We hear a lot about broadband bringing high-speed internet connection to underserved areas of the country, but broadband’s ability to significantly reduce damage to underground utilities is not as well known.
Here’s the scoop. According to the Common Ground Alliance (CGA), the number one cause of damage to underground utilities is excavation without an 811 ticket. The CGA says this is the cause of 24% of all reported damages. Some operators report damage from excavation without an 811 ticket at over 40%. This is a significant problem. Utility operators cannot protect themselves from damage when the excavator doesn’t request an 811 ticket. They can’t mark their lines and don’t know someone is excavating near their facilities.
It’s a blind spot in their damage prevention and currently no way to address this problem.
Texas811 Guardian combines the sensing capabilities of broadband fiber optic lines with the power of Texas811’s ticket database to identify excavation that is occurring without a current 811 ticket and to alert the facility operator 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 and the nature of the excavation activity (manual or mechanical) are sent to Texas811 within seconds of being detected.
Texas811 Guardian checks the Texas811 ticket database for an active 811 ticket. This query determines whether there is an active ticket at those GPS coordinates. If an active ticket exists, no further action is taken.
If there is not an active 811 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.
This allows the facility operator to take protective action before damage occurs.
Broadband deployment is enabling Texas811 Guardian to lead the way into The Next Generation of Damage Prevention™.
For more information, contact us at Guardian@texas811.org.