Patent ID: 6169517
Filing Date: 2001-01-02
Classification: G01C

Abstract:
A method for use by a party that maintains various facilities at different locations to screen a request for work to occur at a geographic site to determine whether said site is sufficiently close in proximity to the location of one of said various facilities such that said work may damage said one facility, comprising the steps of: receiving said work request identifying what work is to occur and said geographic site where such work is to occur; establishing for said received work request a set of Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) coordinates that identify the geographic site where said work is to occur; querying a first database containing facility records that each contain a set of GPS coordinates that identify the location of each said facility; and comparing the GPS coordinates established for said work request to the GPS coordinates for each facility to determine whether any of said facilities is sufficiently close in proximity such that work to occur may damage said any facility.