Blue Stakes of Utah
Remote Access
Ticket Entry (QTE)

(Updated 10/19/06)

 

 

Welcome to the Blue Stakes Newtin Remote Access Ticket Entry user’s manual.  This form of ticket entry was designed to help contractors enter their own utility location requests through the internet.

 

This document will serve as an instructional manual and reference guide.  It will give step-by-step information on how to use the Remote Access Ticket Entry screen, as well as what information is required to process each locate request.

 

Blue Stakes Remote Access Ticket Entry is designed to be user friendly.  One particularly helpful feature is the data entry prompts. When your cursor is blinking in any field on the ticket, you can look up at the bottom left-hand side of the screen and see a brief description of the information that should be entered into that field.

 

The only requirements needed in order to use this system are a connection to the Internet (the faster, the better of course) and Internet Explorer 5.5 Service Pack 2 (SP2) or Internet Explorer 6.0 Service Pack 1 (SP1) or higher.  If you don't have I.E. 5.5 (SP2) or later, you can download it from the “Web Applications” page on the Blue Stakes website. You will also want to use screen size 1024 x 768 in order to see the screen in its entirety.  This program will only work using Internet Explorer; it does not function properly with Mozilla, Firefox, Netscape or AOL.

 

Remote Access Table of Contents
   
Getting Started
Connecting to the site
Remote Access TE Menu Options
 
Remote Access Ticket Entry
Explanation of Fields
Required Fields
Buttons and Functions
Types of Tickets
   
Addresses
Single address entry
Multiple property address
Intersection entry
Street to street entry
Begin at address, end at intersection
Excavation bound by four roads
Highway and milepost marker
Directions from nearest address
   
Ticket Search
   
Helpful Information
Shortcut keys and help
Function Keys
  Quick reference: Do’s and don’ts

 

[ Top ] [ Table of Contents ] [ Section I ] [ Section II ] [ Section III ] [ Section IV ] [ Section V ]
I. Getting Started

A. Connecting to the site:

In order to enter utility locate requests, you will need to go to www.bluestakes.org, and then click on the “Web Applications” link on the left hand side of the screen.  Then click on the New User Log In, a box will pop up, enter your User name in the top line and your Password in the bottom line then click the OK button.

 

·         Account:  Is the letter “r” or “q” and then the first initial of your first name and your full last name.  (rjdoe).

 

·         Password:  A combination of letters and numbers and a special character, minimum of 7 digits.                   (The password is case sensitive; make sure all letters are in the same case as when you set your password.)

 

After you enter your Account name and Password and then click the "OK" button, you will be logged in to our system with the ability to use the functions outlined below.

 

B. Remote Access TE Menu Options:

There will be 3 sections across the top of the screen with the following menu options: Tickets, Maintenance, Reports.

 

·         Tickets:  This will give you two sub-menus: Profile and QuickMap. 

 

·         .NET Setup:  This explains How to run the Newtin ticket entry applications on your computer.  Please make sure all of this is followed and completed before entering any requests.

 

·         Ticket Entry: This is where you will enter your own locate requests.  It allows you to submit new tickets as well as retransmit, update, cancel and 2nd notice existing tickets.  You can also inquire previous tickets.  Emergency and meet requests will still need to be called into the Blue Stakes center.

 

·         Ticket Inquiry: Allows you to search through tickets that have been entered by your company only. See the “Ticket Inquiry” section below.

 

·         Maintenance: Allows you to update some of your company information.

                       

·         Profile: This allows you to update some of your personal information.  Make any changes necessary and then click on the "Update" button to save the changes.  All other changes need to be made by contacting the WEB Applications Coordinator directly.

Type:  Indicates whether you're an Excavator or Other. (Since you are with a company, it should always remain as an E.)

Company/Name: The name of your company.

Address: Company mailing address, including state & zip code.

Ext.: Your phone extension. (If applicable)

Caller: Your first and last name.

Fax: Fax number including area code.

E-mail: Your email address; utilities may contact you to clear the area through email, please make sure this is correct.

Comments: Not used

 

·         Reports:  Use this function to see a summary of the tickets created by your company.

