초록 ▼

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

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 obtained from at least one facilities map. 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.

대표청구항 ▼

1. In a computer comprising at least one hardware processor and at least one input/output (I/O) interface, a method for evaluating a quality of a performance of a locate and/or marking operation performed by a locate technician in response to a locate ticket and in advance of planned excavation acti

1. In a computer comprising at least one hardware processor and at least one input/output (I/O) interface, a method for evaluating a quality of a performance of a locate and/or marking operation performed by a locate technician in response to a locate ticket and in advance of planned excavation activities at a dig area identified by the locate ticket, the method comprising: A) receiving first information relating to the performance of the locate and/or marking operation, the locate and/or marking operation comprising identifying, in advance of the planned excavation activities, a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within the dig area identified by the locate ticket, wherein the first information is generated at least in part by at least one of a user device, a marking device, a locate device, and a combined locate and marking device used by the locate technician to perform the locate and/or marking operation, and the first information comprises an electronic manifest of the locate and/or marking operation, the electronic manifest comprising: at least one digital image of a geographic area proximate to and including the dig area; andat least one electronic marking overlaid on the at least one digital image indicating the presence or the absence of the at least one underground facility;B) comparing the first information, including the at least one electronic marking included in the electronic manifest, to second information obtained from at least one facilities map;C) automatically generating, based on B), at least one indication of a quality assessment of the performance of the locate and/or marking operation; andD) at least one of electronically storing and electronically transmitting, via the at least one I/O interface, the at least one indication of the quality assessment 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 D) comprises: transmitting at least one feedback message to the locate technician prior to completion of the locate 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 C). 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second information obtained from the at least one facilities map includes type information indicating at least one type of facility represented in the at least one facilities map. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the type information includes a number of different types of facilities represented in the at least one facilities map. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the second information obtained from the at least one facilities map includes a number of facility lines of a same type as the at least one underground facility intended to be detected and/or marked during the locate and/or marking operation. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the second information obtained from the at least one facilities map includes relative position information relating to at least one of a relative position, pattern, and arrangement of multiple facility lines represented in the at least one facilities map. 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the second information obtained from the at least one facilities map relates to a presumed physical location of at least one facility line represented in the at least one facilities map. 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the second information includes at least one geo-location data point derived from the at least one facilities map. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the second information obtained from the at least one facilities map includes information relating to at least one of one or more environmental landmarks, one or more architectural elements, and one or more traffic infrastructure elements represented in the at least one facilities map. 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the second information obtained from the at least one facilities map relates at least in part to at least one of: a date of the at least one facilities map;a number of revisions to the at least one facilities map;at least one of a source, a creator, an owner, and a custodian of the at least one facilities map;text information included in the at least one facilities map; andlegend information included in the at least one facilities map. 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the second information obtained from the at least one facilities map relates at least in part to at least one of a conduit run and a joint trench represented in the at least one facilities map. 13. The method of claim 1, wherein A) comprises: receiving the first information from the at least one of the user device, the marking device, the locate device, and the combined locate and marking device, wherein the first information includes at least one of locate information, marking information, and landmark information. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the at least one of the user device, 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. 15. The method of claim 13, wherein A), B), C), and D) are performed during or immediately following the locate and/or marking operation, and wherein the method further comprises: E) altering at least one operating characteristic of at least one of the marking device, the locate device, and the combined locate and marking device based on the at least one indication of the quality assessment. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the at least one indication of the quality assessment comprises a numeric score indicative of the quality of the performance of the locate and/or marking operation, and wherein E) further comprises: E1) altering the at least one operating characteristic of at least one of the marking device, the locate device, and the combined locate and marking device if the numeric score is below a predetermined threshold. 17. The method of claim 15, wherein E) comprises disabling at least one of the marking device, the locate device, and the combined locate and marking device if the at least one indication of the quality assessment is unsatisfactory. 