Creating Effective Time Study Recordings in Squint
This document explains how to plan and capture effective video for time studies in Squint. It covers how to choose the right camera position and recording approach based on whether you are analyzing an entire line, a specific station, or doing line balancing, and illustrates good and poor camera practices.
Step 1: Decide the Scope and Purpose of Your Time Study
Determine what you want to learn from the time study before you record any video:
For an overall picture of how the line process and stations connect, plan to capture a wide view of the work area.
For analyzing a specific station or a suspected bottleneck, plan to capture a local, close-up view focused on that station.
For line balancing, plan to record each station individually so you can compare them later.
Clarifying your objective up front will guide your choice of camera type, placement, and recording approach.
Step 2: Capture a Wide View for Full Line Process Analysis
When your goal is to understand how the entire line flows and how stations connect:
Use a camera with a wide field of view (e.g., a stationary camera or one mounted overhead).
Position the camera so it can see all key stations and the flow of material between them.
Ensure that operators’ movements and interactions between stations remain within the frame as much as possible.
This setup helps you see handoffs, queues, and interactions across the line.
Step 3: Capture a Local View for Station-Level or Bottleneck Analysis
If you are focusing on a single station or a suspected bottleneck:
Place a stationary camera close to the work area, or
Use a camera attached to the operator (such as a head-mounted camera) to follow their work naturally.
The goal is to get a clear, unobstructed view of the detailed actions at that station, including hand motions, tool use, and small process steps that may contribute to delays.
Step 4: Record Each Station Separately for Line Balancing
When your purpose is to balance a full line:
Record each station individually, creating a separate video for each.
Use the same product across all recordings so that the work content is comparable.
Where possible, record during the same shift so that conditions (staffing, lighting, pace of work, etc.) are similar.
This approach makes it easier to compare cycle times and workloads across stations and to identify imbalances accurately.
Step 5: Use Head-Mounted or Hands-Free Cameras for Detailed Process Capture
A head-mounted camera (such as a GoPro) can be very effective for capturing detailed operator work:
Mount the camera on the operator’s head or another hands-free harness so they can work normally.
Verify that the camera angle captures the operator’s full work area: tools, materials, and key equipment.
Confirm that the operator can move freely throughout the workspace while remaining in view.
From a head-mounted GoPro video, the camera captures everything the operator is doing throughout the process, including movement through the space, without requiring them to hold a device. This allows the operator to perform the process hands-free while still capturing every step and insight as they work.
Step 6: Review Example Footage in Squint to Understand Movement and Coverage
Within Squint, open your recorded procedure and:
Click into individual steps to see what the operator was doing at each point in time.
Observe how a hands-free camera (like a GoPro) follows the operator as they walk to equipment (e.g., a press brake) and perform tasks.
Check that all critical actions and movements are visible and that there are no important gaps in coverage.
This review helps you confirm that your recording setup supports accurate analysis.
Step 7: Avoid Poor Camera Placement That Loses Operator Actions
Be cautious about relying solely on a stationary camera when the operator moves extensively:
A fixed camera that does not follow the operator can lose sight of key actions when the operator leaves the frame.
When the operator is out of view, the time study cannot capture what they are doing, leading to incomplete or faulty analysis.
If significant movement is required in the process, prefer head-mounted or tracking camera setups, or use multiple cameras to maintain continuous coverage.
Ensuring the operator stays visible throughout the process is critical for strong, reliable time study insights in Squint.
Step 8: Handle Long Recordings and Split Files
Each video you upload becomes its own time study. Many cameras, including GoPros, automatically split long recordings into separate files of a few minutes each, so one session can turn into several studies. To get one continuous study, join the files into a single video before you upload it. Squint accepts MOV, MP4 and AVI files.