 

[ Top ] [ Table of Contents ] [ Section I ] [ Section II ] [ Section III ] [ Section IV ] [ Section V ]

II. Remote Access Ticket Entry

 

 

A. Explanation of Fields:

Following is a list of every field in the Ticket Entry screen.  There is a brief explanation of each field for quick reference.  Also, remember when your cursor is in each field, you can look at bottom left hand side of the screen and see what is required for that field.

 

Phone – Your company main phone number. 

 

P Button – For Blue Stakes purposes only.

 

Company – (Name of your company.)

 

C Button – (For Blue Stakes purposes only.)

 

Caller – First and last name for RTE account.

 

Phone – An alternate daytime phone number to contact you.

 

Ext – Your phone number extension if applicable.

 

Caller Type – “E” represents Excavator.

 

Email – Your email address.  Some utilities respond by email to clear the area, so if you would like email clearances, make sure there is an email address here.

 

This – Sends an email confirmation of this ticket to your email address.

 

All – Sends an email confirmation of this and all future tickets to your email address.

 

Fax – Your company’s fax number.

 

This – Sends a fax confirmation of this ticket to the fax number.

 

Address – Your company’s mailing address.

 

Zip – Zip code (in mailing address).

 

State – State name (in mailing address).

 

Place – City that relates to zip code (in mailing address).

 

These fields have been grayed out because they are not changeable, if any of the information in these fields needs to changed, please email or call the Web Applications Coordinator at rte@bluestakes.org or 801.208.2104 or 800.662.7836 ext 2104.

 

Field Contact – Name of person on site to contact, or someone familiar with the project.

 

Phone – Enter the field contact’s phone number including the area code, but without dashes.

 

Ext – If there is an extension number for the field contact, enter it; if not, leave it blank.

 

Done For – Who is the work being done for? 

 

Work Type* – What type of work is being done?  Be specific; don’t use Excavation, Boring, Digging or Trenching.  You will notice this does have a drop down box, that you can select your work type from. It is also a free text field so if you don’t see your work type, you can enter it yourself.  Please be specific with the work type descriptions, this way the utility companies know specifically what you will be digging for as required by law. E.g. instead of entering INSTL UTILITIES, something more specific would be INSTL SWR / WTR / PWR LINES.

 

Trenchless* – Will boring, tunneling, or trenchless drilling be done? (Y/N/U) Upon answering this question your cursor will automatically be moved to the next field.

 

Blasting* – Will explosives be used? (Y/N) Upon answering this question your cursor will automatically be moved to the next field.

 

County* – County where excavation will be done. This also has a drop down box with all of the county names.

 

Place* – Place where excavation will be done. (City or unincorporated county) This also has a drop down box with all of the city names in the specific county that has been entered. If the dig site is not within city limits, please put the county here with the Co at the end, without a period e.g. Summit Co, do not spell out the word county.

Note: The city, town, or county listed in the place field plays a very important role in the proper notification of utility members.  Please make sure the entire dig site is actually in the city, town, or unincorporated county listed in the Place field.  For example do not put Park City in the Place field if the dig site is in Jeremy Ranch, which is outside of the Park City limits.  If it is in the county, remember you will also need to put how far and in which direction it is from the nearest city; this information will go in the Remarks field.

 

Address – Property address where excavation will be done. (Numbers only) Please only enter building or house addresses in this field, you can also enter building or house address ranges separating the numbers with a dash, e.g. 421-427. Please do not enter numbered streets in this field; they go in the Cross 1 & Cross 2 fields, explained below.

 

Street* – Street name of property address. Be sure to include the directional prefix for the street name, if applicable, however, it is required in Salt Lake County e.g. E Barton Ave. Make sure you include the street type as well (e.g. ST, RD, BLVD, AVE, CIR, etc.). Do not spell out directional prefixes or include punctuation.

 

ST Button – Look up street name (to confirm spelling).  By pressing this button it will do a search in our mapping database and list all roads similar to the street entered in the street field.  Please be careful when selecting a street from this box.  Upon selecting a street, it will change what was entered in the street field, just make sure that is the road you are looking for and is in the correct place.

 

Coords – Numbered coordinate for street name. This is a required field for streets with names in Salt Lake County.  Although it is not required in any other county a street coordinate is extremely helpful in the location of the address on the map, as well as out in the field.

 

Cross 1 – First intersecting cross street.  Only enter something in this field if there is not a physical address, or if it is at an intersection. You cannot have anything in this field if there is something in the Address field.

