952-522-5225 support@korterra.com
952-522-5225 support@korterra.com

Auto Screening

Matt Hill
  • Updated

What is Auto Screening

Auto Screening uses the Tags Rules Engine to automatically complete tickets the moment they arrive in KorTerra, without any manual review. When a ticket matches a rule that is marked as "auto-complete," the system fires your configured Quick Complete form for that member code and clears the ticket: audit trail, internal/external remarks, and PRS response all written automatically.

Auto Screening is built entirely on top of Tags. Nothing about how tagging works has changed. Any attribute the Tags engine supports (over 60 ticket fields, plus Dig Site Scope metrics) can drive an auto-complete rule. The feature eliminates manual screening for tickets you're already confident about: self-performed work, overhead-only work, or tickets well outside the dig site.

Definitions

Tag Auto Complete

A new completion type available when setting up Quick Complete for a member code. Selecting this enables that member code to participate in Auto Screening.

Quick Complete / One-Click Complete

The per-member-code completion configuration. You pre-populate it with internal remarks, external remarks (to PRS), and any completion fields required. Quick Complete must already be set up per member code for Auto Screening to work. It's the completion engine that fires when a tag rule matches.

Ticket Lifecycle indicator

A new icon that may appear next to the ticket number on Ticket Details when a ticket is still processing or if something didn't complete. No icon means everything processed successfully. There are three states in which an icon is shown:

  • Processing (clock): processing is still running. Hover: "This ticket is still processing. Information may be incomplete. Please refresh to update."

  • Incomplete (red exclamation): one or more processing steps didn't complete, but the ticket is still workable. Hovering over it shows a tooltip with the specific steps that didn't complete, e.g., "Dig Site Size didn't complete. This ticket is still workable."

  • Lifecycle unavailable (grey icon): processing state is temporarily unavailable. Hover: "Unable to access ticket lifecycle." The ticket is still usable.

System-applied tag vs. user-applied tag

Only system-applied tags (applied automatically when a rule matches) trigger auto-complete. Manually adding a tag to a ticket does not trigger auto-complete.

Dig Site Scope metrics (available as tag rule fields)

  • Dig Site Size (sqft): the area of the dig site. See the Dig Site Scope documentation for details.

  • Facility Proximity (ft): distance to the nearest facility within the 700 ft ticket boundary. See the Dig Site Scope documentation for details.

Ticket Boundary

700 ft buffer around the dig site. Anything beyond this is treated as "greater than 700 ft."

KTM UI

Tag Maintenance

The Auto Complete checkbox appears on every tag rule and is visible only if your account is licensed for Auto Screening. When checked, a warning confirms that any ticket matching this rule will be completed automatically.

Rules can be built using any of the 60+ ticket attributes the engine supports (done_for, work_type, high_pressure, explosives, overhead, underground, member code, etc.), plus Dig Site Size and Facility Proximity.

Facility Proximity note: rules can only use Greater Than or Equal To with a minimum value of 1 foot. This is intentional: a proximity of 0 means the facility overlaps the dig site.

View which tags auto-complete

Auto Screening uses tag rules to automatically complete (clear) tickets the moment they arrive. By default, the Tag Maintenance list doesn't indicate which rules are set to auto-complete. Add the Evaluate Auto Complete column to see this status at a glance and sort your rules by it.

Add the Evaluate Auto Complete column

  1. Open Tag Maintenance.

  2. On the toolbar above the tag list, select Select Columns.

  1. In the Edit Columns dialog, under Available Columns, select the arrow (→) next to Evaluate Auto Complete to move it into Selected Columns.

  1. Select Save.

The tag list now includes an Evaluate Auto Complete column that shows Yes or No for each rule.

Sort by auto-complete status

Select the Evaluate Auto Complete column header to sort the list. Sorting groups all auto-complete rules together so you can review them in one view.

Ticket Details

  • A Lifecycle indicator may appear next to the ticket number if a ticket is still processing or if something didn't complete. No icon means the ticket processed successfully.

  • The Audit trail shows which tags were added, if an auto complete tag was evaluated, and the completion record triggered by SYS_TAG_AC.

  • The Completion screen shows the Quick Complete form you configured. Internal and external remarks pre-programmed per member code appear here.

Note: The Completed By field on the Completions tab will show SYS_TAG_AC for auto-cleared tickets. The Audit Trail will show the tag that matched, confirmation that Auto Screening fired, and the completion record.

Ticket Search

You can search for auto-cleared tickets by filtering on the auto-complete tag rule name. This is the easiest way to see everything Auto Screening cleared during a given period.

Configuration

Auto Screening requires four things to be in place before it works.

Step 1: Licensing

Confirm you are licensed for:

  • Tags (required)

  • Auto Screening

  • Dig Site Size — included in Productivity Management and Locate Management Plus (only needed if you want auto-complete rules based on dig site size)

  • Facility Measurements — separate add-on (only needed if you want rules based on facility proximity)

If you're unsure whether you have the right licensing, or want to purchase Auto Screening, contact our sales team.

