METHODS, APPARATUS, AND SYSTEMS FOR PERFORMING INSTALLATIONS OF ENGINEERED SYSTEMS AND GENERATING SITE VISIT MANIFESTS FOR SAME
First Claim
1. A method of performing an underground utility installation at a work site and generating a site visit manifest for the underground utility installation as completed to provide a searchable electronic record of the underground utility installation, the method comprising:
- A) electronically receiving a preliminary site visit manifest for the underground utility installation, the preliminary site visit manifest comprising a digital image of the work site and at least one image information layer overlaid on the digital image, the at least one image information layer comprising at least one of;
A1) pre-survey information indicating a planned location at the work site for the underground utility installation; and
A2) locate and marking information relating to performance of a locate and marking operation at the work site, the locate and marking operation including determining a presence or an absence of at least one previously-installed underground facility at the work site and applying at least one physical locate mark to ground, pavement, or other surface at the work site to indicate the presence or the absence of the at least one previously-installed underground facility;
B) performing the underground installation at the work site, based at least in part on the preliminary site visit manifest received in A);
C) generating the site visit manifest by electronically updating the preliminary site visit manifest to include at least one additional image information layer to be overlaid on the digital image, the at least one additional image information layer including as-built information relating to the underground utility installation as completed pursuant to B); and
D) electronically transmitting and/or electronically storing information relating to the site visit manifest generated in C) so as to provide the searchable electronic record of the underground utility installation.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Improvements to an installation process for an engineered system involve consolidation of the number of visits to a work site by field staff and/or particular work performed in a given site visit. A site visit manifest is generated to provide electronic documentation of pre-installation and/or installation activity. Various types of electronic information may be generated and/or collected in connection with any of multiple possible phases of a given installation at a particular work site for purposes of generating a site visit manifest. Additionally, different information components of a site visit manifest may be selectively viewed/accessed (e.g., based on different levels of permission or access-rights) to facilitate one or more of review of the work performed, quality, productivity and/or cost assessments of same, and billing functions. Particular examples of improved processes relating to installation of Fiber to the Premises (FTTP) subscriber drops are provided.
114 Citations
34 Claims
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1. A method of performing an underground utility installation at a work site and generating a site visit manifest for the underground utility installation as completed to provide a searchable electronic record of the underground utility installation, the method comprising:
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A) electronically receiving a preliminary site visit manifest for the underground utility installation, the preliminary site visit manifest comprising a digital image of the work site and at least one image information layer overlaid on the digital image, the at least one image information layer comprising at least one of; A1) pre-survey information indicating a planned location at the work site for the underground utility installation; and A2) locate and marking information relating to performance of a locate and marking operation at the work site, the locate and marking operation including determining a presence or an absence of at least one previously-installed underground facility at the work site and applying at least one physical locate mark to ground, pavement, or other surface at the work site to indicate the presence or the absence of the at least one previously-installed underground facility; B) performing the underground installation at the work site, based at least in part on the preliminary site visit manifest received in A); C) generating the site visit manifest by electronically updating the preliminary site visit manifest to include at least one additional image information layer to be overlaid on the digital image, the at least one additional image information layer including as-built information relating to the underground utility installation as completed pursuant to B); and D) electronically transmitting and/or electronically storing information relating to the site visit manifest generated in C) so as to provide the searchable electronic record of the underground utility installation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of performing a fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) installation at a work site and generating a site visit manifest for the FTTP installation as completed to provide a searchable electronic record of the FTTP installation, the method comprising:
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A) electronically receiving a work order for the FTTP installation, the work order comprising a preliminary site visit manifest for the FTTP installation, the preliminary site visit manifest comprising a digital image of the work site and a plurality of image information layers overlaid on the digital image, the plurality of image information layers comprising; A1) pre-survey information indicating a planned location at the work site for the FTTP installation; and A2) locate and marking information relating to performance of a locate and marking operation at the work site, the locate and marking operation including determining a presence or an absence of at least one previously-installed underground facility at the work site and applying at least one physical locate mark to ground, pavement, or other surface at the work site to indicate the presence or the absence of the at least one previously-installed underground facility, the locate and marking information including at least one electronic locate mark corresponding to the at least one physical locate mark; B) performing the FTTP installation at the work site, based at least in part on the work order received in A); C) generating the site visit manifest by electronically updating the preliminary site visit manifest to include at least one additional image information layer to be overlaid on the digital image, the at least one additional image information layer including as-built information relating to the FTTP installation as completed pursuant to B); and D) electronically transmitting and/or electronically storing information relating to the site visit manifest generated in C) so as to provide the searchable electronic record of the FTTP installation.
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17. An apparatus for generating a site visit manifest for an underground utility installation as completed to provide a searchable electronic record of the underground utility installation, the apparatus comprising:
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a communication interface; a display device; a user input device; a memory to store processor-executable instructions; and a processor coupled to the communication interface, the display device, the user input device, and the memory, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the processor, the processor; A) controls the communication interface to receive a preliminary site visit manifest for the underground utility installation, the preliminary site visit manifest comprising a digital image of the work site and at least one image information layer to be overlaid on the digital image, the at least one image information layer comprising at least one of; A1) pre-survey information indicating a planned location at the work site for the underground utility installation; and A2) locate and marking information relating to performance of a locate and marking operation at the work site, the locate and marking operation including determining a presence or an absence of at least one previously-installed underground facility at the work site and applying at least one physical locate mark to ground, pavement, or other surface at the work site to indicate the presence or the absence of the at least one previously-installed underground facility; B) controls the display device to display the preliminary site visit manifest received in A); C) receives, via at least one of the communication interface and the user input device, as-built information relating to the underground utility installation as completed; and D) generates the site visit manifest by electronically updating the preliminary site visit manifest to include at least one additional image information layer to be overlaid on the digital image, the at least one additional image information layer including the as-built information received in C); and E) controls at least one of the communication interface and the memory to electronically transmit and/or electronically store information relating to the site visit manifest generated in D) so as to provide the searchable electronic record of the underground utility installation. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A computer readable storage medium storing processor-executable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, perform a method for generating a site visit manifest for an underground utility installation as completed to provide a searchable electronic record of the underground utility installation, the method comprising:
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A) electronically receiving a preliminary site visit manifest for the underground utility installation, the preliminary site visit manifest comprising a digital image of the work site and at least one image information layer to be overlaid on the digital image, the at least one image information layer comprising at least one of; A1) pre-survey information indicating a planned location at the work site for the underground utility installation; and A2) locate and marking information relating to performance of a locate and marking operation at the work site, the locate and marking operation including determining a presence or an absence of at least one previously-installed underground facility at the work site and applying at least one physical locate mark to ground, pavement, or other surface at the work site to indicate the presence or the absence of the at least one previously-installed underground facility; B) electronically receiving as-built information relating to the underground utility installation as completed; C) electronically generating the site visit manifest by electronically updating the preliminary site visit manifest to include at least one additional image information layer to be overlaid on the digital image, the at least one additional image information layer including the as-built information received in B); and E) electronically transmitting and/or electronically storing information relating to the site visit manifest generated in C) so as to provide the searchable electronic record of the underground utility installation.
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Specification