Methods and apparatus for analyzing locate and marking operations with respect to environmental landmarks

• US 8,612,271 B2
• Filed: 10/01/2009
• Issued: 12/17/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Certusview Technologies LLC (Dycom Industries Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Certusview Technologies LLC (Dycom Industries Incorporated)
• Inventors: Nielsen, Steven E., Chambers, Curtis, Farr, Jeffrey
• Primary Examiner(s): Singh, Gurkanwaljit
• Application Number:
  US12/572,260
• Publication Number:
  US 20100088135A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,538 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 705/7.11
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 7/046 horizontal drilling drilling with mechanical conveying means E21B7/003
• CPC Class Codes: E21D 11/00 Lining tunnels, galleries or other underground cavities, e.g. large underground chambers; Linings therefor; Making such linings in situ, e.g. by assembling E21D15/00 - E21D23/00 take precedence; specially for shafts E21D5/00; driving shields in combination with means for lining the tunnel E21D9/06; lining pressure water galleries, linings therefor E02B9/06
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0639 Performance analysis of employees; Performance analysis of enterprise or organisation operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06395 Quality analysis or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06398 Performance of employee with respect to a job function
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/08 Construction
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/10 Push-to-Talk [PTT] or Push-On-Call services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/04 Network layer protocols, e.g. mobile IP [Internet Protocol]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/08 Trunked mobile radio systems

Abstract

Methods, apparatus and systems including a computer comprising at least one hardware processor, at least one tangible storage medium (memory), and at least one input/output (I/O) interface for evaluating a quality of a locate and/or marking operation. First information relating to the locate and/or marking operation is compared to second information relating to one or more environmental landmarks. One or more indications of a quality assessment of the locate and/or marking operation is automatically generated based on such a comparison, and the one or more indications of the quality assessment are electronically stored on the at least one tangible storage medium, and/or electronically transmitted via the at least one I/O interface, so as to provide an electronic record of the quality assessment.

Claims

1. In a computer comprising at least one hardware processor, at least one tangible storage medium, and at least one input/output (I/O) interface, a method for evaluating a quality of a locate and/or marking operation to identify a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility at a work site, the method comprising:

A) receiving, by the at least one hardware processor, first information relating to the locate and/or marking operation performed at the work site by at least one technician using at least one piece of locate equipment, wherein the first information comprises an electronic manifest of the locate and/or marking operation, the electronic manifest comprising;

at least one image of the work site;

at least one electronic marking on the at least one image of the work site, the at least one electronic marking indicating the presence or the absence of the at least one underground facility and/or at least one environmental landmark at the work site; and

first geographic information indicating a physical location at the work site corresponding to the at least one electronic marking on the at least one image of the work site;

B) receiving, by the at least one hardware processor, second information relating to a presence or an absence of one or more reference environmental landmarks at or proximate to the work site;

C) determining, by the at least one hardware processor, an expected type and/or an expected location of the at least one underground facility and/or the at least one environmental landmark at the work site based at least in part on the second information received in B);

D) determining, by the at least one hardware processor and according to at least one predetermined criterion, a correspondence or discrepancy between the first information including the electronic manifest and the expected type and/or the expected location of the at least one underground facility and/or the at least one environmental landmark;

E) automatically generating by the at least one hardware processor, based at least in part on D), at least one indication of a quality assessment of the locate and/or marking operation to identify the presence or the absence of the at least one underground facility at the work site; and

F) electronically storing on the at least one tangible storage medium, and/or electronically transmitting via the at least one I/O interface, the at least one indication of the quality assessment so as to provide an electronic record of the quality assessment.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer comprises at least one display device, and wherein the method further comprises:

displaying the at least one indication of the quality assessment on the at least one display device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein F) comprises:

transmitting at least one feedback message to the at least one technician prior to completion of the location and/or marking operation, the feedback message being generated based at least in part on the at least one indication of the quality assessment generated in E).

4. The method of claim 1, wherein B) further comprises:

obtaining the second information relating to the one or more reference environmental landmarks from at least one facilities map, at least one historical ticket, at least one electronic manifest, and/or at least one electronic record generated by the at least one piece of locate equipment used to perform the locate and/or marking information.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the second information relating to one or more reference environmental landmarks includes type information indicating at least one type of environmental landmark.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the type information includes a number of different types of landmarks.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the second information relating to one or more reference environmental landmarks including type information for at least one environmental landmark of a category and/or type that relates to the at least one underground facility intended to be detected and/or marked during the locate and/or marking operation.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the second information relating to one or more reference environmental landmarks includes relative position information relating to a relative position, pattern, and/or arrangement of multiple environmental landmarks.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the second information relates to a presumed physical location of at least one environmental landmark.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the second information includes at least one geo-location data point for the at least one environmental landmark.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more reference environmental landmarks are associated with one or more facilities, include one or more architectural elements, and/or include one or more traffic infrastructure elements.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the first information is generated by locating equipment used by the field-service technician to perform the locate and/or marking operation, wherein the locating equipment comprises at least one of a marking device, a locate device, and a combined locate and marking device, wherein A) further comprises:

