Taking locating pics

[headcipher]

Hey, I just wanted to do some research as to just how the whole deal works with taking pics of locates.

How do the pics get attached to the locate requests?

Do you do any additional documentation?

Are there any companies out there that provide this service?

Thanks

[Trent3342]

Its very easy, if your TMS can do things correctly. It can be painless for the techs, if you get it working correctly

[FiosKing]

we take pictures and attached directly to the ticket for the photos... all we have to do is click "attach" on our ticket... the photos are stored on a large server our company has

[ProfessionalLocator]

Hey, I just wanted to do some research as to just how the whole deal works with taking pics of locates.

How do the pics get attached to the locate requests?

Do you do any additional documentation?

Are there any companies out there that provide this service?

Thanks

This is going to vary wildly by firm and their contract.

One place I worked had a simple way of doing it. In the comments section of the form where the complaint is completed we put in the photo number as it was in the digital camera. The digital camera was downloaded onto the laptop hard drive to a file. We created a file name based on the date so photos 22,23 &23 taken today would be in file 1_6_10. If a damage occurred or for any other reason the photos were needed the they would then be pulled off the hard drive.

Some firms download the photos from the camera to the hard drive and then transmit them via wireless the next time they transmit their data.

I dumped the batteries that came with the camera and switched to rechargeable. I had two sets of batteries, one in the camera and one in the charger and swapped them back and forth as they drained down. This is a lot cheaper than replacing batteries and you are more sure of having a working set of batteries on hand.

That digital camera came in real useful when responding to an emergency dig call. Not unusual to be called to the site of a damage and the locator can photo the site usually before all the marks can be too badly disturbed. This is especially useful after hours.

I was on a new homes construction site and by chance ran into a damage investigator of another firm. The damage had been done weeks ago and by now everything was buried and the final grade completed. They were so overloaded with work that they seldom could respond to the damages in time to properly document them. Plus he showed me his paperwork. He had damage reports in raw format that needed to be completed by the 6 week deadline. He as rushing to finish the ones that were due the next day. If their locator that had responded to the emergency ticket to repair the damage had a digital camera then they would have real documentation.

For noobies take note: Carry your own camera if not supplied one and document difficult locates, locates where you suspect the marks will be disturbed or damages. Comes under the heading of CYA.

[yahoo]

we take pictures of our locates can not explain the technology of how all this works.....sorry!

[Paint My Way]

Call the Geek Squad.....lol

[arkupsdsi]

Speaking of post locate pics, Our company is just starting to implement it and i was asked by one of our locators if we could expect trouble from homeowners watching us take pictures of their yard. Are we possibly looking at irate people? My only suggestion was to make sure he wore his vest and id badges at all times. and try to avoud looking like you are taking pictures in windows.