Methods and apparatus for assessing complexity of locate request tickets

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 and analyzed so as to assign at least one complexity designation to the ticket. The complexity designation(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.

1 . An apparatus for assessing complexity 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) analyzes ticket information obtained from the locate request ticket; 
 B) assigns at least one complexity designation to the locate request ticket based at least in part on A); 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 complexity designation 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 complexity designation. 
   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one complexity designation comprises a numerical score or a descriptive category. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor further:
 D) creates at least one work order corresponding to the locate request ticket, the work order comprising the at least one complexity designation assigned to the locate request ticket; and   E) annotates the work order with at least one reason code or description associated with the at least one complexity designation,   and wherein, in C), the processor controls the at least one communication interface to transmit, and/or controls the at least one memory to store, the at least one work order.   
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein:
 in A), the at least one processor recognizes in the ticket information at least one keyword and/or code associated with a high profile facilities type; and   in B), the at least one processor assigns the at least one complexity designation based at least in part on the high profile facilities type.   
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein, in A), the at least one processor:
 A1) identifies, based on the ticket information analyzed in A), at least one work site location at which the locate and/or marking operation is to be performed; and   A2) determines whether the at least one work site location is within at least one complexity region.   
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein, in A2), the at least one processor:
 retrieves a plurality of coordinates specifying the at least one complexity region; and   determines whether the at least one work site location is within the at least one complexity region based on the plurality of coordinates.   
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein at least some of the plurality of coordinates are computed based at least in part on delimitation information from a digital map, the delimitation information delimiting at least one complex geographical area. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the at least one complex geographical area is selected from a group consisting of: a highway, a set of railroad tracks, a park, a hospital, a school, a gated community, a zoning parcel, and a military base. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein at least some of the plurality of coordinates are computed based at least in part on one or more electronic markings generated by a user to define the at least one complexity region. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein:
 in A2), the at least one processor determines whether the at least one work site location is within a threshold distance of at least one historical ticket location associated with a previous ticket that is assigned a first complexity designation; and   in B), the at least one processor assigns the first complexity designation to the locate request ticket.   
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein, in A), the at least one processor:
 A1) determines whether billing of the locate and/or marking operation is based on units of work performed.   
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein, in A1), the at least one processor:
 A2) identifies, based on the ticket information analyzed in A), at least one work site location at which the locate and/or marking operation is to be performed; and   A3) identifies at least one billing table corresponding to the work site location.   
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein:
 in A), the at least one processor identifies, based on the ticket information analyzed in A), at least one service type associated with the locate and/or marking operation, the at least one service type being specified by at least one contract between a locate service provider and at least one other entity, under which contract the locate service provider is to perform at least part of the locate and/or marking operation; and   in B), the at least one processor assigns the at least one complexity designation based at least in part on the at least one service type.   
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the service type is selected from a group consisting of: emergency, short notice, re-mark, re-stake, and re-note. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor further:
 D) uses the at least one complexity designation to assess at least one other attribute of the locate and/or marking operation.   
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the at least one other attribute is selected from a group consisting of: time, risk, resource, and value. 
     
     
         17 . In a system comprising at least one processor, at least one memory, and at least one communication interface, a method for assessing complexity 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) analyzing, via the at least one processor, ticket information obtained from the locate request ticket;   B) assigning, via the at least one processor, at least one complexity designation to the locate request ticket based at least in part on A); and   C) transmitting via the at least one communication interface, and/or storing in the at least one memory, the at least one complexity designation 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 complexity designation.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the at least one complexity designation comprises a numerical score or a descriptive category. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 D) creating at least one work order corresponding to the locate request ticket, the work order comprising the at least one complexity designation assigned to the locate request ticket; and   E) annotating the work order with at least one reason code or description associated with the at least one complexity designation.   and wherein C) comprises transmitting and/or storing the at least one work order.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein:
 A) comprises recognizing in the ticket information at least one keyword and/or code associated with a high profile facilities type; and   B) comprises assigning the at least one complexity designation based at least in part on the high profile facilities type.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein A) comprises:
 A1) identifying, based on the ticket information analyzed in A), at least one work site location at which the locate and/or marking operation is to be performed; and   A2) determining whether the at least one work site location is within at least one complexity region.   
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein A2) comprises:
 retrieving a plurality of coordinates specifying the at least one complexity region; and   determining whether the at least one work site location is within the at least one complexity region based on the plurality of coordinates.   
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein at least some of the plurality of coordinates are computed based at least in part on delimitation information from a digital map, the delimitation information delimiting at least one complex geographical area. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the at least one complex geographical area is selected from a group consisting of: a highway, a set of railroad tracks, a park, a hospital, a school, a gated community, a zoning parcel, and a military base. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein at least some of the plurality of coordinates are computed based at least in part on one or more electronic markings generated by a user to define the at least one complexity region. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein:
 A2) comprises determining whether the at least one work site location is within a threshold distance of at least one historical ticket location associated with a previous ticket that is assigned a first complexity designation; and   B) comprises assigning the first complexity designation to the locate request ticket.   
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein A) comprises:
 A1) determining whether billing of the locate and/or marking operation is based on units of work performed.   
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein A1) comprises:
 A2) identifying, based on the ticket information analyzed in A), at least one work site location at which the locate and/or marking operation is to be performed; and   A3) identifying at least one billing table corresponding to the work site location.   
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein:
 A) comprises identifying, based on the ticket information analyzed in A), at least one service type associated with the locate and/or marking operation, the at least one service type being specified by at least one contract between a locate service provider and at least one other entity, under which contract the locate service provider is to perform at least part of the locate and/or marking operation; and   B) comprises assigning the at least one complexity designation based at least in part on the at least one service type.   
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the service type is selected from a group consisting of: emergency, short notice, re-mark, re-stake, and re-note. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 D) using the at least one complexity designation to assess at least one other attribute of the locate and/or marking operation.   
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 31 , wherein the at least one other attribute is selected from a group consisting of: time, risk, resource, and value. 
     
     
         33 . 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 complexity 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) analyzing ticket information obtained from the locate request ticket;   B) assigning at least one complexity designation to the locate request ticket based at least in part on A); and   C) transmitting and/or storing the at least one complexity designation 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 complexity designation.