receiving the first information from the locating equipment, wherein the first information includes at least one of locate information, marking information, and landmark information.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the at least one of the marking device, the locate device, and the combined locate and marking device includes the computer including the at least one hardware processor executing the method.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein D), E) and F) are performed during or immediately following the locate and/or marking operation, and wherein the method further comprises:

G) altering at least one operating characteristic of the locating equipment based on the at least one indication of the quality assessment.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the at least one indication of the quality assessment comprises a numeric score indicative of the quality of the locate and/or marking operation, and wherein G) further comprises:

G1) altering the at least one operating characteristic of the locating equipment if the numeric score is below a predetermined threshold.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein G) comprises disabling the locating equipment if the at least one indication of the quality assessment is unsatisfactory.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the first information includes at least one of:

at least one location at which the locating equipment was used to perform the locate and/or marking operation;

facility-type information identifying at least one underground facility for which the presence or the absence was detected and/or marked during the locate and/or marking operation;

facility location information identifying a location of the at least one underground facility for which the field-service technician detected and/or marked the presence or the absence during the locate and/or marking operation;

marking material type information identifying at least one characteristic of a marking material used to mark the presence or the absence of the at least one underground facility;

signal information identifying a signal strength measured by the locate device at the location of the at least one underground facility for which the field-service technician detected the presence or the absence during the locate and/or marking operation;

position information identifying an angle and/or acceleration of the locating equipment during the locate and/or marking operation; and

environmental information describing at least one environmental condition present during the locate and/or marking operation.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

C1) prior to C), selecting for comparison at least some of the first information and/or at least some of the second information based at least in part on a dig area indicator that indicates a dig area of the work site on a digital image.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein C1) comprises:

receiving, via the at least one I/O interface, geographic coordinates for the dig area indicator; and

selecting the at least some of the first information, and/or the at least some of the second information, that relates only to a geographic area including the geographic coordinates for the dig area indicator.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the geographic area is within a predetermined radius of the geographic coordinates for the dig area indicator.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein the dig area indicator delimits the dig area on the digital image, and wherein C1) comprises:

receiving, via the at least one I/O interface, dig area indicator geographic information including geographic coordinates for the dig area indicator; and

selecting the at least some of the first information, and/or the at least some of the second information, that relates only to a geographic area delimited by the dig area indicator geographic information.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the first information includes a first set of geo-location data points indicating geographic locations at which at least one facility line of the at least one underground facility was detected and/or marked during the locate and/or marking operation, or the at least one environmental landmark for which landmark information was acquired during the locate and/or marking operation; and

the second information includes a second set of geo-location data points indicating a presumed physical location of the one or more reference environmental landmarks,

and wherein comprises;

D1) comparing the first set of geo-location data points with the second set of geo-location data points; and

D2) determining a distance between at least one point in the first set and a nearest point in the second set to generate at least one distance value.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein:

the first set of geo-location data points indicate geographic locations at which at least one facility line of the at least one underground facility of a first type was detected and/or marked during the locate and/or marking operation; and

the one or more reference environmental landmarks are of a category and/or type related to the first type of the at least one underground facility.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein D2) comprises:

determining the distance between each point in the first set and the nearest point in the second set to generate a distance vector including a plurality of distance values.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein the first set of geo-location data points is expressed in a first reference frame and the second set of geo-location data points is expressed in a second reference frame different from the first reference frame, and wherein the processor transforms at least one of the first set of geo-location data points and the second set of geo-location data points to a common reference frame.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein E) comprises:

E1) generating the at least one indication of the quality assessment based, at least in part, on the at least one distance value generated in D2).

27. The method of claim 1, wherein E) further comprises:

generating the at least one indication of the quality assessment as a score or grade having one of a plurality of possible values.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein E comprises:

providing at least one quality assessment criterion relating to the correspondence or the discrepancy in D);

providing at least two scoring categories for the at least one quality assessment criterion, each scoring category associated with a scoring value or grade;

for each scoring category providing an expected data value or range of expected data values;

determining, for the at least one quality assessment criterion, into which of the at least two scoring categories the locate and/or marking operation falls by comparing the first information to the expected data value or range of expected data values for at least one of the at least two scoring categories; and

assigning to the locate and/or marking operation the scoring value or grade associated with the scoring category into which the locate and/or marking operation falls.

