Do You Understand the Value of Construction Vibration Monitoring?
How much thought do you give to the vibration caused by your construction project? It's common to think about the noise that your building work causes. You pay attention to any clutter that your work creates, you may even think about the way any deliveries to the site disrupt local traffic, but vibration is often an issue that is overlooked. You might think that vibration is a minor issue, but vibration can have disastrous effects. The only way to ensure that the vibration emanating from your site is not excessive is to arrange for construction vibration monitoring.
1. Why is construction vibration monitoring needed?
One of the things that not everyone realizes about vibration is that it can cause structural damage to nearby buildings. While in most cases, the vibration from your site is unlikely to cause structural issues unless you are working close to another building it is still possible for the vibration to be disruptive to the lives of those in the vicinity. Vibration can be a particular problem when the building site is located close to any type of precision work. If you have a construction project near a microsurgery suite or even an electronics factory dealing with tiny components, the effect of low-level vibration could be catastrophic. Certainly, you should inform those nearby of the likelihood of vibration occurring, but setting up construction vibration monitoring is the best way to ensure that the vibration is under control.
2. Monitoring vibration on your construction site
There are several ways to approach construction vibration monitoring depending on how much vibration you expect and whether it will be continuous. If you expect a lot of vibration from the same area over an extended period, a static monitoring station should work best. Perhaps, you think that the activities causing vibration are likely to be spread out across the site. Maybe, they will take place over a much shorter period, such as driving a few piles. In those situations, a portable monitoring station might be better. If you don't know what equipment you need or what the requirements could be on your site, it is best to talk to a construction vibration monitoring company. They will have plenty of experience on different construction sites and can explain what you must do.
3. After the monitoring has ceased
The levels of vibration picked up by the monitoring equipment should give you a good indication of whether your work has caused any problems, but it is always wisest to check for potential problems. Construction vibration monitoring is often combined with physical inspections of nearby buildings to ensure no cracks have resulted from your work.