Mobile capture is the easiest layer to add and the hardest to keep useful. A phone or a helmet camera produces footage with no fixed view, no fixed route, and minimal context. Without planning, the records pile up and nobody opens them.
Plan the moments, not the devices
Useful mobile capture is keyed to specific moments: a temporary works inspection, a post-strip walkdown, a non-conformance, an unusual delivery. Each moment has an owner and a reason. The capture goes into the record indexed by those, not by the device that produced it.
- Define the moments mobile capture is expected to cover.
- Index by event, not by device.
- Tag captures with package and work face on upload.
- Treat untagged mobile capture as low-grade evidence.
A helmet camera is not a substitute for a capture plan. It is a complement to one. The discipline is to keep mobile capture purposeful so that the records earn their place in the archive.
Field notes are part of the public RDI reference. For shorter definitions, use the glossary. For full reference articles, see the knowledge base.