Page 8 - Texas811

Texas811 Demonstrates That Fiber Optic Sensing Can Minimize Damages Due to No One-Call Excavations
For the last 50 years, utility damage prevention has worked the same way. The excavator calls the notification center, describes the planned work, the center contacts facility owners
in the work area, and underground utilities are marked. This process has prevented billions of dollars of damage to underground utilities and saved countless lives ever since.
That initial excavator call drives the process; but without that call, the system doesn’t work.
Excavation without a valid one-call ticket is the largest cause of damage to underground utility facilities. According to the CGA, 24% of all damage nationwide results from
excavations without a one-call ticket. And 77% of damage due to no one- call ticket is caused by professional excavators.
We need a way to provide protection to high-value underground facilities even when there is no one-call ticket.
Fiber Optic Sensing provides a way to do that.
In March, Texas811 and CenterPoint Energy conducted a proof-of-concept test to demonstrate how fiber optic sensing can detect excavation activities near protected underground utilities. When excavation activity is detected, an alert is sent to Texas811, and our ticket database is queried. If a valid one-call ticket exists at the location of the alert,
no further action is taken. If there is not a valid one-call ticket at the location of the alert, an emergency notification is sent to the facility owner providing an opportunity to intercede before damage occurs.
CenterPoint and Texas811 presented the results of the proof- of-concept test to a standing- room-only crowd at the Common Ground Alliance Expo in April. The response was enthusiastic. Texas oil and gas executives interviewed commented “If it works as described, it will be a game changer.”
Go to www.Texas81.org/FOS
for additional information. Or contact us at FOS@Texas811.org.
6 • Texas811 2024, Issue 3