they have the experience and skills to perform two big jobs simultaneously. The director directs the shoot by determining what information the Presenter is trying to get across. They must instruct the Presenter where to stand and how loudly to speak. Ideally the Director has prior knowledge of the types of systems being presented so they know what angles give the most useful view of the equipment and if any close-ups of equipment or control panels are required to help future operations and facilities teams get a clearer sense of the systems in question.
Presenter
A member of the building crew or representative of the system manufacturer should present and narrate the video to ensure proper usage and knowledge is captured. The Presenter should also be comfortable on camera and able to speak clearly and concisely.
Editor
Consider third-party providers that offer additional services so you can adapt your documentation approach based on the unique demands of each construction project.
Access
Once the Owner Training Videos are complete, they must be made available for the building’s operations staff to access. Putting the video on a thumb drive or memory card is one option (you probably shouldn’t just burn it to DVD), but the best method is to upload the video to a mutually accessible, cloud-based platform such as a visual documentation platform, project management portal, or some other secure online location. This allows anyone with the right credentials to access the video from any internet-connected device during routine check-ups or if an issue pops up. It also prevents the videos (and the valuable knowledge they contain) from being misplaced or lost. With Multivista, you can access your project videos both on our cloud-based platform and on our mobile app.
Owner Training Videos are a huge asset during building handover. They help ensure important knowledge bridges the gap between construction and operation so owners, contractors, and operations staff can all feel confident the work has been done correctly and that building intelligence is in place to ensure it operates as intended for as long as possible.
At Multivista, we take great care to follow each of these best practices and have a proven and industry-leading process to create effective Owner Training Videos quickly and at an affordable cost. With 20+ years of boots-on-the-ground experience, clients around the world turn to Multivista for all their construction reality capture needs.