18. The method of claim 13, wherein the first information includes at least one of: at least one location at which the locate technician used the at least one of the user device, the marking device, the locate device, and the combined locate and marking device to perform the locate and/or marking operation;facility-type information identifying a facility type of the 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 locate 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 at least one of the locate device and the combined locate and marking device used by the locate technician at the location of the at least one underground facility for which the locate technician detected the presence or the absence during the locate and/or marking operation;position information identifying at least one of an angle and an acceleration of the at least one of the marking device, the locate device, and the combined locate and marking device during the locate and/or marking operation; andenvironmental information describing at least one environmental condition present during the locate and/or marking operation. 19. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: B1) prior to B), selecting for comparison at least some of at least one of the first information and the second information based at least in part on at least one electronic dig area indicator that delimits the dig area on at least one digital image of a first geographic area proximate to and including the dig area. 20. The method of claim 19, wherein B1) comprises: receiving, via the at least one I/O interface, geographic coordinates for the at least one electronic dig area indicator; andselecting the at least some of the at least one of the first information and the second information that relates only to a second geographic area including the geographic coordinates for the at least one electronic dig area indicator. 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the second geographic area is within a predetermined radius of the geographic coordinates for the at least one electronic dig area indicator. 22. The method of claim 19, wherein B1) comprises: receiving, via the at least one I/O interface, dig area indicator geographic information including geographic coordinates for the at least one electronic dig area indicator; andselecting the at least some of the at least one of the first information and the second information that relates only to a second geographic area delimited by the dig area indicator geographic information. 23. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: B1) prior to B), selecting the at least one facilities map based at least in part on at least one electronic dig area indicator that delimits the dig area on a digital image of a first geographic area proximate to and including the dig area. 24. The method of claim 23, wherein B1) comprises: receiving, via the at least one I/O interface, dig area indicator geographic information including geographic coordinates for the at least one electronic dig area indicator; andselecting the at least one facilities map that includes a second geographic area including the geographic coordinates for the at least one electronic dig area indicator. 25. The method of claim 1, wherein: the at least one facilities map includes a plurality of facilities maps;the second information comprises a plurality of pieces of information derived from different ones of the plurality of facilities maps; andprior to B), the method comprises aggregating the plurality of pieces of information derived from the different ones of the plurality of facilities maps to obtain the second information. 26. The method of claim 25, wherein a confidence value is associated with each of the plurality of pieces of information, and wherein the method comprises aggregating the plurality of pieces of information by selecting at least one piece of information from the plurality of pieces of information based on respective confidence values associated with the plurality of pieces of information. 27. The method of claim 1, wherein: the first information includes a first set of geo-location data points indicating at least one geographic location at which at least one facility line of the at least one underground facility is detected and/or marked during the locate and/or marking operation; andthe second information includes a second set of geo-location data points indicating at least one presumed actual location of the at least one facility line as represented in the at least one facilities map; andB) comprises: B1) comparing the first set of geo-location data points with the second set of geo-location data points; andB2) determining a distance between each point in the first set and a nearest point in the second set to generate a vector of distances. 28. The method of claim 27, 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. 29. The method of claim 27, wherein C) comprises: C1) generating the at least one indication of the quality assessment based, at least in part, on the vector of distances generated in B2). 30. The method of claim 29, wherein C1) comprises: generating the at least one indication of the quality assessment based, at least in part, on a percentage of distance values in the vector of distances that are below a first threshold. 31. The method of claim 1, wherein C) 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. 32. The method of claim 31, wherein B) comprises: providing at least one quality assessment criterion relating to the second information obtained from the at least one facilities map;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; andassigning 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. 