Stop Counting 811 Tickets. Start Measuring Scope.
For years, we in damage prevention have measured safety and performance in terms of per ticket. At first glance, that seems logical — 811 tickets are the common denominator across organizations, and they’re easy to count. But this approach hides more than it reveals.
A single ticket could represent a homeowner planting a tree in a backyard — or a multi-mile fiber installation intersecting dozens of underground utilities. By treating those two scenarios as equal, we’re doing ourselves a disservice. Ticket counts flatten risk, effort, and progress into a misleading metric.
If we want to tell a clearer story — and make better decisions — it’s time to change the denominator.
What if, instead of measuring damages per 1,000 tickets, we measured damages per 1,000 feet of facility overlap with the dig site — and more broadly, measured the true scope, not just the count of tickets?
And what if, instead of measuring a field tech’s performance in tickets per hour, we measured how many feet of facility overlap they painted and flagged per day? Wouldn’t that tell a fuller story?
That shift would change the conversation at every level — from executives planning resources, to managers balancing workloads, to field techs in the field proving the value of their work.
Why Ticket Counts Mask Progress
On paper, two districts that each process 10,000 tickets per month may look the same. So, when one district struggles with on-time performance, the quick fix often becomes pushing managers harder: train crews better, route tickets more efficiently, stop over-marking.
But what if the real difference was scope? District A, with no performance issues, averages 50 feet of facility overlap per ticket. District B — the one falling behind — averages 500 feet.
- Who needs more resources to keep up?
- Who’s expending more effort?
- Who’s really facing more risk?
- And most importantly — whose damage prevention program is actually more effective?
Ticket counts alone can’t answer those questions. Scope-based metrics can. They reveal not just how much work is being done, but whether damages are being reduced relative to the true risk exposure of each district.
We all know this simple fact: ticket counts year over year hide reality. Dig sites are getting larger, project tickets are becoming the norm, and facility overlap is growing. Yet many organizations still use ticket volumes as the basis for assigning resources and budgets. That has proven to be a mistake. Let’s say the quiet thing out loud: ticket numbers alone don’t tell the full story. In fact, they might even tell the wrong story.
The result? Teams are caught off guard by large projects, performance metrics take a hit, damages rise — and morale suffers. Field techs tasked with managing massive project tickets with significant facility overlap are unfairly judged against traditional “tickets per hour” expectations. Their effort doesn’t show up in the numbers, even though the workload is far greater.
Meanwhile, the hard, honest work of damage prevention specialists — the damages they’ve actually prevented — often goes unnoticed. Anecdotes are shared, but without supporting data, ticket counts remain the baseline. Isn’t it time to change what we measure?
The Solution: A Smarter Denominator — Dig Site Overlap
Imagine if organizations measured dig site overlap — the total linear feet of infrastructure intersecting a dig site — as a standard performance metric. It would provide a clearer, more actionable picture:
- True Risk: Dig site overlap pinpoints where underground facilities intersect with the dig site and where damages are most likely to occur.
- Mapping: Integrations with systems such as ArcGIS, availability of shapefiles, and improved electronic white lining at call centers make dig site overlap analysis increasingly accurate and accessible.
- Effort and Complexity: Dig site overlap transforms a vague ticket into an objective measure of workload, helping organizations align resources with actual risk.
It’s true that not every 811 ticket today comes with a perfectly defined dig site. But electronic white lining adoption is increasing at call centers, and excavator awareness of the functionality is improving. The accuracy of dig site representations is getting better and better — making scope metrics more reliable and meaningful every year.
By shifting to scope-based metrics like dig site overlap, every level of the organization benefits:
- Executives gain a truer view of performance, tying damages and efficiency outcomes directly to scope, not just ticket volumes.
- Managers can balance workloads fairly across crews, assign the right teams to the riskiest jobs, and plan proactively for large projects.
- Field Techs can demonstrate performance in terms of real work completed, not just tickets closed, and be fairly recognized for managing complex, high-risk jobs. And with Dig Site Scope, they can see the scope of each ticket at a glance — without even opening the map. This makes daily planning easier: tickets with a larger dig site overlap may need to be addressed first, while those with less overlap and later due dates can wait.
What If My Maps Aren’t Perfect?
It’s a fair question: “What if my facility maps aren’t the best?” or “We need better maps.” We hear this often at CGA events. This is where Facility Proximity changes the equation.
Imagine being able to measure the distance from the dig site to the nearest facility when no dig site overlap exists. That proximity data gives districts a safety net:
- Tickets with facilities far away can be cleared quickly, reducing unnecessary work.
- Tickets within a certain proximity threshold can be flagged for further review — preventing damages that might otherwise slip through.
- Managers can make smarter decisions on how to load balance, route, and close out tickets based on both dig site overlap and facility proximity.
Even if maps aren’t perfect, proximity ensures organizations can still make damage prevention decisions grounded in data. Combined with dig site overlap and dig site size, facility proximity becomes a powerful variable for reducing risk while managing workloads effectively.
Making Scope Visible at Ticket Creation
Now imagine if scope metrics didn’t require manual review at all. With solutions like KorTerra’s Dig Site Scope, data on dig site size, facility overlap, and dig site overlap is automatically surfaced the moment a ticket is created.
That means:
- Executives can see resource demands and risk exposure across districts immediately, making budgets and planning more accurate.
- Managers can prioritize tickets with the highest damage potential, balance workloads, and assign crews with precision.
- Field Techs can stop being judged on tickets per hour and instead be measured by the true scope of work they handle — recognizing the difference between clearing ten small overlaps and safely navigating a single complex project with thousands of feet of dig site overlap.
In locating, time is money — but safety is priceless. The more referenceable data we can surface on the ticket, the more reliably field techs can complete work, the more efficiently managers can deploy resources, and the lower the risk of damages caused by rushed or incomplete responses.
Beyond Ticket Counts: A Path Forward
Metrics drive behavior. If the damage prevention industry continues to use tickets as the denominator, we’ll keep measuring the wrong thing — and we’ll keep undervaluing the real progress already being made in reducing damages.
But what if we redefined success? What if executives measured impact in terms of scope, managers measured performance in terms of balanced workloads, and field techs were recognized for the complexity of the work they completed — not just the number of tickets they touched?
By shifting to scope-based metrics — dig site overlap, dig site size, facility proximity, and more — organizations not only improve efficiency and resource planning, they also gain the ability to prove which damage prevention programs are truly effective.
And perhaps just as importantly: scope-based metrics create fairer, more motivating measurements for the teams doing the work. Field techs aren’t penalized for tackling large, complex projects; managers aren’t left scrambling when big jobs appear; executives can finally see the true impact of their investment in prevention.
It’s time to rethink success. Stop counting tickets. Start measuring scope.
About KorTerra, Inc.
KorTerra is the leading provider of damage prevention software, protecting billions of dollars in underground infrastructure. For over 30 years, the leading stakeholders in gas distribution, pipeline operation, telecommunications, electric distribution, contract locating, and city, county, and state governments have trusted KorTerra as their damage prevention solution. KorTerra helps mitigate risk and ensure the safety of field personnel by providing secure software platforms for processing 811 locate tickets, tracking and reporting asset damages, meeting regulatory compliance, and more. Explore additional solutions at korterra.com and follow KorTerra on LinkedIn.
Media Contact:
Paige Nygaard – KorTerra, Inc.
952.368.1911
marketing@korterra.com