A few years ago, the Common Ground Alliance (CGA) published a remarkable statistic: 99% of excavations with an 811 ticket are completed without damage to underground utilities. That’s impressive.
Yet almost every day we hear of damage to underground utilities caused by an excavator working without an 811 ticket. Some of our members report that more than 40% of the damage they experience in Texas metro areas are caused by someone digging without an 811 ticket. And when that happens the excavation is in a blind spot. A blind spot is when an excavation is occurring without the utility operators’ knowledge and without their facilities being located and marked.
And some of those blind spots result in significant consequences.
An excavator working in Argyle, Texas without an 811 ticket on September 19, 2025, severed two fiber optic lines. Radar and phone communications went dark in Air Traffic Control Towers at DFW International and Dallas Love airports. The result: 800 flights cancelled, 1,200 flights delayed and more than 100,000 passengers affected. All because a single excavator didn’t do what they are required to do by law – request an 811 ticket. This incident was described in detail in the previous issue of the Global 811 Magazine.
That’s what we mean when we say the 811 system works … when it is used. However, there is nothing in the 811 system that addresses those blind spots.
That’s what Texas811 set out to do when we created Texas811 Guardian™. The patent pending program specifically addresses the number one cause of damage to underground utilities – excavation without an 811 ticket. With Texas811 Guardian, a facility operator is notified in real time of excavation activity being detected near a protected line, providing the facility operator with an opportunity to intervene before damage occurs.
It uses fiber optic lines adjacent to underground facilities to detect, identify, and notify utility operators of unauthorized excavation activity near their facilities.
When excavation is detected, an alert is sent to Texas811 and Guardian instantly queries the Texas811 ticket database to determine if there is an active 811 ticket at this location.
If yes, no alert is generated. If not, Guardian flags it and immediately notifies the utility operator of an unauthorized (unticketed) excavation with the GPS coordinates and whether mechanical equipment is being used. This allows the utility operator to intervene before damage can occur.
For more information, contact Guardian@Texas811.org.