 

C1 Button – Works the same as the ST Button.

 

Coords – Numbered coordinate for Cross 1 street name. (Do not enter “approx” or “about” in this field)

 

Cross 2 – Second intersecting cross street (only used for street to street entry).

 

C2 Button – Works the same as the ST Button.

 

Coords – Numbered coordinate for Cross 2 street name.

 

Note:  An example of street-to-street entry would be on A St going from B St to C St.  So you would enter A ST in the Street field, B ST in the Cross 1 field and C ST in the Cross 2 field. This is the only time a street is entered in the Cross 2 field.

 

Subdivision – Subdivision, complex or business name if applicable.

 

Lot – Lot, unit, or building number if applicable. (Do not list unit numbers in street field)

 

Side of St – Side(s) of street property is on. This also has a drop down list to select the street side. (N /S / E / W / NW / NE / SW / SE / or B for Both)

Note: Upon entering B in Side of St field, does not mean they will mark all the way across the street, this is telling the locators you want a part of the property on both sides of the road marked, not the road itself.

 

Side of Lot* – Part(s) of property that you will be digging on.  This also has a drop down list to select the part of lot to be marked. If this doesn’t describe exactly what needs to be marked, leave it blank and then enter the specific staking instructions in the Locate/Stake Info field.

Note: If the lot is on a corner you can not enter “front” in the Side of Lot field because there are two frontages, so they won’t know which frontage you want marked.  So in the Locate/Stake Info field you will need to state, “PLS STK BOTH FRONTAGES” or you can specify which frontage by selecting it from the drop down list: NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, or WEST.

 

Rd Excv* – Will excavation be done in or under the road? (Y/N)  Upon answering “N,” it will jump to the Locate/Stake Info field.  If you enter “Y,” it will take you to the Rd Excv Area field.

 

Rd Excv Area – Part(s) of the road/intersection to be checked for utility lines.  This also has a drop down list to select which part of the road/intersection to be marked.

Short – Half way into road

Long – All the way across the road (from curb to curb, nothing beyond the asphalt)

Entire Intersection – Intersection itself, nothing into the lots on any corner

Any Quarter or Half of the intersection.

Note: If there is more than one road that fronts the dig site (corner lot), specify in the locate field which road(s) they need to mark into.  Also, if the selections from the list do not explain clearly what part of the road needs to be marked, then select SEE LOCATE FIELD.  Then in the Locate/Stake Info field enter the specific staking instructions that pertain to the road. Just remember “SEE LOCATE FIELD” refers to the Locate/Stake Info field below, it does not mean to go to the actual dig site.

 

Locate/Stake Info* – Additional staking instructions if needed.  If Side of Lot is left blank, there must be staking instructions in this field.  Specific staking instructions like “STK A 10 FT RADIUS AROUND THE EXISTING POWER POLE ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE PROPERTY,” or “STAKE 10 FT INTO THE FRONT OF THE LOT FROM THE EDGE OF THE ROAD ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE RD,” go here also.  If you are in the road, only put the note **DIGGING IN THE ROAD ONLY** in this field too.  Remember to also spell out directions when using them (e.g. If you are continuing north for 500 ft, spell out north, do not abbreviate it as N).

 

Remarks – Additional description information if needed.  Enter information that does not directly pertain to the physical marking of the request.  Things such as: directions to a dig site, the description of a house (like, this is a pink house on a ½ acre of ground).  You can also note in this field that the address is in a culdesac, or the coordinate for Jones St is an approximate. If you have any notes pertaining to the marking of the dig site such as: **PLEASE USE PAINT & FLAGS** or **AREA HAS BEEN PRE-MARKED W/WHITE PAINT** then put these comments in this field.  Remember if you are referring to travel north for 500 ft, spell out north; do not abbreviate it as N.  Also remember if you put a County in the place field you will need to specify how far and in which direction the dig site is from the nearest city in this field as well as all other ticket type remarks for 2nd notices, Retransmits and Cancels. 

 

Map Button – Go to map.  Click this button to enter the map.  Draw a polygon to cover the dig site area and save it to exit out of the map.  How to do this will be explained more in-depth later. 

