Even before the 811 system was created in 2005, utility damage prevention worked the same way. The excavator contacts the 811 center to report the location of their worksite, describe the nature of their work and request an 811 ticket. Since then, that system has prevented billions of dollars of damage to underground facilities.
However, it has a blind spot. If the excavator doesn’t contact 811 to request a ticket, and excavates without a ticket, the facilities in the work area are unprotected. Without the 811 ticket, facility operators do not have an opportunity to mark their lines, request a meeting with the excavator, or have a representative present during excavation.
Excavation without an 811 ticket is the largest cause of damage to underground utilities. The Common Ground Alliance reports that 24% of all damage to underground utilities is a result of excavation without an 811 ticket. With an estimated $30 billion in annual damage to underground utilities in the U.S., damage from excavation without an 811 ticket adds up to $7.2 billion. Every year.
We need a way to protect underground utilities even when there is no 811 ticket.
Texas811 Guardian can do that.
Texas811 Guardian combines the sensing capability of fiber optic lines with the power of Texas811’s ticket database to identify when excavation is occurring without a current 811 ticket and to alert the facility owner so they can take protective action.
Here’s how Guardian works:
A fiber line within 30 ft of a protected underground utility line can detect excavation activity.
Machine learning teaches the system which signals are caused by excavation activity, eliminating nuisance alerts from non-excavation vibrations.
GPS coordinates of the excavation site are sent to Texas811.
Within seconds of sensing the activity, an alert is sent to Texas811.
Texas811 Guardian checks for an active 811 ticket.
The Texas811 ticket database is queried to determine whether there is an active ticket at those GPS coordinates. If an active ticket exists, no further action is taken. This eliminates nuisance alerts from excavation covered by an active ticket.
If there is not an active ticket at those GPS coordinates, the excavation is not authorized.
Texas811 alerts the facility operator with the GPS coordinates of the excavation and whether mechanical equipment is being used.
The facility operator can take protective action before damage occurs. The Next Generation of Damage Prevention™ … is here.
Contact us at Guardian@Texas811.org.