Construction site wireless vibration monitoring

Have you ever thought about beginning construction operations in the middle of a rather busy neighborhood but feared that the endeavor would be more costly than you anticipated? You should consider possible compensation claims that would be put up against you from the neighboring structures if any damage were to occur.

Exorbitant claims

The potential lawsuits would all be attributed to the vibrations that originate from your construction site, and while some may be warranted, some would be outright absurd. The complaints could range from you being responsible for the cracks on the neighbor's floor and walls to you shattering porcelain in a house two miles away while those nearest to the site are left unchanged. If left unchecked, such exorbitant claims would run you dry.

Measurements to minimize the effects of vibrations

Some measures taken to reduce the impact of vibrations on construction sites include using rubber bushes around the area, vibration-absorbing sleeves on the machinery used, and installing anti-vibration mounts.

Even though these and many more measures are implemented, they are not foolproof. But what if you had a way to prove that vibrations from your site wouldn't have harmed that fine china set, even if they were in the building next door? What if you could have readings and numbers so accurate that any baseless claims against you would be rendered invalid?

Construction site vibration monitoring

Construction site vibration monitoring is a handy and cost-effective approach to ensure that your construction operations adhere to your jurisdiction's regulations and standards.

The conventional equipment used in site vibration monitoring exercises requires you to continually engage construction and acoustic engineers. These expert engagements and apparent costs would have to be a constant in the construction site whenever heavy machinery is used.

Wireless construction site vibration monitoring

Construction site wireless vibration monitoring systems provide a compact and cost-effective solution to keeping up with the construction site's vibration outputs. These monitoring modules are designed with construction / acoustic engineers to ensure they work seamlessly to collect all the relevant information.

These wireless monitors provide remote access to your construction site's vibration data 24/7 from anywhere in the world. The monitors transmit data through 4G/LTE, WiFi, or Power over Ethernet (PoE). The wireless monitors also have built-in integrated GPS sensors that collect accurate data on the positioning and timing of each monitor's readings.

This provides an efficient, innovative construction site wireless vibration monitoring system. The monitors can also be accessed from a web-based platform. The web platform, accessible through a smartphone, tablet, or laptop, provides an interface for the monitors' calibrations and review of the data collected. The collected data can then be converted from one format to another, depending on the analysis needed, and then easily shared from one individual to another.

The compactness of the wireless construction site vibration monitors means they can be positioned anywhere on the construction site and not get in the way of any operations. The wireless monitors are also designed to give you real-time alerts and notifications if the readings exceed a set threshold. These alerts come in handy in preventing potential damages by providing a basis for advice and decision-making to the construction team.

The wireless monitors are easy to install and set up, making their use expandable to scale whenever needed.

Causes of construction site vibrations

Depending on the nature of the work and equipment in use, vibrations of different magnitudes are produced on a construction site. Examples of heavy machinery in construction sites include excavators, loaders, and pile-boring machines.

Some construction sites may involve digging deep into the earth to find a suitable foundational rock or removing an existing structure to put up another. In such instances, explosives such as dynamite are used to blast their way into getting the job done to save time. As much as the blasts are well-coordinated and set up following safety regulations, they still cause significant vibrations on the site and its surroundings. The explosions can result in shock waves that can shatter windows or cause building cracks. Before starting the job, it is vital to clear a blast radius and inform the people around that a controlled explosion will occur.

Potential hazards due to vibrations in the construction site

Vibrations from construction sites can have adverse effects on both the human and infrastructural environment of the site. Depending on the source's distance, the consequences can vary in magnitude and the time it takes to recover.

Some human effects from construction site vibrations are chronic back pains, stomach problems, motion sickness, headaches, and visual disturbances. These social effects are more pronounced in the workers who operate the vibration-producing machinery and those working immediately around the machinery.

The infrastructural effects from construction site vibrations can be experienced on roads, bridges, and buildings around the site. In some of the infrastructure, results from vibrations in construction sites might not have immediately visible effects.

One-off blasts or continuous vibrations on buildings around the site may reduce structural integrity. The vibrations may also leave visible markers on buildings, like cracks in walls and floors and even shattered windows. The vibrations could destabilize the structure depending on the integrity of an adjacent building's foundational rock. Construction site vibrations are also known to reduce the structural integrity of bridges and roads by cracking and destabilizing their foundations.

Containment Measures for Construction Site Vibrations

Using intelligent and efficient innovative construction site wireless vibration monitoring systems helps reduce the personnel required on a site. Vibration monitoring practices help you assess the scale of vibrations from a construction site and, in turn, make informed decisions on the measures to take in damage prevention.

Once the vibration readings have started coming in, it is crucial to put measures to maintain the vibration levels within the set limits. Even though some heavy machinery in some construction environments cannot be avoided, some methods can be used to contain the amounts of vibrations produced.

For workers operating machinery with high vibration levels, it is essential to use shock-absorbing material like rubber in places where the workers' bodies contact the machinery.

When machinery producing high vibration levels is being operated, materials such as tires can be stacked to create some barrier to absorb the vibrations. It is also essential for workers working in environments and equipment prone to high vibrations to have regular health checkups.