How Irth-Energy Transfer Collaboration Created Better Processes for Damage Prevention

Strong collaboration and responsiveness produced more efficient processes making UtiliSphere™ an even better tool for Energy Transfer and the damage prevention industry.

Problem

With an extensive infrastructure and roughly 800,000 tickets processed annually, Energy Transfer required a robust 811 ticket management system. Before Irth Solutions, Energy Transfer used a ticket management system created by a sole proprietor. When he retired, so did his system.

Energy Transfer has 1,160 in-house locators who help protect its critical network infrastructure. Those locators needed access to reliable data when out in the field. The Energy Transfer damage prevention team also required reporting capability on damage prevention efforts such as past-due tickets, the number of tickets closed per locator and productivity reports to stay ahead of the curve on damage prevention.

Since Energy Transfer operates across most of the United States, they also must meet the requirements of multiple one call centers. An 811 ticket management system that was efficient, effective and could accommodate the varied and always-changing requirements of different one call centers would help Energy Transfer’s damage prevention professionals save time, identify potential issues and reduce risk and damage.

Above all, an 811 ticket management system provider responsive to their requests was paramount. For example, Energy Transfer needed UtiliSphere to auto-generate replies for Spanish-speaking excavators and a configurable smart ticket process.

Solution

“Irth Solutions is the shelf that Energy Transfer puts its damage prevention data on – a reliable and robust platform that allows us to better track 811 tickets and improve damage prevention efforts,” said Molly Carriere, Sr. Manager, Damage Prevention/One Call.

Irth Solutions’ development team is responsive to Energy Transfer’s ideas and needs. “If you come up with an idea and share it with Irth, the development team can help you make that happen,” said Carriere.

Energy Transfer works with many Spanish-speaking excavators. As a result, its damage prevention team wanted UtiliSphere to auto-translate excavator responses to Spanish in real-time rather than have canned responses pre-translated.

The Irth Solutions development team made this enhancement happen for Energy Transfer and now this functionality is available to all customers.

“This idea was something that Irth really appreciated and took hold of. They quickly got that working for us,” said Carriere. “They were just as responsive to our needs for the smart ticket process. Irth Solutions’ smart ticket process allows us to determine risk definitions appropriate to our specific needs. We’re not forced into a template. When we brought that up as a challenge, they were fully capable and happy to help.”

Every one call center in North America connects to UtiliSphere. The platform has flexible reporting, a complete damage prevention suite of solutions and offerings, and unparalleled insight into risk.

Results

UtiliSphere gives Energy Transfer detailed data of all the tickets they process, allowing them to increase visibility across their entire workflow and stay ahead of potential damage.

For example, a past-due ticket report alerts Energy Transfer of potential risks. Energy Transfer’s management team can review the past due ticket report and intervene.

This oversight provides proof of progression when Energy Transfer goes through an audit. At every single audit Energy Transfer is asked: How are you showing growth? What are you doing to make your system better? UtiliSphere’s reporting and data helps Energy Transfer determine what’s past due and understand why it’s happening, who is involved and more. With this insight, Energy Transfer can drill down to who it is, where it is and what it is.

The data UtiliSphere collects allows Energy Transfer to run reports on excavators, equipment and regions or call centers, look at what’s going on and ultimately help the company determine where they should focus damage prevention efforts.

“UtiliSphere is a stellar house to capture stellar data for damage prevention efforts,” said Carriere. “We trust the data that it captures.”

Additionally, UtiliSphere can be configured with specific responses for each state’s one call requirements. The detailed data Irth captures for Energy Transfer provides the facts for each ticket: who did the locate, when was it done and more. This creates a chain of accountability and cuts back on finger-pointing. This information supports compliance, identifies risk, prioritizes focus and improves damage prevention efforts.

Whenever the Energy Transfer team determines an enhancement, whether it’s auto-translations, configurable risk definitions or even something minor such as alphabetical sorting, they communicate that to the Irth Solutions team. This collaboration results in more efficient processes and enhanced functionality for UtiliSphere for Energy Transfer and all Irth Solutions customers.

Captured critical data.
UtiliSphere captures essential data that informs Energy Transfer’s damage prevention efforts, ensures accountability and compliance, and supports auditing.
Connected to all one call centers.
Since UtiliSphere connects to all one call centers, Energy Transfer doesn’t waste any time manually updating their ticket system for each state where they provide service.
Configured for Energy Transfer.
The Irth Solutions’ development team and the flexibility of the platform accommodate Energy Transfer’s unique needs.
Improved visibility.
UtiliSphere brings critical information to Energy Transfer’s locators and damage prevention professionals within one platform.

CASE STUDY | 811 TICKET MANAGEMENT

Energy Transfer