Municipalities

KorTerra Advantage: Locate Management and Productivity Management

Located in southern Wisconsin, The City of La Crosse has over 51,000 residents for which they manage water, sewer, and stormwater systems. With 1 locator, La Crosse processes nearly 10,000 tickets each year.

Challenge
In 2022 , before implementing KorTerra, the City of La Crosse used a fax to e-mail to automatic print process that the IT department had setup which was quickly becoming inoperable. The physical printing of tickets was causing emergency tickets to be missed as well as other inefficiencies so finding a new solution was mandatory. At that time, the City of La Crosse had only one locator on staff who consistently worked overtime throughout the year. When demand was high, they had to pull other staff from the department to help with locates which stole them from their other duties. It was clear that La Crosse needed to transform its operations to reduce personnel hours and speed up ticket processing, especially for emergency requests.

Solution

• Ticket screening and clearing cuts on-site locates by half.
• Mapping and dig box features helps to significantly reduce locate times by streamlining the process in the field.
• Emergency texts notify locators of urgent tickets on site, improving response times and bypassing office calls.
• Ticket history centralizes all information and eliminates the need to dig through old paper tickets when information is needed.

Win #1
50% of tickets cleared without a truck roll

Win #2
Reduced third party sewer cleaning spend by $50,000 -$80,000 as internal resources were able to focus on their core responsibilities when previously they had to be brought in to support locating.

Win #3
500+ hours of overtime eliminated per year

Results
Partnering with KorTerra and the shift to digital processes have brought about a remarkable transformation in their damage prevention procedures. The City has completely eliminated the need for printed tickets and hand-drawn maps, thereby boosting efficiency and promoting sustainability. Furthermore, the incorporation of mapping capabilities and ticket screening has optimized their operations, resulting in substantial reductions in locate times. The savings in time and resources have empowered the department staff to allocate their resources more effectively, enabling them to achieve greater productivity.

“The user experience with KorTerra is perfect. It is intuitive, fast, and easy to use. I give it all A+’s on the locator side.”

-John Lindahl, Locator, City of La Crosse, WI

KorTerra Advantage: Locate Management, Risk Management, and Productivity Management

Located in southwestern Ontario, the City of Woodstock is a growing community of about 46,000 people. The city processes around13,000 One Call tickets annually, managed by a team of eight (including one full time locator) who handle daily utility operations and locates for city infrastructure.

Challenge
The City of Woodstock faced a variety of challenges prior to implementing KorTerra. Their previous process required time-consuming, manual sketching and drawing for utility locates, which took up to 3-4 hours daily. As the city’s ticket volume grew by 10-15% annually, productivity needed to be improved. Additionally, inaccurate GIS mapping and inefficient workflows complicated operations, especially when handling after-hours emergencies. The city sought a more efficient solution to streamline their operations and meet the growing demands.

Solution 

• GIS Mapping Integration: KorTerra replaced manual sketches with integrated GIS mapping, allowing the city to quickly and accurately update records, eliminating the need for time-consuming drawings. The KorTerra photo  taking and map annotations product allowed for this to be done efficiently in a technologically modernized way.
• Emergency Notifications: KorTerra’s after-hours  notifications and call-back services helped Woodstock respond more effectively to emergencies, ensuring timely communication with all stakeholders.
• Reporting and Route Planning: The city’s ticket management reporting capabilities were greatly improved with KorTerra, and being able to see the tickets visually on the map allowed them to efficiently plan routes to ensure timely locates for both city and county infrastructure.

Win #1
$250,000+ saved annually due to increased efficiencies and productivity.

Win #2
3-4 hours of sketching saved per day with KorTerra’s GIS mapping integration.

Win #3
100% increase in number of locates completed per day.

Results
Since adopting KorTerra, the City of Woodstock has seen significant improvements in both efficiency and cost management. By removing 3-4 hours of sketching per day, the team can now complete 30-40 locates daily, compared to just 10-15 previously. The automation and accuracy of GIS mapping have eliminated manual errors, while the streamlined processes have cut down operational costs by hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. KorTerra’s integration into Woodstock’s workflows has resulted in improved productivity, reduced response times, and substantial cost savings, positioning the city to handle future growth more effectively.

“Using KorTerra’s system and GIS mapping significantly reduced the time we spent on 
sketching. With GPS integration being a natural next step for the industry, the software is 
clearly developed with future needs in mind.”