Note: Each request you create will have to be located on our mapping system. The ticket will be sent to participating utility companies that have lines in the polygon area that you draw on the map. Drawing a polygon that is the correct size and in the correct location is crucial to ensure the correct utility companies receive the ticket. An incorrect polygon may result in some utilities not receiving the ticket, resulting in their lines not being marked in the field. RTE Users are responsible to ensure correct utility notification by drawing a polygon that accurately covers the dig site area.

 

Latitude – Latitude of excavation if applicable (north coordinate).

 

Longitude – Longitude of excavation if applicable (west coordinate, must begin with – sign).

 

Normal – Mark ticket as Normal priority. (Y/N)  Upon answering “Y,” the cursor will jump to the Header field. Upon answering “N,” the cursor will just stay in that field, but you can not submit the request unless there is a Y here.

 

Emergency – This field is not accessible, if you have an emergency, it must be called in to the Blue Stakes center.

 

Meet – This field is not accessible, if you have to set up a meet, it must be called in to the Blue Stakes center.

 

Meet Date – This field is not accessible, if you have to set up a meet, it must be called in to the Blue Stakes center.

 

Header – Secondary header message (appears immediately after the ticket header when ticket is delivered).  It is not necessary to enter the header for 2nd Notices, Cancels or Retransmits, because when this type of ticket is processed, it will automatically be entered. Only enter information in here that is important for locators to read first.

Note: This field is used internally by Blue Stakes

 

Get Members Button – Adds member utilities to ticket from selected map area. The ticket will be sent to these utilities.

 

Mbr Info Button – Clicking this button will display the member descriptions, phone numbers and who marks their lines.  The receiver number will be listed first and the After Hour Emergency numbers are listed last. 

 

Submit – Submit ticket for delivery.  The ticket number will be displayed in the top left hand corner of the screen.  If the required fields aren’t completed, you will get an error message.

 

Other Buttons

 

Add Member – This will allow you to add a member to the ticket.

 

Map Suspend – This will put the ticket into map suspend.

 

Suspend – This will put the ticket into regular suspend.

 

Void – This will void the ticket.

 

Abort – This will abort the ticket.  It will not be sent to any utilities and you will not be given a ticket number.

 

B. Required Fields:

 

The required fields are indicated with an asterisk (*) in the previous section.  Here is a list of them for quick reference:

 
All Caller Information

Work Type

Trenchless

Blasting

County and Place

Street

Side of Lot*

Road Excv

Locate/Stake Info*

Grids

 

You can not submit a request without the appropriate information in these fields.

 

·         Although the Side of Lot field is a required you can actually leave it blank, but, if you leave it blank then the Locate/Stake Info field becomes a required field.  This is telling the locators where you plan on digging so they can mark their utility lines in that area.  If the selections do not explain clearly the portion of the lot to be marked in the Side of Lot field, leave it blank, but you must enter specific staking instructions in the Locate/Stake Info field.

 

 

 

C. Buttons and Functions:

 

The function buttons are listed across the top of the screen.  You can choose to do any function by either clicking on that button or by pressing ALT and the underlined letter.  To view the underlined letter press ALT once, then you can push the underlined letter.  For example to do a new ticket, press ALT N, then this will pull up a box that asks if you want to clear the ticket.  Then select the appropriate button: Yes (to clear everything) or No, but clear grids (keeps everything but the grids) or No, but keep grids (keeps everything including grids).  The short cut is also listed next to each function below.

                                 

Inquire (Alt I) - (Inquiry) Allows you to look at an existing ticket.  Enter the nine-digit number into the white box and then click on OK button, or hit enter.  The ticket will then be displayed.

 

New (Alt N) - Allows you to create a new ticket.  

 

Update (Alt P) - Allows you to update an existing ticket, extending the expiration date by 14 calendar days.

 

2nd Notice (Alt 2) - Use this to re-notify the utilities, letting them know that the requested area has not been marked yet and their staking time has expired. 

 

Retransmit (Alt R) - Use this to clarify information on an existing request.  You may also use this to ask for the lot to be re-marked if the lines have been destroyed.  However, you may not add any additional staking instructions to the ticket.

 

Cancel (Alt C) - Use this to cancel an existing ticket.  Reasons for canceling a ticket might be that the address, county or place was entered incorrectly, or that you will not be doing the work at that address.

