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Video time study filming checklist

A video time study takes the times of each element from a recording instead of a stopwatch, so the recording decides how good the study can be. This checklist covers what to check before and during a shoot: the process and its steps written down, where the camera goes and how far from the work, what is behind the people, how to tell operators apart, camera settings, battery, card and heat, and what to do afterwards. Page 1 has 25 checks in eight groups, each marked Done or N/A with a notes column. Page 2 is the shot log with one row per file, a pause test, a plan for the shoot, the sums for scene width, pixels per person, file size, upload time and card capacity, and a worked example. It works with any camera and any time study method, and it is a printable PDF.

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Page 1 of the video time study filming checklistFields for process, date, camera and filmed by, and 25 checks in eight groups from before you go to afterwards, each marked Done or N/A with a notes column.
25 checks in 8 groupsShot logPause testDistance and pixel sumsFile size and upload timeCard and battery planningWorked example

When to use it

When to use a video time study filming checklist

  • Before the first time you film a process for a time study.
  • When a video study came back with people missing or steps wrong and you want to know what to change before you film again.
  • When more than one person will film for the same project and the set-up must be the same.
  • Before a long shoot, to plan battery, card space and upload time.

How to fill it in

  1. 1

    Write down the process and its steps

    Name the process, describe it in a sentence and list its steps in your plant's words. End each step at something you can see in a paused frame.

  2. 2

    Walk the area

    Stand where the camera will go and look at every station from there. Note racks, panels, doors and windows that hide people or put light behind them.

  3. 3

    Set the camera

    Fixed on a tripod or mount, 4 to 6 m from the work, at head height or a little above, about 45 degrees to the line of work, with the light behind the camera.

  4. 4

    Do the pause test

    Record 30 seconds, pause one frame at full screen and check that you can tell who is who and read the vest numbers.

  5. 5

    Do the sums

    Work out file size, upload time, card space and batteries for the hours you plan, using the sums on page 2.

  6. 6

    Record and log

    Film one continuous take per cycle or step, and fill in the shot log for each file with its clock times and anything unusual.

What's on the checklist

The 25 checks on the video time study filming checklist

From writing the process down to certifying the study. On the sheet each check is marked Done or N/A with a notes column; page 2 adds the shot log and the sums for distance, pixels, file size and upload time.

Before you go

Plan the take

  1. 1Write the process name and its steps in your plant's own words.
  2. 2Tell the people you will film what the study is for, and check local rules on filming employees.
  3. 3Plan 10 to 15 cycles for each operator, and more if the times vary a lot.
  4. 4Walk the area and mark every place a person could disappear from view.

Camera position

Fixed, close and in front

  1. 5Fix the camera on a tripod or mount. No handheld filming.
  2. 6Set it 4 to 6 m from the work, at head height or a little above, about 45 degrees to the line of work.
  3. 7Keep each operator's whole body, and the place they go for parts, in the frame.
  4. 8Pause one frame at full screen: can you tell who is who and read the vest numbers?

Light and view

What is behind the people

  1. 9No bright window or open door behind the operators.
  2. 10Windows and bright lights behind or beside the camera, and no direct sun on it.
  3. 11Check the line of sight from the lens to every station for racks, panels and parked trucks.

People

Easy to tell apart

  1. 12Different colour caps or numbered vests, with the number toward the lens.
  2. 13Two or three operators per camera. Add a second, close camera for more.

Camera settings

Keep it simple

  1. 14Record 1080p at 25 or 30 frames per second.
  2. 15Turn off settings that change the picture, such as Auto FPS and automatic lens switching.
  3. 16Record one minute, read its size in GB, and multiply by the minutes you plan.

Power, storage and heat

So it does not stop halfway

  1. 17Fully charged battery and a spare, or external power.
  2. 18Enough card space for the planned hours at the real GB per hour.
  3. 19Camera in shade with some airflow. Phones: keep within 0 to 35 degrees C.

While you record

One take at a time

  1. 20Start before the first cycle and stop after the last. No pauses or cuts.
  2. 21Fill in the shot log: file, step, operators in frame and clock times.
  3. 22Note anything unusual: a jam, a different part, a break or a new person.

Afterwards

Check before you trust it

  1. 23Keep your own copy of each original until the study is checked.
  2. 24Upload each take as one file, on a wired or strong connection.
  3. 25Confirm the operators, review the first five minutes of each, fix labels, then certify.

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

An example with illustrative numbers: a two-hour study of one assembly cell with three operators.

  • The camera is 5 m away with a 68 degree lens, so the scene is 6.7 m wide and each person is about 199 pixels wide in a 1080p frame.
  • Recording at 32 megabits per second makes 14.4 GB an hour, so two hours is 28.8 GB.
  • On a 50 megabit per second upload that takes about 77 minutes, and a 128 GB card holds 8.9 hours at that rate.
  • A battery rated for 2.5 hours covers the two hours on paper, and external power is the safer choice.

One camera at 5 m covers the cell with each person about 199 pixels wide and makes one file of about 28.8 GB that uploads in about 77 minutes. A 4 hour take at the same rate would be 57.6 GB. The 68 degrees and 32 megabits per second are example figures: use your own camera's.

Common mistakes

  • Filming from far away to fit everything in

    At 12 m a 0.7 m wide person is about 83 pixels wide in a 1080p frame, against about 199 at 5 m. Move the camera closer and cover the rest with a second camera.

  • Leaving a bright doorway behind the operators

    People become dark silhouettes and clothing colours wash out. Put windows and bright lights behind the camera or off to one side.

  • Cutting clips together before upload

    The gaps between clips are not real time, so the study is wrong. Record one continuous take per cycle or step.

  • Guessing the file size

    Bit rate varies with the scene. Record one minute, read its size in GB and multiply by the minutes you plan before you commit to a long shoot.

Download the template

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Run this template in LeanSuite

In LeanSuite you film the process, and the AI times every element, splits value-added work from waste and links each figure to the video frame it came from, and you review, correct and certify the study.

See it in a 45-minute demo

FAQ

Video time study filming checklist: common questions

  1. A list of what to check before and during filming so the footage can be timed: the process written down, camera position and distance, light, how operators are told apart, settings, power and storage, and what to do afterwards.

  2. The time study sheet is the observation sheet for timing elements over cycles and working out a standard time. This checklist covers the filming step before the timing. Use it first, then time the footage on the sheet or in software.

  3. A common rule in work measurement teaching is 10 to 15 cycles on each operator when several people do the same job, and more if the times vary a lot. The time study sample size calculator works out how many for the accuracy you want.

  4. At 1080p with a phone's main lens, 4 to 6 m puts a person about 166 to 249 pixels wide, and 12 m only about 83. That is arithmetic for a 68 degree lens and a person 0.7 m wide, and page 2 shows the sums so you can redo them for your own lens.

  5. No. It is about the footage and works for any video time study. LeanSuite's AI time study asks for standard 1080p footage, so the checklist suggests 1080p.

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