Patent ID: 8484300

Claim:
An apparatus for providing information regarding a locate and marking operation, the apparatus comprising: a communication interface; a memory to store processor-executable instructions; and a processing unit communicatively coupled to the communication interface and the memory, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the processing unit, the processing unit: controls the communication interface to receive input indicating that the locate and marking operation is complete, the locate and marking operation comprising detecting and marking, in response to at least one locate request ticket, a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within a dig area, wherein at least a portion of the dig area is planned to be excavated or disturbed during excavation activities; and based on the input indicating that the locate and marking operation is complete, further controls the communication interface and/or the memory to electronically transmit and/or electronically store performance information concerning the locate and marking operation so as to inform at least one party associated with providing at least one locate request relating to the locate and marking operation of the performance of the locate and marking operation, the performance information including at least one of the following: a virtual white line image indicating the dig area, the virtual white line image including a digital image of a work site including the dig area and at least one electronic annotation constituting a dig area indicator to delimit the dig area on the digital image; an electronic manifest image showing details of the locate and marking operation, the electronic manifest image including an image of a geographic area including the dig area and one or more indicators representing one or more physical locate marks applied to the dig area to indicate the presence or the absence of the at least one underground facility in the dig area; and an indication that the locate and marking operation has been certified to meet a quality standard and/or approved.