33. An apparatus for evaluating a quality of a performance of locate and/or marking operation performed by a locate technician in response to a locate ticket and in advance of planned excavation activities at a dig area identified by the locate ticket, the apparatus comprising: at least one input/output (I/O) interface;anda processor coupled to 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 performance of the locate and/or marking operation, the locate and/or marking operation comprising identifying, in advance of the planned excavation activities, a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within the dig area identified by the locate ticket, wherein the first information is generated at least in part by at least one of a user device, a marking device, a locate device, and a combined locate and marking device used by the locate technician to perform the locate and/or marking operation, and the first information comprises an electronic manifest of the locate and/or marking operation, the electronic manifest comprising: at least one digital image of a geographic area proximate to and including the dig area; andat least one electronic marking overlaid on the at least one digital image indicating the presence or the absence of the at least one underground facility;B) compares the first information relating to the locate and/or marking operation, including the at least one electronic marking included in the electronic manifest, to second information obtained from at least one facilities map;C) automatically generates, based on B), at least one indication of a quality assessment of the performance of the locate and/or marking operation; andD) at least one of electronically stores and controls the at least one I/O interface to electronically transmit the at least one indication of the quality assessment to provide an electronic record of the quality assessment. 34. At least one non-transitory computer-readable storage 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 performance of a locate and/or marking operation performed by a locate technician in response to a locate ticket and in advance of planned excavation activities at a dig area identified by the locate ticket, the method comprising: A) receiving first information relating to performance of the locate and/or marking operation, the locate and/or marking operation comprising identifying, in advance of the planned excavation activities, a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within the dig area identified by the locate ticket, wherein the first information is generated at least in part by at least one of a user device, a marking device, a locate device, and a combined locate and marking device used by the locate technician to perform the locate and/or marking operation, and the first information comprises an electronic manifest of the locate and/or marking operation, the electronic manifest comprising: at least one digital image of a geographic area proximate to and including the dig area; andat least one electronic marking overlaid on the at least one digital image indicating the presence or the absence of the at least one underground facility;B) comparing the first information relating to the performance of the locate and/or marking operation, including the at least one electronic marking included in the electronic manifest, to second information obtained from at least one facilities map;C) automatically generating, based on B), at least one indication of a quality assessment of the performance of the locate and/or marking operation; andD) at least one of electronically storing on the at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and electronically transmitting via the at least one I/O interface the at least one indication of the quality assessment to provide an electronic record of the quality assessment. 35. The apparatus of claim 33, further comprising at least one display device coupled to the processor, wherein the processor further: displays the at least one indication of the quality assessment on the at least one display device. 36. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein in D), the processor: transmits at least one feedback message to the locate technician prior to completion of the location and marking operation, the feedback message being generated based at least in part on the at least one indication of the quality assessment generated in C). 37. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the second information obtained from the at least one facilities map includes type information indicating at least one type of facility represented in the at least one facilities map. 38. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the type information includes a number of different types of facilities represented in the at least one facilities map. 39. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the second information obtained from the at least one facilities map includes a number of facility lines of a same type as the at least one underground facility intended to be detected and/or marked during the locate and/or marking operation. 40. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the second information obtained from the at least one facilities map includes relative position information relating to at least one of a relative position, pattern, and arrangement of multiple facility lines represented in the at least one facilities map. 41. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the second information obtained from the at least one facilities map relates to a presumed physical location of at least one facility line represented in the at least one facilities map. 42. The apparatus of claim 41, wherein the second information includes at least one geo-location data point derived from the at least one facilities map. 43. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the second information obtained from the at least one facilities map includes information relating to at least one of one or more environmental landmarks, one or more architectural elements, and one or more traffic infrastructure elements represented in the at least one facilities map. 44. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the second information obtained from the at least one facilities map relates at least in part to at least one of: a date of the at least one facilities map;a number of revisions to the at least one facilities map;at least one of a source, a creator, an owner, and a custodian of the at least one facilities map;text information included in the at least one facilities map; andlegend information included in the at least one facilities map. 45. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the second information obtained from the at least one facilities map relates at least in part to at least one of a conduit run and a joint trench represented in the at least one facilities map. 46. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein in A), the processor: receives the first information from the at least one of the user device, the marking device, the locate device, and the combined locate and marking device, wherein the first information includes at least one of locate information, marking information, and landmark information. 47. