Construction Sites

Construction activities such as blasting or pile driving are known to create strong vibrations that can potentially damage nearby homes, buildings, sewer lines and other structures. Blasting can also cause air overpressure, which produces a force of air. This force of air can set off car alarms and damage windows. Even when these activities are performed under best-case scenarios, they can cause concern to neighboring buildings and homeowners.

Understandably, when china cabinets rattle or car alarms go off, people are often led to believe that their property is being damaged by the nearby construction activity. While the activities above can damage property, construction activities like jackhammering or even general labour can also generate enough noise to annoy and cause concern to neighbors. This can lead to formal noise complaints, which can result in project suspensions and even fines. Noise levels can also be a health and safety concern for your workers.

Using monitoring equipment from Instantel, you can record and monitor vibration, air overpressure, and/or noise levels on your construction site. As recorded data can be viewed almost immediately, you have the ability to adjust your construction activities before regulatory limits are exceeded or before concerns develop. Warnings and alarms can be triggered based on pre-configured trigger levels you set, and these can differ for each job. Notifications can be sent to you or to any party you select, and these can be viewed on computers, laptops, tablets, or smartphones. A historical record of data can be maintained in order to protect you from future claims and liability.

Industry guidelines establish safe and standardized practices for monitoring vibration, air overpressure, and noise generated by construction activities, while regulatory oversight may be enforced at the local, state, or federal level. In addition to regulatory compliance, proactive monitoring is considered a best practice for construction companies, helping to minimize the risk of community complaints, avoid potential claims, and prevent costly project delays or downtime.

Some projects require that monitoring activities and any exceedances be promptly communicated to project owners, regulatory authorities, or other stakeholders. Vision II, our cloud-based data hosting platform, offers real-time, 24/7/365 access to monitoring data from any internet-connected device. While connected, your Micromate Plus (or Micromate with a modem) automatically uploads recorded event data to Vision II.  With Vision II, you can effortlessly manage stakeholder access and compliance needs. For example, project owners can be granted access to view events and reports, while regulatory agencies can view only compliance documentation as needed. The platform enables rapid configuration of warnings, alarms, and compliance thresholds, while SnapShot views deliver immediate visual insight—saving time, reducing manual effort, and streamlining operational workflows.  

For other Instantel monitoring devices, such as the Minimate Pro, event reports can be automatically delivered to your computer using Auto Call Home technology with THOR software and a modem. With Instantel monitoring equipment installed permanently for the duration of your project, you can rely on continuous, worry-free operation—even in the demanding conditions of a construction site.

Your report will display peak vibration levels at preset intervals throughout the day, and it will also generate a waveform report for any exceedances. If your equipment is connected to a modem, waveform events are automatically transmitted using Auto Call Home technology. At the end of the day, the histogram data is then sent.

This enables you to quickly analyze waveform events and determine whether site activities are causing the exceedance or if another source is responsible. Histogram Combo mode is ideal for monitoring operations that produce repetitive vibrations, such as pile driving or dynamic compaction.