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IN MARCH 2 024 , Texas811 and CenterPoint Energy worked with OptaSense and Dura-Line to conduct 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 operator providing an opportunity to intercede before damage occurs.
The test accurately detected the vibration activity, identified its source as manual or mechanical, and alerted Texas811 to the GPS of the vibration.
Utility damage prevention has worked the same way for fifty years. The excavator calls the notification center, describes the planned work, the center contacts facility operators
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 utilities. According to the Common Ground Alliance, 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.
This Isn’t Your Father’s Fiber Optic Sensing
Fiber Optic Sensing technology has greatly improved over
the last decade. New classification algorithms based on machine learning and AI are significantly more accurate in detecting and identifying unique vibration signatures. This advanced technology minimizes nuisance alerts caused by misidentifying non-excavation activities as an excavation. It can accurately identify excavation vibration signatures even in noisy environments like city traffic.
Processing alerts through the Texas811 database prior to sending them to the facility operators eliminates unnecessary alerts for excavation activity that is covered by an existing One Call ticket.
The proof-of-concept test results were showcased at the Common Ground Alliance Expo in April 2024 and the Texas Gas Association in June 2024, sparking significant interest at both events.
ACTS COMPANY MEMBERS
2024, Issue 4 Tennessee 811 • 15