Method and apparatus for managing dig alerts in a network system

• US 6,958,690 B1
• Filed: 06/10/2003
• Issued: 10/25/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Asher, Michael L., Natha, Udaya Bhaskar, Giddens, Charles C., Magown, Jr., Lloyd Lester, Stewart, Harold Jeffrey
• Primary Examiner(s): GOINS, DAVETTA WOODS
• Application Number:
  US10/458,351
• Time in Patent Office: 868 Days
• Field of Search: 340/531, 340/310.01, 340/310.06, 340/539.13, 340/539.2, 340/995.1, 340/540, 702/5, 702/6, 702/150, 342/22, 342/82, 342/89
• US Class Current: 340/531
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/245 for preventing damage to underground objects during excavation, e.g. indicating buried pipes or the like detection of pipes in the ground F16L1/11
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 27/00 Alarm systems in which the alarm condition is signalled from a central station to a plurality of substations

Abstract

The present invention provides a most efficient, automated, fast and least expensive method and apparatus for processing the dig ticket alerts to prevent damage of underground facilities. All the functions required to process the ticket alerts are handled by one system called the geolink (geographical link to data) fiber integrity, i.e. GFI. The processing includes checking the ticket alerts for a dig location, automatically closing the ticket alerts if the dig location is not touching a cable buffer and forwarding the ticket alerts to the technician responsible for the ticket alert if the dig location is touching the cable buffer. The GFI system will receive and process thousands of dig ticket alerts on a daily basis without depending on any other system.

Claims

1. A method for automatically managing ticket alerts to prevent damaging of underground facilities, comprising:

receiving said ticket alerts from various sources, wherein said ticket alerts comprise a notification of underground excavation;

automatically processing each said ticket alert at a network center solely using a GFI ticket manager application system;

wherein said processing includes checking the ticket alerts for a dig location, automatically closing the ticket alerts if the dig location is not touching a cable buffer, and forwarding the ticket alerts to a technician responsible for the ticket alert if the dig location is touching the cable buffer.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving instructions from the technician to close the ticket alert.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said processing further comprises:

checking the ticket alerts for at least one required information item needed for processing the ticket alert, wherein said required information item includes dig date, dig time, dig location, or a combination thereof;

sending the ticket alert for manual screening if the required information item is not provided.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein said manual screening comprises:

manually adding the required information item in the ticket alert and resubmitting the ticket alerts for said processing.

5. The method of claim 3 further comprising:

editing the ticket alerts including the required information item in the ticket alert;

resubmitting the edited ticket alerts for said processing, wherein said edited ticket alerts are locked and prevented from further editions.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising:

reassigning the edited tickets to appropriate technician.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving an audit report including a list of the ticket alerts from said sources;

monitoring the list for ticket alerts missing in the GFI application;

contacting said sources to resubmit the missing ticket alerts;

receiving the missing ticket alerts; and

submitting the missing ticket alerts for said processing.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

checking the ticket alerts for hot tickets;

wherein said hot tickets include ticket alerts that require emergency response;

immediately processing the hot tickets solely using the GFI ticket manager application; and

dispatching the processed hot ticket to an assigned technician.

9. The method of claim 3 further comprising:

receiving notification of emergency digging from the technician;

creating a manual ticket alert based on said notification wherein said manual ticket alert includes a user manually inputting the required information item needed to process the ticket alert.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein said GFI application comprises statistics information of the ticket alerts including hot ticket count, safe ticket count, total tickets, tickets received since period of time, waiting for manual screening, waiting to be downloaded, waiting to be autoscreened or combination thereof.

11. A system for automatically managing ticket alerts to prevent damaging of underground facilities, comprising:

a network center for receiving said ticket alerts from one call center, wherein said ticket alerts comprise a notification of underground excavation and said network center comprises a GFI ticket manager application for automatically processing the ticket alerts;

wherein said processing includes checking the ticket alerts for a dig location, automatically closing the ticket alerts if the dig location is not touching a cable buffer, and forwarding the ticket alerts to a technician responsible for the ticket alert if the dig location is touching the cable buffer.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein said GFI ticket manager application further comprises:

a parser for parsing the ticket alerts received from the one call centers including converting data in the ticket alerts to a format readable by the GFI ticket manager application and checking the data for any errors preventing the tickets to be successfully parsed.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein said GFI ticket manager application further comprises:

an autoscreener for receiving the successfully parsed ticket alerts, screening said successfully parsed ticket alerts for at least one required information item needed for processing the ticket alerts, and sending the ticket alerts for manual screening if the required information item is not provided wherein said required info includes dig date, dig time, dig location, technician or a combination thereof.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein said auto screener checks the ticket alerts for hot tickets and further informs the GFI ticket manager application for immediate processing of said hot tickets, wherein said hot tickets include ticket alerts that require emergency response.

15. The system of claim 11 wherein said GFI ticket manager application further comprises:

an onsite work force application for downloading the ticket alerts to the technician responsible for the ticket alert and closing the ticket alerts on the system.

16. The system of claim 11 wherein said GFI ticket manager application includes a ticket audit report for monitoring a list for ticket alerts missing in the GFI ticket manager application and informing the GFI ticket manager application of the missing ticket alerts, wherein said list includes all ticket alerts sent by said one call centers.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein said GFI ticket manager application contacts the one call centers to resubmit the missing ticket alerts for processing.

18. The system of claim 11 wherein said GFI application comprises statistics information of the ticket alerts including hot ticket count, safe ticket count, total tickets, tickets received since period of time, waiting for manual screening, waiting to be downloaded, waiting to be autoscreened or combination thereof.