METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR ASSESSING LOCATE REQUEST TICKETS
First Claim
1. An apparatus for assessing at least one attribute of a locate and/or marking operation requested in a locate request ticket, the locate and/or marking operation comprising detecting and/or marking a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within a dig area, wherein at least a portion of the dig area is planned to be excavated or disturbed during excavation activities, the apparatus comprising:
- at least one communication interface;
at least one memory to store processor-executable instructions; and
at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one memory and the at least one communication interface, wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions, the at least one processor;
A) obtains ticket information from the locate request ticket at least in part by parsing the locate request ticket;
B) applies one or more business rules to at least some of the ticket information to generate at least one ticket assessment outcome for the at least one attribute; and
C) controls the at least one communication interface to transmit, and/or controls the at least one memory to store, the at least one ticket assessment outcome so as to facilitate clearing the locate request ticket and/or dispatching at least one locate technician to perform the locate and/or marking operation, based at least in part on the at least one ticket assessment outcome.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Locate and/or marking operations involve detecting and/or marking a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within a dig area, wherein at least a portion of the dig area is planned to be excavated or disturbed during excavation activities. One or more attributes of a locate and/or marking operation requested in a locate request ticket are assessed to provide one or more ticket assessment outcomes. Ticket information is obtained from the locate request ticket at least in part by parsing the locate request ticket. One or more business rules are applied to at least some of the ticket information to generate the ticket assessment outcome(s) for the attribute(s) of the locate and/or marking operation. The ticket assessment outcome(s) is/are transmitted and/or stored so as to facilitate clearing the locate request ticket and/or dispatching a locate technician to perform the locate and/or marking operation.
361 Citations
93 Claims
-
1. An apparatus for assessing at least one attribute of a locate and/or marking operation requested in a locate request ticket, the locate and/or marking operation comprising detecting and/or marking a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within a dig area, wherein at least a portion of the dig area is planned to be excavated or disturbed during excavation activities, the apparatus comprising:
-
at least one communication interface; at least one memory to store processor-executable instructions; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one memory and the at least one communication interface, wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions, the at least one processor; A) obtains ticket information from the locate request ticket at least in part by parsing the locate request ticket; B) applies one or more business rules to at least some of the ticket information to generate at least one ticket assessment outcome for the at least one attribute; and C) controls the at least one communication interface to transmit, and/or controls the at least one memory to store, the at least one ticket assessment outcome so as to facilitate clearing the locate request ticket and/or dispatching at least one locate technician to perform the locate and/or marking operation, based at least in part on the at least one ticket assessment outcome. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
-
-
47. In a system comprising at least one processor, at least one memory, and at least one communication interface, a method for assessing at least one attribute of a locate and/or marking operation requested in a locate request ticket, the locate and/or marking operation comprising detecting and/or marking a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within a dig area, wherein at least a portion of the dig area is planned to be excavated or disturbed during excavation activities, the method comprising:
-
A) obtaining ticket information from the locate request ticket at least in part by parsing, via the at least one processor, the locate request ticket; B) applying one or more business rules to at least some of the ticket information, via the at least one processor, to generate at least one ticket assessment outcome for the at least one attribute; and C) transmitting via the at least one communication interface, and/or storing in the at least one memory, the at least one ticket assessment outcome so as to facilitate clearing the locate request ticket and/or dispatching at least one locate technician to perform the locate and/or marking operation, based at least in part on the at least one ticket assessment outcome. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92)
-
-
93. At least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with at least one program including processor-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, perform a method for assessing at least one attribute of a locate and/or marking operation requested in a locate request ticket, the locate and/or marking operation comprising detecting and/or marking a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within a dig area, wherein at least a portion of the dig area is planned to be excavated or disturbed during excavation activities, the method comprising:
-
A) obtaining ticket information from the locate request ticket at least in part by parsing the locate request ticket; B) applying one or more business rules to at least some of the ticket information to generate at least one ticket assessment outcome for the at least one attribute; and C) transmitting and/or storing the at least one ticket assessment outcome so as to facilitate clearing the locate request ticket and/or dispatching at least one locate technician to perform the locate and/or marking operation, based at least in part on the at least one ticket assessment outcome.
-
Specification