 

Display Ticket (Alt D) Will show a full view of the ticket, allowing you to read all lines in Locate and Remarks field, if applicable.

 

Web (Alt W)Web page allows you to search for tickets and generate reports.

 

 

D. Types of Tickets:

 

There are several different types of tickets that can be done using the buttons at the top of the screen as described above.  Below are descriptions of different types of tickets and how to use the buttons as well as what information is needed for those types of tickets.

 

Cancel (Alt C)If the county, city, address or staking instructions you entered is incorrect and the ticket has already been sent through, first you will need to do a new ticket with the correct address.  Write the new ticket number down, and then cancel the first ticket.  Do this by clicking on the cancel button at the top of the screen, enter the old ticket number in the white box and then click the OK button or hit enter.  This will then pull up the ticket.  Look at the address to make sure it is the right ticket (the one you want to cancel).  You will notice that you can only access the Remarks field.  In this box you will want to enter the reason for cancellation and that it is replaced with the new ticket number.   We have set up Function keys, so when you have a certain type of ticket you can press the function key that corresponds with that type of ticket and then fill it in so that it matches your specific needs.  So for a cancellation you would put the cursor, or click, in the Remarks field and then press the F5 function key at the top of your keyboard.  Then it will say: >>> CANCEL <<< PER (your name) - INCORRECT ADDRESS (or reason for cancellation) - RPLCD W/# (new number).  Here is an example:

 

 

 

Once you submit the request, it will automatically put a stamp that has your account name, date and the time of the cancellation: >>> RCGRABLE 08/22/06 02:07:55 PM <<<

 

 

Update (Alt P)The time to update the request is two business days before the ticket will expire. This allows you to dig for another 14 days.  When it is time to update the request, click on the update button, or press Alt P, and then type in the ticket number to be updated in the box, then click the OK button, or hit enter.  It will then pull up the ticket, here you will need to verify that all the information is still correct, and then you will want to click on the Map button to make sure it was mapped correctly, then you can click the Get Members button, or press Alt G, then it will do a member look up, then click on the Submit button, or press Alt S and it will release the ticket, giving you the new number in the top left corner of the screen.  You will also notice it automatically put a stamp in the remarks field that says * UPDATE of ticket Number 0000000 * * UPDATED by YOUR NAME. *  

 

Note: You can not change any information on updates.  The fields you can access are the only ones you can change; for example you can access the Field Contact, phone number and Done For fields, while you can not access the address field or the Locate field.  You will need to make sure you update the request before the time and date given on the original request.  If you are late, then just do a new ticket, you can keep the information the same by clicking on the Inq button, type in the ticket number, and then click OK.  This will pull up the ticket, and then click on the New button, and it will ask if you want to clear the ticket.  Click on the No, But Keep Polygon button, and then enter through everything and make sure you map the ticket again, and then release the ticket.  Remember that if the ticket you are updating had a 2nd notice, Retransmit remarks or had been updated previously, you will want to erase these notes from the Remarks field.  You don’t want the locators to get a new request with 2nd notice remarks on it; they may say that they have already marked it and disregard the new request.

 

 

Retransmit (Alt R) If the marks have been destroyed, you will want to retransmit the request, asking for the utilities to come out and re-mark the area.  Note: they will have another two days to get it marked, and retransmitting the ticket will not extend the original legal date or time.  You can also retransmit a request to add additional contact information or to clarify existing instructions.  Staking instructions cannot be expanded to include a larger area.  Click on the Retransmit button and type in the ticket number, and then click OK, or hit enter.  It will pull up the ticket.  You will notice you can only access the Remarks field, so this is where you will put your retransmit comments.  This type of ticket also has a function key, F6.  Put your cursor in the Remarks field, and press the function key and then fill in your reasoning for the retransmit.    This is what it should look like:

 

 

 

Once you submit the request, it will automatically put a stamp that has your account name, date and the time of the retransmit: >>> RCGRABLE 08/22/06 03:11:21 PM <<<

 

 

2nd Notice (Alt 2) Send a second notice to utilities, letting them know their staking time has expired and the area is not marked yet.  Click on the 2nd Notice button, or press Alt 2.  Type in the ticket number and then click the OK button, or hit enter.  The Remarks field will be the only field you can access, so you will put your 2nd notice remarks here.  Press the F3 function key and fill in your specific information about which utilities have/have not marked.  Note: Please be specific about which company or which type of underground lines have not been marked.  This is what it should look like:

