Written By: Matt Hill, Customer Success Manager & Erik Chamberlain, Manager of Implementation and Training, KorTerra

The Infrastructure Bill, which gradually allocates approximately $550 billion in federal investment to U.S. infrastructure over five years, is already affecting damage prevention operations. The question facing utilities, municipalities, and contract locators is direct: can your organization handle a 50-75% increase in ticket volume without falling behind on response times, locate accuracy, or compliance?

Here's what every damage prevention stakeholder should be evaluating right now.

How Efficient Is Your Ticket Screening and Dispatching Process?

Asset protection is demanding work. Many locators are already stretched thin, logging 80+ hours per week to keep infrastructure and excavators safe. Before ticket volumes increase further, evaluate the tools and processes your teams rely on daily.

How should damage prevention organizations evaluate their ticket screening process?

Start with these questions:

Do you screen tickets before dispatching them to the field, and if so, how? Are designated office staff handling screening, or are locators doing it themselves between jobs? Is there consistency in screening criteria from one person to the next? What percentage of tickets are filtered out before reaching a field crew? If you're tracking that number, what does it tell you about your operation's efficiency?

Are you using your ticket management software to its full capability? Many ticket management platforms include automation features that organizations underuse: auto-dispatching tickets to the right locator based on geography and workload, tagging tickets that qualify as obvious clears, adjusting workflows automatically for high-profile or high-risk areas, and offline mobile apps that keep locators productive in poor-coverage zones. If you have these capabilities and aren't using them, talk to your ticket management vendor about closing that gap. If you don't have a ticket management system, consider how one would change your team's ability to handle the volume that's coming.

Are You Retaining Your Locators?

Why is locator retention critical before a ticket volume surge? Locating underground utilities is physically demanding, high-stress work. Losing experienced locators right before a volume increase means replacing institutional knowledge at the worst possible time. Retention should be a priority now, not after turnover starts climbing.

Do you promote a positive work environment? Staff who feel valued by their leadership produce better results. Recognition for strong performers, combined with training and encouragement for those who are developing, builds the kind of morale that keeps people on the team.

Do you promote from within? People want to see a path forward. Providing regular opportunities for skill development and being intentional about identifying team members with leadership potential is one of the most effective retention tools available. Growth keeps experienced locators engaged in ways that compensation alone doesn't.

How Effective Are Your Damage Prevention Training Programs?

Why do training programs matter for damage prevention performance? Effective training pays for itself by ensuring that the people responsible for identifying and marking underground facilities have the skills and confidence to do it accurately. Confident locators make fewer errors, produce better field documentation, and stay longer.

What should damage prevention organizations evaluate in their training programs?

Are your training materials and procedures current with today's equipment, regulations, and field conditions?

Do you run refresher courses that maintain consistency across your team, from new hires through senior locators?

Does your operation pair junior staff with experienced mentors who can answer questions and provide guidance in the field?

Training during a volume surge pulls people off tickets. Training before the surge starts puts them in the field prepared.

Are Your Field Teams Equipped With the Right Locate Tools?

Having the right tools in the field is foundational. What field technology should locators have to maximize productivity and accuracy?

Mobile applications that eliminate paperwork and let field personnel work offline while retaining full ticket management functionality. Locators shouldn't lose the ability to complete and close tickets just because they're in a low-coverage area.

Proper locating equipment for every crew member, with verified training on each device. Equipment that sits in the truck because the locator wasn't trained on it doesn't reduce damages.

Photo documentation tools with GPS coordinates and date/time stamps. Clean, geotagged field photos are your strongest defense in damage investigations. A simple process for capturing, uploading, and storing those photos can be the difference between proving your team wasn't at fault and absorbing a damage claim.

What should you do now to prepare for the Infrastructure Bill's impact on your operation? Evaluate how each of these areas, screening, retention, training, and field tools, would perform at 1.5x to 2x your current ticket volume. Identify the top three operational areas most likely to encounter problems first, and address them before the volume arrives.

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