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein the at least one of the user device, the marking device, the locate device, and the combined locate and marking device includes the processer coupled the at least one I/O interface, wherein the processor executes the processor-executable instructions. 48. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein A), B), C), and D) are performed during or immediately following the locate and/or marking operation, and wherein the processor further: E) alters at least one operating characteristic of at least one of the marking device, the locate device, and the combined locate and marking device based on the at least one indication of the quality assessment. 49. The apparatus of claim 48, wherein the at least one indication of the quality assessment comprises a numeric score indicative of the quality of the performance of the locate and/or marking operation, and wherein in E), the processor further: E1) alters the at least one operating characteristic of at least one of the marking device, the locate device, and the combined locate and marking device if the numeric score is below a predetermined threshold. 50. The apparatus of claim 48, wherein in E), the processor disables at least one of the marking device, the locate device, and the combined locate and marking device if the at least one indication of the quality assessment is unsatisfactory. 51. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein the first information includes at least one of: at least one location at which the locate technician used the at least one of the user device, the marking device, the locate device, and the combined locate and marking device to perform the locate and/or marking operation;facility-type information identifying a facility type of the 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 locate 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 at least one of the locate device and the combined locate and marking device used by the locate technician to perform the locate and/or marking operation, and the first information at the location of the at least one underground facility for which the locate technician detected the presence or the absence during the locate and/or marking operation;position information identifying at least one of an angle and an acceleration of at least one of the marking device, the locate device, and the combined locate and marking device during the locate and/or marking operation; andenvironmental information describing at least one environmental condition present during the locate and/or marking operation. 52. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein prior to B), the processor further: B1) selects for comparison at least some of at least one of the first information and the second information based at least in part on at least one electronic dig area indicator that delimits the dig area on at least one digital image of a first geographic area proximate to and including the dig area. 53. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein in B1), the processor: receives, via the at least one I/O interface, geographic coordinates for the at least one electronic dig area indicator; andselects the at least some of the at least one of the first information and the second information that relates only to a second geographic area including the geographic coordinates for the at least one electronic dig area indicator. 54. The apparatus of claim 53, wherein the second geographic area is within a predetermined radius of the geographic coordinates for the at least one electronic dig area indicator. 55. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein in B1), the processor: receives, via the at least one I/O interface, dig area indicator geographic information including geographic coordinates for the at least one electronic dig area indicator; andselects the at least some of the at least one of the first information and the second information that relates only to a second geographic area delimited by the dig area indicator geographic information. 56. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein prior to B), the processor further: B1) selects the at least one facilities map based at least in part on at least one electronic dig area indicator that delimits the dig area on a digital image of a first geographic area proximate to and including the dig area. 57. The apparatus of claim 56, wherein in B1), the processor: receives, via the at least one I/O interface, dig area indicator geographic information including geographic coordinates for the at least one electronic dig area indicator; andselects the at least one facilities map that includes a second geographic area including the geographic coordinates for the at least one electronic dig area indicator. 58. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein: the at least one facilities map includes a plurality of facilities maps;the second information comprises a plurality of pieces of information derived from different ones of the plurality of facilities maps; andprior to B), the processor further aggregates the plurality of pieces of information derived from the different ones of the plurality of facilities maps to obtain the second information. 59. The apparatus of claim 58, wherein a confidence value is associated with each of the plurality of pieces of information, and wherein the processor further aggregates the plurality of pieces of information by selecting at least one piece of information from the plurality of pieces of information based on respective confidence values associated with the plurality of pieces of information. 60. The apparatus of claim 33, 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; andthe second information includes a second set of geo-location data points indicating at least one presumed actual location of the at least one facility line as represented in the at least one facilities map,and wherein in B), the processor:B1) compares the first set of geo-location data points with the second set of geo-location data points; andB2) determines a distance between each point in the first set and a nearest point in the second set to generate a vector of distances. 61. The apparatus of claim 60, 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. 62. The apparatus of claim 60, wherein in C), the processor: C1) generates the at least one indication of the quality assessment based, at least in part, on the vector of distances generated in B2). 