Step 2: Dig Site Scope configuration (if using DSS-based rules)

KorTerra loads your mapping overlays into KTM settings. Once those are in place, your Admin can go into Dig Site Scope Settings and select which overlays Dig Site Scope should be measured against.

You now have direct access to Dig Site Scope Settings in KTM. Your Admin can manage this themselves. During onboarding, your KorTerra contact will walk you through the initial setup and hand off ownership.

When saving changes in DSS Config, a comment is required. Use this to note what you changed and why.

Step 3: Quick Complete per member code

For every member code you want auto-cleared, your Admin needs to set up a Quick Complete configuration with "Tag Auto Complete" selected as the completion type.

Quick Complete is configured under Maintenance → Completion → Quick Complete.

Fields to pre-program:

  • Internal remarks — visible to your users on the ticket

  • External remarks — sent to the call center

  • Any custom completion fields you require

Recommended: include a note in the Internal Remarks that the ticket was auto-cleared by the system via a tag rule. This adds context for anyone reviewing completion data later.

Step 4: Tag Rule authoring

Before creating auto-complete rules, review who has tag edit permissions. Anyone with tag edit access can create a rule that auto-completes tickets. We recommend restricting tag edit permissions to a small group of trusted admins before enabling Auto Screening. To edit these permissions, contact our support team.

For each rule that should trigger auto-complete:

  1. Author the rule conditions.

  2. Check the Auto Complete checkbox on the rule.

  3. Save.

Example rules

Self-performed work:

done_for contains "[your company name]"
AND high_pressure = No
AND explosives = No
✅ auto-complete

Overhead-only work:

overhead = Yes
AND explosives = No
✅ auto-complete

DSS proximity (requires Facility Measurements license):

facility_proximity >= 250 ft
AND high_pressure = No
✅ auto-complete

Choosing a proximity threshold: work with your KorTerra contact to review your damage history and cross-reference it with DSS data to find a threshold that's both safe and effective.

Common Questions & Troubleshooting

A ticket matched my rule but wasn't auto-completed

The most common cause: the matching member code has no Quick Complete configured with the "Tag Auto Complete" action type. The tag still applies, but no completion fires. The ticket sits in Assigned with no error shown.

Whenever you add a new member code, set up its Quick Complete configuration so Auto Screening can work for it.

A ticket shows the Incomplete icon

One or more processing steps didn't finish for that ticket. The hover text on the icon names what didn't complete. The ticket is still fully workable. You can proceed with it normally. If you're seeing this frequently, contact KorTerra support.

A ticket shows the Processing (clock) icon

The ticket is still processing. This typically takes a few seconds. Refresh the page and the icon should resolve.

Auto Screening cleared an emergency ticket

Auto Screening and emergency notifications can fire very close together in time. In rare cases, a locator may receive an emergency notification for a ticket that the system subsequently auto-cleared. This is expected behavior in the current release and will be addressed in a future update. If you operate emergency notification workflows, contact your KorTerra representative before enabling Auto Screening so we can account for this.

My custom reports don't show whether a ticket was auto-cleared

Your standard and custom reports don't include auto screened data by default. During the implementation of Auto Screening, your KorTerra Support or Implementation contact will work with you to review and update any reports.

How do I know a ticket was auto-cleared by Auto Screening?

There are two places to look:

Completions tab: The Completed By field will show SYS_TAG_AC, indicating the ticket was completed by the Auto Screening system.

Audit Trail: You'll see a sequence of entries from BACKGROUND_PROCESS:

  • "Added tag [tag name]" — the tag that matched the rule

  • "Tag: [tag name] — System Auto Complete" — confirmation that auto-complete fired, including the tag ID

  • "Complete visit [member code][type]" — the completion record

Can a tag rule use "less than" for Facility Proximity?

No. Only Greater Than or Equal To (minimum 1 ft) is allowed. A proximity of 0 means the facility overlaps the dig site, so rules on "less than" would require closer review rather than auto-clearing.

Can different tag rules have different internal/external remarks?

Not currently. Remarks are configured per member code, so all auto-complete rules for the same member code share the same remarks.

Can I use Auto Screening without Dig Site Scope?

Yes. Rules can be built on any of the 60+ ticket attributes (done_for, high_pressure, work type, overhead, etc.) without Dig Site Scope. DSS is only needed if you want proximity or size-based rules.

How do I find all the tickets Auto Screening cleared this week?

In Ticket Search, filter by your auto-complete tag rule name. Or run a custom report that you've built with our Support Team.

How do I see which of my tags are auto-complete rules?

Add the Evaluate Auto Complete column in Tag Maintenance: select Select Columns, move Evaluate Auto Complete into Selected Columns, then select Save. Select the column header to sort and group all your auto-complete rules together.