 

 

 

Once you submit the request, it will automatically put a stamp that has your account name, date and the time of the 2nd Notice: >>> RCGRABLE 08/22/06 03:15:56 PM <<<

 

 

[ Top ] [ Table of Contents ] [ Section I ] [ Section II ] [ Section III ] [ Section IV ] [ Section V ]

III. Addresses

A. Single Property Address

In the Address field enter the address coordinate (building or house number only).  In the Street field, enter the address’ directional prefix and then the street name.  If you can get a coordinate for the street, enter it in the Coords field following the street field.  Reminder: Street coordinates are required in Salt Lake County.

 

 

B. Multiple Property Address

In the Address field, enter the beginning address coordinate (building or house number), then a dash ( - ) and then enter the ending address coordinate (building or house number).  In the Street field, enter the address’ directional prefix and the street name.  When taking a range of addresses, only house or building addresses can go into the address field.  Do not put street ranges in this field.  

 

Note: The smaller of the two coordinates must be used as the beginning address, and the larger of the two coordinates must be used as the ending coordinate.  Otherwise you will get an error message saying the “street from address can not be greater than the street to address.”  Example: from 943 to 967, not from 967 to 943.

 

 

C. Intersection Entry

In the Street field enter the first street name.  In the Cross Street field enter the other street name.  Remember to put an “N” in the Intersection Only field.

 


D. Street to street entry

First, enter the street you are digging along in the street field, then enter the street you are beginning at in the cross street field, and last enter the street you are ending at in the 2nd cross street field.  Remember all street names in Salt Lake County require coordinates.

 

 

 

E. Beginning at an address and ending at an intersection

           

Enter the address into the addressing fields.  In the Location field enter: Continue staking (north, south, east or west) to the (north, south, east or west) edge of (ending street).  If you enter additional information such as this, you will need to leave the side of street and lot side fields blank, and put it in the location field.

 

 

Note: You should always spell out the direction while giving instructions.  When you are putting in a directional prefix, or suffix, then you should abbreviate it, but do not use periods.

 


F. Excavation bound by 4 roads

Choose an intersection or single address to enter into the addressing fields.  Then go down to the Locate/Stake Info field and list all four boundaries.  Also when you take perimeters, leave the street side and lot side blank.  When you state the perimeters, then specify what you want them to mark within the perimeters.  Remember:  When giving boundaries for an area to be marked, it must be entirely vacant!  Note: Do not ask to mark the entire subdivision, unless it is an entirely vacant lot and you have the perimeters.

 

Be sure to grid the request according to the boundary information!!

 

 

Note: Every time you take boundaries, you must grid the ticket according to the perimeters.  If you grid, or you’re your polygon, according to the address in the address field, you may not have enough grids, or a large enough polygon, to notify the correct utility members for the entire dig site.  Only the information in the addressing field is taken into account when an area on the map is selected by the system. Make sure you cover the entire dig site in the map.

 

G. Highway and Milepost marker

Enter the highway in the street field and then re-enter the highway and milepost marker in the location field for clarification.

 

 

Note: Freeway exit numbers are milepost markers.  They go right along with milepost marker numbers, so you would enter a freeway and exit number in this same fashion.  If you can get the name of the freeway and exit, include this information in the Locate/Stake Info field.  Example: *** I-15 @ EXIT # 305 (Pleasant Valley exit) ***

 

 

H. Nearest address or intersection & directions

 

Enter the nearest address or intersection in the appropriate addressing fields.  In the Remarks field enter:  “THE GIVEN ADDRESS/INTERSECTION IS THE NEAREST AVAILABLE – FROM HERE (GIVE DIRECTIONS TO THE DIG SITE).”  Be sure to give detailed directions to the dig site including distances and directions.  Do not use right or left in your description because these are directions that can change.  In the Location/Stake Info field enter the detailed staking instructions.

