Page 15 - West Virginia

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.
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pilots over the tower radio frequency that the runway was closed due to the accident. No airport staff were notified to physically close off the runway by placing lighted barricades out as a warning for pilots on the ground and in the air.
Though we followed all proper procedures and did our required checks prior to take off, we had no control over the failures of others and their lack of following expected procedures which had set up a path to disaster. The new variable of our operating at night and changing part of our routine led to our “human error” (both failing to notice the dark runway) which resulted in us stepping onto that path. I have to credit Bryce’s vigilance and experience as a pilot for getting us out of the situation that we found ourselves in.
Throughout the utility industry, I continue to meet the “best people”, organizations working hard to prevent a “chain
of errors” and keeping layers in place to support a “safety structure”.
As individuals, we should always stop and reevaluate our work practices when conditions we are normally used to (vehicles, equipment, personnel, weather, work locations, shifts, etc.) change.
Remember, “...the best people can sometimes make the
worst mistakes. Being trained for the job, being skilled and experienced reduces the absolute rate of errors, but it does not eliminate them entirely...”
Be prepared and be safe out there!
UTILITY & PIPELINE LOCATOR TRAINING
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888-882-8777 info@utasearch.com www.damagepreventiontraining.com
2024, Issue 3 West Virginia 811 • 13