- Brandon Davis, Utility Locate Technician, City of Woodstock, ON

KorTerra Advantage: Locate Management and Productivity Management

Located in northeastern Indiana, the City of Fort Wayne is the second largest city in the state with a population of approximately 270,000. The city processes upwards of 64,000 One Call tickets each year with a group of 6-8 locators in the field daily.

Challenge
Prior to Fort Wayne’s transition to KorTerra, paper copies of all one call tickets received by the city were printed and assigned to locators by hand. Locators collected tickets in the office each morning and were required to return mid-day to retrieve the tickets for the afternoon. The city wanted to implement a more progressive, streamlined approach to ticket management.

Solution

• Map-based routing allowed the city to cut costs by automatically funneling incoming tickets to the most fitting mobile in the field. Prior to the implementation of KorTerra, this process required manual effort from a dispatcher to look up addresses and latitude/longitude locations to determine to which locator each ticket should be assigned.
• Sorting options within KorTerra made it possible for each locator to work more efficiently by customizing their ticket management solution based on individual preferences. Locators can visualize their assigned tickets on a map and plan out their day accordingly to ensure they aren’t driving back and forth across town between job sites.
• Facility Mapping enabled the city to clear tickets that didn’t require a locate quickly and efficiently without the cost of rolling a truck to send a locator on site.
• Automated Positive Response reduced the amount of time required for logging ticket completions and elevated the city’s record keeping by increasing accuracy and reporting capabilities.

Win #1
30+ hours/week of locator drive time saved.

Win #2
100% elimination of manual ticket distribution.

Win #3
Expanded reporting capabilities and enhanced insight into workflow.

Results 
Since implementing KorTerra, the City of Fort Wayne has experienced an immense increase in overall productivity. Each locator saves at minimum an hour of time per day as a result of no longer needing to retrieve paper tickets from the office. The city saved both time and fuel costs since transitioning to KorTerra, and locators are able to complete tickets with a more systematic approach. The increased reporting capabilities, easily accessible and accurate facility mapping data, timely and efficient locates, and reduced probability of human error that have occurred as a result of KorTerra implementation have led to improved safety for the Fort Wayne community.

“We met with a large public utility organization and they spoke very highly of KorTerra. We had the opportunity to observe the way they utilize KorTerra and a variety of the features offered; it sold itself based on how comprehensive and user friendly it was.”

-Matt Limpert, WMS Program Manager, City of Fort Wayne

KorTerra Advantage: Locate Management and Productivity Management

The City of Saint Paul has 1,874 miles of streets, 806 miles of sanitary sewer, 450 miles of storm sewer, 107 bridges, and 145 miles of bike lanes. With a team of 3 full-time locators and 4 full-time inspectors who fulfill locate duties, the city processes more than 150,000 locate tickets each year. 

Challenge

Throughout the past 5 years, the City of Saint Paul has seen a 20% increase in number of locate tickets received. Streamlining field resources and avoiding inefficiencies have become a more critical priority than ever. As a result, the city needed to put into effect a locate management approach that ensured the most effective use of resources while generating time and cost savings. 

Solution

• Customizable dashboards allow for easy viewing of real time ticket counts and statuses 
• Map-based routing empowers locators to efficiently complete their work resulting in 1 hour+ back per day per locator on average
• Tickets are easily transferred based on staffing changes or complexity of locate requirements
• Intuitive and easy-to-run reports provide detailed insights that help identify and eliminate inefficiencies 

Win #1
$40,000+ generated in yearly savings

Win #2
25% reduction in overtime costs

Win #3
1,500+ hours of locator time saved per year 

Results

After implementing KorTerra Locate Management, the City of Saint Paul has not only reduced costs by creating significant efficiency gains, but the accuracy and timeliness of locates has improved as well. Locators, supervisors, and administrators gained deeper insight into day-to-day operations. Tickets are automatically assigned based on specific geographical areas and locators have an optimized view of tickets within their territory, so routing is efficient. The City of Saint Paul has maximized the productivity of their staff resulting in a significant reduction in overtime pay. 

"KorTerra Locate Management has empowered our teams to streamline operations and maximize productivity to ensure we are always operating at peak efficiency."

-Graeme Chaple, Damage Prevention Supervisor, City of Saint Paul