Written by Mark Homer- Field Service Associates
After a long flight and the inevitable wait at baggage reclaim, I headed for the rental car zone. Collecting a car without status requires completing an insurance waiver, reviewing a checklist and confirming there is no damage to the vehicle as shown on the hire car schematic, usually signed off before you head to the car park to find the assigned model. In an era where ADA compliance and video surveillance systems are common across industries, even the rental counter experience now resembles a mini field service inspection.
After a quick walk around to check for damage, most people leave promptly. However, this time I noticed someone in the neighboring rental bay videoing their car inspection with a mobile phone, carefully recording the bodywork, wheels and interior, while providing voice commentary. By annotating each scratch and dent with video and audio, they created a compliance overview that could withstand legal scrutiny, and broke accessibility barriers by offering audio descriptions for anyone reviewing the footage later.
Completing checklists, taking photographs and ticking task reminders are daily routines for most field engineers. Employers have a duty of care, and implementing a tick list for vehicle safety or pre-checks for working at heights does not absolve them from ensuring employees work safely. On a recent ride along with a field service engineer, he pulled out his tablet and began tapping on his keyboard. When I asked what he was doing, he replied, “I have to do a vehicle check every morning before my first work order.” For genuine ADA video compliance, these processes should ideally use a drag and drop interface for document sharing and an accessible video player, so supervisors can view inspections in real time.
What was troubling was that no vehicle check actually took place—the checklist was completed 100 yards away from the vehicle, but the system marked it as done and compliant. The takeaway is clear: Employers have a duty of care, so why don’t more of us use video to truly validate that critical health and safety measures are followed? Field technicians could simply review video evidence captured on a mobile device to instantly confirm or deny compliance, improving customer service and reducing travel costs.
Why don’t more organizations use video for asset or equipment compliance inspection, work debriefing or problem triage? Video technology has advanced and, when combined with machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI), can convert video and audio streams into searchable reference data, meta tagging images, timelines and location details. WCAG guidelines apply here too; with level AAA accessibility, videos can be made available to every stakeholder—including remote field workers—as part of routine internal and external communications.
Video naturally changes behavior and makes vital checks an organic part of daily work.
Recording video has never been easier—even my ninety-two-year-old father enjoys using his mobile phone’s video features. Yet many service organizations (80% in our survey) worry about the high data costs of transmitting and storing video files securely. Modern video compression and integration with power apps inspections can overcome these concerns, allowing organizations to archive compliance videos securely without bloating infrastructure.
Video changes behavior, making vital checks a natural part of standard operating flow. From a compliance perspective, it delivers surveillance and audit trails that satisfy ADA requirements.
Good news: a new app is now available for popular Field Service Management Software solutions, enabling field service engineers to record, upload and play back video directly on their devices. This technology uses advanced video compression to reduce, or nearly eliminate, data storage costs by keeping content off the Field Service platform. Storage and streaming are included in the subscription, resulting in zero on-platform storage costs. The app also connects technicians to experts via remote support, enabling rapid resolution and maintaining ADA compliance.
A unique feature is the ability to overlay guiding instructions within the video recording, available offline, differentiating it from solutions like assisted reality (AR/VRA) or live video calls used for agent-customer diagnostics. Offline or asynchronous guided video feeds make recording and commentary capture simple and valuable for engineers and technicians. Adding augmented reality prompts and a video player with audio description tracks further breaks accessibility barriers set by ADA decades ago.
Recordings are processed using voice-to-text machine learning to create meta tags. Videos are geotagged, and images are further analyzed for bar codes, QR codes, product and asset recognition or other notable visuals. An automatically generated table of contents enables surveillance teams to jump to any moment with a single click.
Rules and regulations must be clearly defined, with procedures and processes that include checks and balances, plus training and ongoing support.
A practical example is the engineer safety site survey upon arrival and departure, documenting and archiving the “as found” environment. This is vital when multiple contractors work onsite and the project follows a schedule of events. ADA compliance videos showing before-and-after footage dramatically reduce disputes and prevent costly legal action.
Employers have a duty of care, but service leaders also face employment, health and safety regulations, as well as quality management and regulatory compliance. Failure to act under internal governance, external regulations or legislation carries legal, financial and reputational risks. Implementing video surveillance within a disciplined framework transforms ordinary footage into compliance videos that withstand rigorous audits.
Rules and regulations must be defined, procedures and processes prescribed, and training and support provided. There must be a way to audit and analyze failures through recorded root cause analysis. Any decline or deviation in standards is documented. Penalties for non-compliance, especially in severe incidents, can be significant. A fully accessible video player with audio descriptions, subtitles and WCAG-compliant video policies ensures every team member can participate in this continuous improvement loop.
As service leaders, we must evaluate and audit our approach to preventing corruption, ensuring good employee behavior and demonstrating adherence to workplace health and safety, environmental impact, data management, quality and social responsibility. Leveraging live video, screen sharing and surveillance systems in upcoming rollouts will be crucial for organizations committed to ADA-compliant videos and transparent communications.
We need to seek initiatives that leverage technology in simple ways that do not burden field service engineers with endless checklists and clickable boxes. Video and the use of ML/AI offer a new and powerful tool. By focusing on remote video engagement and a drag and drop interface for uploading footage, we empower field technicians to capture compliance without headaches or added travel costs.