 


[ Top ] [ Table of Contents ] [ Section I ] [ Section II ] [ Section III ] [ Section IV ] [ Section V ]

IV. Ticket Search

 

To search for a ticket that has already been entered into the system, click on the Ticket Search link under the Tickets section.  This will open another window, click on the large SEARCH (ALT S) button in the top left hand side of the screen and a pop up box will come up where you will enter your search criteria.  You can only search for tickets 31 days at a time.  However, you can search as far back as one year ago.  If the ticket is older than that, it has already been archived and will not be able to be retrieved without calling into the Blue Stakes center.  The information entered in the address fields (Street and Cross 1) fields must be exactly how it appears on the ticket.

 

Completed – Beginning search date.  This is also the date range that the ticket was entered.  If you want to know all of the tickets that you have entered for the week, or a certain date range, click on the drop down button to pull up the calendar and enter the beginning date range you wish to search.

 

To – Ending search date, no more than 31 days from beginning date.  This is also the date range that the ticket was entered.

 

Work Date – This is the Legal date, or the date when the ticket cleared.  You can also search by this date if you know when it cleared, but not when it was entered or called in.  Just make sure you check the box to the left of this field and then you can access it.

 

To – Ending search date, no more than 31 days from the beginning date.

 

Ticket – If you have the ticket number enter it here and then click on the SEARCH button on the top right side of this box.  This will pull up a list of different revisions done on this particular ticket.  If there are no revisions, you will only see one line for that ticket.

 

Type – This is the type of ticket that it was: 2NDR (2nd notice), ACMT (add comment – not used), CNCL (cancel), NEW (new), RXMT (retransmit), UPDT (update), or VOID (void – not used).

 

Priority – This is the priority that the ticket went through as: DAMG (damage – not used), EMER (emergency), NORM (normal), RUSH (rush or 2nd notice) or SHRT (short notice – not used).

 

Category – This will always say “LREQ” for “Locate Request.”

 

Channel – This is the channel the ticket was sent through: 123 (called in to center), QT (Quick Ticket), or WEB (Remote Ticket Entry).

 

Member – This has the list of all of the member codes, so if you want to see how many of your tickets a certain member is notified on, select their code from this drop down list.

 

­Grids – This will search for all of the tickets that have the specific grid number you enter here.

 

County – County and state the ticket was entered in.

 

Place – Place, or city, the ticket was entered in. This must be exactly what was on the ticket, if you are not sure you can leave it blank as long as other information is filled out.

 

Street – Street the address is on.  If the address is 148 E 13200 S, you would enter 13200 S in this field.

 

Cross 1 – Cross street if applicable.

 

Done For – Who the work is being done for.

 

Location – Enter the specific information that was entered in the Location field on the ticket.

 

Work Type – Enter the specific type of work that was entered on the ticket.

 

Company – Enter your company name.  This is not necessary because you can only access your company’s tickets, so it will automatically search under your company name.

 

Caller – Enter the first and last name of the person that called in, or entered the request through the internet.

 

Caller Type – This tells whether you are with a company: CMNY (company – not used anymore), GNRL (general contractor – not used anymore), HOME (homeowner – not used anymore), MBR, (member – not used anymore), OTHR (other) or PRVT (private individual – not used anymore). We will soon have E (excavator) and O (other), yours will always be E since you are with a company.

 

Phone – Enter your company phone number, as long as it is the same number that was entered on the ticket.

 

Header – Enter any information that was entered into this field on the ticket.

 

Once you have entered all the information you wish to search for click on the SEARCH (ALT S) button on the top right side of this box and it will generate all of the tickets that match your criteria.

 

Note: The more information entered in these fields, the more precise the search will be.  The search is also very particular, so you need to make sure that whatever you are searching for is exactly what was on the ticket.  You can search using as little information as the date range and the City, or the date range and the Street name.  If you’re not sure how the street name is spelled, just enter the first few letters and it will find anything similar to what was entered.

 

After you have clicked the SEARCH button it will take you back to the first screen and this is where it will list all of the tickets that were found using the search criteria.  To view the full ticket you can point to and then double click on the ticket and it will open it in another screen, or you can point to, then single click on the ticket and then click on the DETAILS button (ALT D) at the top of the screen.  You can print the tickets from this page, just highlight the tickets you want to print and then click the PRINT (ALT P) button and it will print each ticket individually.  You can also print them from the screen that it pulls up when you open the ticket.

 

If there is a ticket number that appears twice, that means there has been a revision to the ticket, such as a 2nd notice, retransmit, or cancellation. 