63. The apparatus of claim 62, wherein in C1), the processor: generates the at least one indication of the quality assessment based, at least in part, on a percentage of distance values in the vector of distances that are below a first threshold. 64. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein in C), 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. 65. The apparatus of claim 64, wherein in B), the processor: provides at least one quality assessment criterion relating to the second information obtained from the at least one facilities map;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; andassigns 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. 66. In a computer comprising at least one hardware processor and at least one input/output (I/O) interface, a method for evaluating a quality of a performance of a locate and/or marking operation performed by a locate technician to identify a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility at a dig area, the method comprising: A) comparing first information relating to the performance of the locate and/or marking operation performed by the locate technician to second information obtained from at least one facilities map, wherein: the first information relating to the performance of the locate and/or marking operation includes at least one of: at least one location at which locating equipment was used by the locate technician 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 by the locate technician during the locate and/or marking operation;facility location information identifying a location of the at least one underground facility for which the locate 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 at least one of a locate device and a combined locate and marking device at the location of the at least one underground facility for which the locate technician detected the presence or the absence during the locate and/or marking operation;position information identifying at least one of an angle and an acceleration of at least one of a marking device, the locate device, and the combined locate and marking device during the locate and/or marking operation; andenvironmental information describing at least one environmental condition present during the locate and/or marking operation; andthe second information obtained from at least one facilities map includes at least one of: type information indicating at least one type of facility represented in the at least one facilities map;a number of different types of facilities represented in the at least one facilities map;a number of facility lines of a same type as the at least one underground facility intended to be detected and/or marked during the locate and/or marking operation;relative position information relating to at least one of a relative position, pattern, and arrangement of multiple facility lines represented in the at least one facilities map; anda presumed physical location of at least one facility line represented in the at least one facilities map;B) automatically generating, based on A), at least one indication of a quality assessment of the performance of the locate and/or marking operation; andC) at least one of electronically storing and electronically transmitting, via the at least one I/O interface, the at least one indication of the quality assessment to provide an electronic record of the quality assessment. 67. An apparatus for evaluating a quality of a performance of a locate and/or marking operation performed by a locate technician to identify a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility at a dig area, the apparatus comprising: at least one input/output (I/O) interface;anda processor coupled to the at least one I/O interface, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the processor, the processor: A) compares first information relating to performance of the locate and/or marking operation performed by the locate technician to second information obtained from at least one facilities map, wherein: the first information relating to the performance of the locate and/or marking operation includes at least one of: at least one location at which locating equipment was used by the locate technician 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 by the locate technician during the locate and/or marking operation;facility location information identifying a location of the at least one underground facility for which the locate 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 at least one of a locate device and a combined locate and marking device at the location of the at least one underground facility for which the locate technician detected the presence or the absence during the locate and/or marking operation;position information identifying at least one of an angle and an acceleration of at least one of a marking device, the locate device, and the combined locate and marking device during the locate and/or marking operation; andenvironmental information describing at least one environmental condition present during the locate and/or marking operation; andthe second information obtained from at least one facilities map includes at least one of: type information indicating at least one type of facility represented in the at least one facilities map;a number of different types of facilities represented in the at least one facilities map;a number of facility lines of a same type as the at least one underground facility intended to be detected and/or marked during the locate and/or marking operation;relative position information relating to at least one of a relative position, pattern, and arrangement of multiple facility lines represented in the at least one facilities map; anda presumed physical location of at least one facility line represented in the at least one facilities map;B) automatically generates, based on A), at least one indication of a quality assessment of the performance of the locate and/or marking operation; andC) at least one of electronically stores and controls the at least one I/O interface to provide an electronic record of the quality assessment. 68. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic manifest further comprises first geographic information indicating a location of the at least one electronic marking overlaid on the at least one digital image. 69. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the electronic manifest further comprises first geographic information indicating a location of the at least one electronic marking overlaid on the at least one digital image.