29. An apparatus for evaluating a quality of a locate and/or marking operation to identify a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility at a work site, the apparatus comprising:

at least one input/output (I/O) interface;

at least one memory storing processor-executable instructions; and

a processor coupled to the memory and the at least one I/O interface, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the processor, the processor;

A) receives first information relating to the locate and/or marking operation performed at the work site by at least one technician using at least one piece of locate equipment, wherein the first information comprises an electronic manifest of the locate and/or marking operation, the electronic manifest comprising;

at least one image of the work site;

at least one electronic marking on the at least one image of the work site, the at least one electronic marking indicating the presence or the absence of the at least one underground facility and/or at least one environmental landmark at the work site; and

first geographic information indicating a physical location at the work site corresponding to the at least one electronic marking on the at least one image of the work site;

B) receives second information relating to a presence or an absence of one or more reference environmental landmarks at or proximate to the work site;

C) determines an expected type and/or an expected location of the at least one underground facility and/or the at least one environmental landmark at the work site based at least in part on the second information received in B);

D) determines, according to at least one predetermined criterion, a correspondence or discrepancy between the first information including the electronic manifest and the expected type and/or the expected location of the at least one underground facility and/or the at least one environmental landmark;

E) automatically generates, based at least in part on D), at least one indication of a quality assessment of the locate and/or marking operation to identify the presence or the absence of the at least one underground facility at the work site; and

F) controls the at least one memory so as to electronically store, and/or controls the at least one I/O interface so as to electronically transmit, the at least one indication of the quality assessment so as to provide an electronic record of the quality assessment.

31. The apparatus of claim 29, further comprising at least one display device communicatively coupled to the processor, wherein the processor:

controls the at least one display device so as to display the at least one indication of the quality assessment on the at least one display device.

32. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein in F), the processor:

controls the at least one I/O interface to transmit at least one feedback message to the at least one technician prior to completion of the location and/or marking operation, the feedback message being generated based at least in part on the at least one indication of the quality assessment generated in E).

33. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein in B) the processor:

obtains the second information relating to the one or more reference environmental landmarks from at least one facilities map, at least one historical ticket, at least one electronic manifest, and/or at least one electronic record generated by the at least one piece of locate equipment used to perform the locate and/or marking information.

34. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the second information relating to one or more reference environmental landmarks includes type information indicating at least one type of environmental landmark.

35. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the type information includes a number of different types of landmarks.

36. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the second information relating to one or more reference environmental landmarks including type information for at least one environmental landmark of a category and/or type that relates to the at least one underground facility intended to be detected and/or marked during the locate and/or marking operation.

37. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the second information relating to one or more reference environmental landmarks includes relative position information relating to a relative position, pattern, and/or arrangement of multiple environmental landmarks.

38. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the second information relates to a presumed physical location of at least one environmental landmark.

39. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the second information includes at least one geo-location data point for the at least one environmental landmark.

40. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the one or more reference environmental landmarks are associated with one or more facilities, include one or more architectural elements, and/or include one or more traffic infrastructure elements.

41. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the first information is generated by locating equipment used by the field-service technician to perform the locate and/or marking operation, wherein the locating equipment comprises at least one of a marking device, a locate device, and a combined locate and marking device, wherein, in A) the processor:

receives the first information from the locating equipment, wherein the first information includes at least one of locate information, marking information, and landmark information.

42. The apparatus of claim 41, wherein the at least one of the marking device, the locate device, and the combined locate and marking device includes the computer including the at least one hardware processor executing the apparatus.

43. The apparatus of claim 41, wherein D), E) and F) are performed during or immediately following the locate and/or marking operation, and wherein the processor:

G) alters at least one operating characteristic of the locating equipment based on the at least one indication of the quality assessment.

44. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the at least one indication of the quality assessment comprises a numeric score indicative of the quality of the locate and/or marking operation, and wherein, in G) the processor:

G1) alters the at least one operating characteristic of the locating equipment if the numeric score is below a predetermined threshold.

45. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein in G), the processor disables the locating equipment if the at least one indication of the quality assessment is unsatisfactory.

46. The apparatus of claim 41, wherein the first information includes at least one of:

at least one location at which the locating equipment was used to perform the locate and/or marking operation;

facility-type information identifying at least one underground facility for which the presence or the absence was detected and/or marked during the locate and/or marking operation;

facility location information identifying a location of the at least one underground facility for which the field-service technician detected and/or marked the presence or the absence during the locate and/or marking operation;

marking material type information identifying at least one characteristic of a marking material used to mark the presence or the absence of the at least one underground facility;

signal information identifying a signal strength measured by the locate device at the location of the at least one underground facility for which the field-service technician detected the presence or the absence during the locate and/or marking operation;

position information identifying an angle and/or acceleration of the locating equipment during the locate and/or marking operation; and

environmental information describing at least one environmental condition present during the locate and/or marking operation.

47. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the processor:

C1) prior to C), selects for comparison at least some of the first information and/or at least some of the second information based at least in part on a dig area indicator that indicates a dig area of the work site on a digital image.

48. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein in C1), the processor:

receives, via the at least one I/O interface, geographic coordinates for the dig area indicator; and

selects the at least some of the first information, and/or the at least some of the second information, that relates only to a geographic area including the geographic coordinates for the dig area indicator.

49. The apparatus of claim 48, wherein the geographic area is within a predetermined radius of the geographic coordinates for the dig area indicator.

50. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the dig area indicator delimits the dig area on the digital image, and wherein in C1), the processor:

receives, via the at least one I/O interface, dig area indicator geographic information including geographic coordinates for the dig area indicator; and

selects the at least some of the first information, and/or the at least some of the second information, that relates only to a geographic area delimited by the dig area indicator geographic information.

51. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein:

the first information includes a first set of geo-location data points indicating geographic locations at which at least one facility line of the at least one underground facility was detected and/or marked during the locate and/or marking operation, or the at least one environmental landmark for which landmark information was acquired during the locate and/or marking operation; and

the second information includes a second set of geo-location data points indicating a presumed physical location of the one or more reference environmental landmarks,

and wherein, in the processor;

D1) compares the first set of geo-location data points with the second set of geo-location data points; and

D2) determines a distance between at least one point in the first set and a nearest point in the second set to generate at least one distance value.

52. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein:

the first set of geo-location data points indicate geographic locations at which at least one facility line of the at least one underground facility of a first type was detected and/or marked during the locate and/or marking operation; and

the one or more reference environmental landmarks are of a category and/or type related to the first type of the at least one underground facility.

53. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein in D2) the processor:

determines the distance between each point in the first set and the nearest point in the second set to generate a distance vector including a plurality of distance values.

54. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the first set of geo-location data points is expressed in a first reference frame and the second set of geo-location data points is expressed in a second reference frame different from the first reference frame, and wherein the processor transforms at least one of the first set of geo-location data points and the second set of geo-location data points to a common reference frame.

55. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein in E), the processor:

E1) generates the at least one indication of the quality assessment based, at least in part, on the at least one distance value generated in D2).

56. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein in E), the processor:

generates the at least one indication of the quality assessment as a score or grade having one of a plurality of possible values.

57. The apparatus of claim 56, wherein in E), the processor:

provides at least one quality assessment criterion relating to the correspondence or the discrepancy in D);

provides at least two scoring categories for the at least one quality assessment criterion, each scoring category associated with a scoring value or grade;

for each scoring category provides an expected data value or range of expected data values;

determines, for the at least one quality assessment criterion, into which of the at least two scoring categories the locate and/or marking operation falls by comparing the first information to the expected data value or range of expected data values for at least one of the at least two scoring categories; and

assigns to the locate and/or marking operation the scoring value or grade associated with the scoring category into which the locate and/or marking operation falls.

30. At least one non-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with instructions that, when executed by a processor in a computer comprising at least one input/output (I/O) interface, perform a method for evaluating a quality of a locate and/or marking operation to identify a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within a work site, the method comprising:

A) receiving first information relating to the locate and/or marking operation performed at the work site by at least one technician using at least one piece of locate equipment, wherein the first information comprises an electronic manifest of the locate and/or marking operation, the electronic manifest comprising;

at least one image of the work site;

at least one electronic marking on the at least one image of the work site, the at least one electronic marking indicating the presence or the absence of the at least one underground facility and/or at least one environmental landmark at the work site; and

first geographic information indicating a physical location at the work site corresponding to the at least one electronic marking on the at least one image of the work site;

B) receiving second information relating to a presence or an absence of one or more reference environmental landmarks at or proximate to the work site;

C) determining an expected type and/or an expected location of the at least one underground facility and/or the at least one environmental landmark at the work site based at least in part on the second information received in B);

D) determining, according to at least one predetermined criterion, a correspondence or discrepancy between the first information including the electronic manifest and the expected type and/or the expected location of the at least one underground facility and/or the at least one environmental landmark;

E) automatically generating, based at least in part on D), at least one indication of a quality assessment of the locate and/or marking operation to identify the presence or the absence of the at least one underground facility at the work site; and

F) electronically storing on the at least one computer-readable storage medium, and/or electronically transmitting via the at least one I/O interface, the at least one indication of the quality assessment so as to provide an electronic record of the quality assessment.