 

 


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V. Helpful Information

A. Short Cut Keys and Helps

 

Alt-Tab: Use this to switch between open programs.  Holding the alt key down and hitting the tab key will show you a list of all the programs that are currently open on your computer.  It will allow you to go to another open program by hitting the tab key until the box selects the program you want.  If you do not have more than one program open this will do nothing.  You can use this to switch between the ticket entry screen and the map screen, as well as between all your other office programs.

 

Using Auto-Complete in Internet Explorer: This allows you to recall information in a certain field in which you have previously submitted information.

Set Up: In Internet Explorer, click Tools and select Internet Options.  Under the Content Tab, click on the AutoComplete Button.  Make sure there is a check next to Forms.  If you want to delete all the existing data click on the Clear Forms button.

In the ticket entry screen: There are 2 ways to access the information that is stored in the fields.

1.       Hit the Down Arrow key.  This will bring up the list of all the previous information that you've submitted in that field.

2.       Start typing.  If what you type matches anything that is stored, it will list all of the matches.  Keep typing if you want to narrow the list down.  If there are no entries that match what you want just ignore the drop down box.

Once you've highlighted or selected the data that you want using the arrow keys hit the Tab or Enter key to move to the next field.

 

Back Button: If you want to go to the previous page/view, hit the Back button on your Internet Browser program (Internet Explorer).

 

Readjusting the display properties: Right-click on a blank part of the desktop and select Properties.  Go to the Settings Tab.  In the Screen Area section select the amount of pixels you want.  The higher the number, the more you can see on the screen at one time.  We suggest 1024 by 764 pixels in order to view the entire TE screen without scrolling from side to side.  You can change it back and forth from your normal settings if you need/want to.  You can also click on a box that allows you to have the desktop settings show up in your system tray, which makes it quick and easy to change these settings.

 

F11 key: This automatically maximizes the window screen and allows more information to be displayed on the monitor at one time.  If you press the F11 key again, it will take you back to normal view.

 

B. Function Keys

Here is a list of the function keys and what they say:

 

F2

>>> 2ND NOTICE <<< PER  -  HAS NOT MARKED - CREW IS ON SITE DIGGING NOW - PLEASE STAKE ASAP OR CALL TO CLEAR THE AREA.

 

F3

>>> CANCEL <<< PER - INCORRECT ADDRESS - RPLCD W/#

F4

>>> RETRANSMIT <<< PER

 

F5

DIGGING IN ROAD ONLY.

 

F6

>>> PLEASE USE PAINT AND FLAGS <<<

 

F7

>>> AREA IS PREMARKED WITH WHITE PAINT <<<

 

F8

PLS STK THE FRONT/REAR OF THE LOT TO THE REAR/FRONT CORNERS OF THE HOUSE.

 

F9

PLEASE DO NOT PAINT ON ANY CEMENT OR PERMANENT STRUCTURES!

 

F10

GIVEN ADDRESS/INTSXN IS NEAREST AVAILABLE. DIRECTIONS TO DIG SITE FROM GIVEN ADDRESS/INTSXN:


C. Quick Reference Do’s and Don’ts

 

2nd notices: You will want to second notice a ticket when the legal date and time has passed and there are no utility markings or if the markings are incomplete.  Be sure to state which utilities have marked and if you have crews on site ready to dig or when they will begin digging.  Please also list a field contact for the locators to contact to clear the area or for questions.

 

Don’t:

·         Send a second notice because the marks were destroyed due to weather or excavation.

·         Change or add any staking instructions.

 

Retransmits (RXMT): Retransmit a request when the marks have been destroyed due to excavation or weather.  You can also retransmit a request to clarify the staking instructions.  Remember, by law the utilities have 2 working days to get the lines remarked.

 

Don’t:

·         Change or add any staking instructions.

 

Cancel: Cancel a ticket when it has the incorrect address or if it was gridded incorrectly.  You can also cancel a ticket if you no longer need to dig at that address.  Try to cancel the ticket within the two working days that it is supposed to be marked by.

 

Don’t:

 

Update:  Update a ticket 2-working days before it expires.  That way you will have continuous coverage.  Remember to erase any notes that may have been entered in the Remarks field from the previous ticket.

 

      Don’t:

 

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