By Stephanie Painter
Texas811 is introducing a new version of call center software designed to make it more convenient for contractors and excavators to process their tickets online. GeoCall V3 provides improved mapping features and better navigability. “GeoCall V3 is all web-based, and it’s easy to use. Click on a link and you’re there,” explained Sarah Spears, Director of Technology for Texas811. “With the older V2 version, you had to log in through a Citrix console.”
“Over the next several months, we will be introducing features of GeoCall V3 as they become available or as we can coordinate them,” she said. “We’re currently using a hybrid version of GeoCall V2 and V3.”
The staff has worked on the new software platform for five years. “With GeoCall V3, contractors will need less training to use mapping features. Anyone who has gotten on Google maps or Bing should be able to navigate our map,” said Sarah. “Improved mapping will make it faster to process tickets and easier for excavators to get online and process their own tickets instead of talking to a person.”
The states of West Virginia, Alabama, and South Carolina have already transitioned to GeoCall V3. “The feedback from contractors in West Virginia is they’re using it to enter their own tickets more frequently as opposed to phoning in locate requests. The ease of use of V3 should result in more excavators doing more of their own tickets.”
“Our internal staff looked at technology that’s out there and got input from other states that Progressive Partnering provides software to,” said Sarah.
Texas has the highest call volume of any state. In 2011, calls totaled 1,931,007. In 2012, 2,076,799 calls were taken as of early December.
