Methods, apparatus and systems for determining correctness and completeness of locate operations
First Claim
1. A system for determining a correctness and/or a completeness of an operation to identify, in response to a ticket, a presence or an absence of an underground facility at a dig area, the system comprising:
- a communication system including an interconnection interface for receiving data relating to a use by a locate technician of at least one piece of equipment to perform the operation, in response to the ticket, to identify the presence or the absence of the underground facility at the dig area;
a memory storing processor-executable instructions; and
a processor, communicatively coupled to the communication system and the memory, wherein upon execution by the processor of the processor-executable instructions, the processor;
controls the communication system so as to receive the data relating to the use by the locate technician of the at least one piece of equipment to perform, in response to the ticket, the operation to identify the presence or the absence of the underground facility at the dig area; and
processes the data to determine whether the operation was completed correctly,wherein the at least one piece of equipment includes a marking apparatus used by the technician to dispense at least one marker to identify the presence or the absence of the underground facility, and wherein the data relates to the use of the marking apparatus.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
One or more pieces of equipment (e.g., a locate wand, a marking tool) are used to perform an operation to identify, in response to a ticket, a presence or an absence of an underground facility at a dig area. Data relating to the use of the equipment to perform the operation is electronically processed to determine whether the operation was completed correctly. In one example, ticket information from the ticket also is processed with the data relating to the use of the equipment to determine whether the operation was completed correctly. In another example, the equipment includes a marking apparatus, and data relating to the use of the marking apparatus that is processed includes one or more of marker characteristic information, timing information, supply information and location information relating to one or more markers dispensed by the marking apparatus.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A system for determining a correctness and/or a completeness of an operation to identify, in response to a ticket, a presence or an absence of an underground facility at a dig area, the system comprising:
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a communication system including an interconnection interface for receiving data relating to a use by a locate technician of at least one piece of equipment to perform the operation, in response to the ticket, to identify the presence or the absence of the underground facility at the dig area; a memory storing processor-executable instructions; and a processor, communicatively coupled to the communication system and the memory, wherein upon execution by the processor of the processor-executable instructions, the processor; controls the communication system so as to receive the data relating to the use by the locate technician of the at least one piece of equipment to perform, in response to the ticket, the operation to identify the presence or the absence of the underground facility at the dig area; and processes the data to determine whether the operation was completed correctly, wherein the at least one piece of equipment includes a marking apparatus used by the technician to dispense at least one marker to identify the presence or the absence of the underground facility, and wherein the data relates to the use of the marking apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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11. A computer readable storage device encoded with at least one program including processor-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, perform a method for determining a correctness and/or a completeness of an operation to identify, in response to a ticket, a presence or an absence of an underground facility at a dig area, the method comprising:
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A) electronically receiving data relating to a use by a locate technician of at least one piece of equipment to perform the operation, in response to the ticket, to identify the presence or the absence of the underground facility at the dig area; B) electronically receiving ticket information from the ticket; and C) processing the ticket information received in B) and the data received in A) relating to the use by the locate technician of the at least one piece of equipment to perform the operation, to determine whether the operation was completed correctly, wherein; the at least one piece of equipment includes a marking apparatus used by the technician to dispense at least one marker to identify the presence or the absence of the underground facility; the data relates to the use of the marking apparatus and includes at least one of; marker characteristic information representing a characteristic of the at least one marker dispensed by the marking apparatus; timing information relating to the use by the technician of the marking apparatus to dispense the at least one marker; supply information representing an amount of the at least one marker dispensed by the marking apparatus; and location information representing a geographic location of the at least one marker dispensed by the marking apparatus.
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12. A method, comprising:
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A) using at least one piece of equipment to perform an operation to identify, in response to a ticket, a presence or an absence of an underground facility at a dig area; B) electronically receiving, by at least one processor, data relating to the use in A) of the at least one piece of equipment to perform the operation, in response to the ticket, to identify the presence or the absence of the underground facility at the dig area; C) electronically receiving, by the at least one processor, ticket information from the ticket; and D) processing, by the at least one processor, the ticket information received in C) and the data received in B) relating to the use of the at least one piece of equipment to perform the operation, to determine whether the operation was completed correctly, wherein the at least one piece of equipment includes a marking apparatus, and wherein A) comprises; using the marking apparatus to dispense at least one marker to identify the presence or the absence of the underground facility, wherein the data in B) relates to the use of the marking apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification