PLAN
Map the auction workflow, venue constraints, system dependencies and people responsible for each critical task.
DOCUMENT 06REFERENCE INDEX
Auction Operations Reference & Technical Checklists
Reference connects the individual systems on this site into repeatable auction-day procedures. It is where sound, connectivity, lighting, security and equipment become one tested operating plan rather than five separate technical areas.
Use these materials to define requirements, record a known-good configuration, test the complete path under realistic load and give staff a recovery sequence they can follow while the sale is live.
COVERSPre-sale testingKnown-good baselinesFailure recoverySetup recordsProcurement criteria
REFERENCE METHOD
Use Reference when a decision crosses more than one system.
The system pages explain individual technical areas. Reference is different: it organizes the decisions that sit between them. A streaming failure may involve WAN service, LAN switching, device power, software credentials and the person responsible for failover. A checkout delay may begin with a printer, but the real dependency may be a shared USB hub, an overloaded workstation or a network path used by several stations.
A useful reference therefore describes the task, the full dependency path, the condition that counts as a pass and the fallback staff will use if the primary path fails. The goal is not more paperwork. The goal is a short operating record that makes setup faster, troubleshooting calmer and equipment changes easier to evaluate.
TEST
Run the complete signal, data, power and operator path under conditions that resemble the live sale.
RECORD
Keep the working settings, connections, device roles and measured results as the known-good baseline.
RECOVER
Define the trigger, backup path and person authorized to switch to it without stopping the room.
WHAT BELONGS HERE
A reference should help someone make or verify a decision.
Reference is not a collection of generic definitions. Each entry should lead to a measurable requirement, a practical test, a record worth keeping or a clearer recovery action.
Sequences that preserve dependency order
Power and core networking are checked before software, audio is tested at bidder positions rather than beside the console, and checkout is tested as a complete transaction rather than as an isolated printer test.
Numbers tied to the actual environment
Record sustained upload, UPS runtime at real load, audio coverage, camera retention, cable distance, operator count and the time required to move to a backup path.
A known-good configuration staff can restore
Document device roles, connections, software versions, critical settings and the physical layout that worked. A baseline makes later changes easier to isolate and reverse.
Instructions that still work under pressure
A backup is operational only when staff know when to use it, where it is, what it depends on and how to confirm that the handoff succeeded.
REFERENCE FILES
Auction-day checklists and recovery procedures.
Compact field references for planning, testing and recovering the systems used during live, simulcast and mobile auctions.
Auction Day Technical Checklist
Prove power, connectivity, sound, lighting, security, clerking and checkout before bidders depend on the live system.
Open checklist →Live Auction Internet Outage Runbook
Freeze the active lot, preserve the last verified bid, move to a tested backup path and prove the sale is safe to resume.
Open runbook →Phone Bidder Disconnected During an Auction
Handle a dropped phone-bid call, preserve the last confirmed instruction and document any safety-bid fallback for later review.
Open runbook →Wrong Bidder Number at a Live Auction
Hold the lot, verify the accepted buyer, correct the sale record and check the invoice, payment and release records.
Open runbook →Duplicate Bidder Number at a Live Auction
Contain a registration collision when two different bidders share one number, audit affected activity and safely separate the records.
Open runbook →Clerking Computer Failure During a Live Auction
Protect the last confirmed sale state, move clerking to a tested backup path, continue manually if needed and reconcile the affected lots.
Open runbook →REFERENCE ENTRY POINT
Make the working setup repeatable before making it more complex.
A short checklist, a measured baseline and a rehearsed recovery path usually create more sale-day value than another feature added without a clear owner or test. Begin with the first cross-system checklist, then use each result to improve the relevant system file.