Proactively monitor vibration where construction is taking place in close proximity to sensitive equipment and processes.
State-of-the-art vibration monitoring services from ESI Engineering give contractors, engineers, and owners peace of mind at sensitive sites where data is required over long durations such as days, weeks, or even months. When vibration exceeds specified limits, stakeholders are alerted immediately via computer or smartphone so corrective action can be taken. Low amplitude measurements can be made for the most sensitive criteria in acceleration, velocity, 1/3 octave band, RMS and peak particle velocity (PPV) units.
Vibration and construction monitoring benefits a variety of facilities, including:
- Microelectronics manufacturing facilities
- Hospitals
- Research laboratories
- Data centers
- Broadcast and recording studios
- Other sensitive locations
- Historic structures
- And more
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Our engineers go above and beyond typical construction monitoring to ensure that your site or equipment is protected and continues to deliver high performance.
What Is Vibration Monitoring?
Vibration monitoring is the process of measuring, analyzing, and trending the motion of structures, equipment, and the surrounding environment over long periods of time.
“Measurement is the first step that leads to control and eventually to improvement. If you can’t measure something, you can’t understand it. If you can’t understand it, you can’t control it. If you can’t control it, you can’t improve it.” H. James Harrington
What is Vibration Monitoring for sensitive environments?
Our focus at ESI is primarily on vibration monitoring of sensitive building structures. These buildings may have:
- Medical equipment and processes (e.g. MRI equipment, neuro OR’s, laboratories)
- Research laboratories (e.g. scanning electron microscopes (SEM’s), optical microscopes, analytical scales, mass spectrometers, cell growth)
- Microelectronic manufacturing (e.g. wafer fabs, clean rooms, failure analysis labs)
- High precision manufacturing (e.g. high-accuracy grinding and machining)
- Data centers (e.g. storage devices, switches, quantum computing)
For these sensitive environments, special transducers are used to measure the very low vibration amplitudes that are required, and the vibration is analyzed in the frequency domain, either using Fast Fourier Transform or 1/3 octave band analysis.
Vibration levels in sensitive environments are often compared with published criteria for sensitive spaces and equipment, or to manufacturers specifications. Vibration Criteria curves (VC curves) are defined for many sensitive spaces in IEST-RP-NANO201.1 Measuring and Reporting Vibration in Advanced Technology Facilities.
With vibration monitoring we can identify trends and alert on levels that may cause issues in these critical environments before they become serious problems. Alerts can be distributed by emails or texts. Warning lights can also be used to make equipment operators or lab technicians aware of exceedance events.
Benefits of Vibration Monitoring
Vibration monitoring and trending is a proactive approach that helps our clients maintain quality, improve equipment performance, and increase production rates and yields.
“You can’t manage what you can’t measure.” Peter Drucker
Effective vibration monitoring provides multiple benefits:
- Early detection of risks – identify excessive vibration levels before issues develop.
- Improved operational efficiency – use data to optimize processes and reduce unnecessary downtime or waste.
- Extended equipment lifespan – identify equipment issues and schedule maintenance proactively.
- Lower project costs – allow construction near critical spaces with less risk of issues.
- Greater stakeholder confidence – demonstrate compliance with equipment specifications and industry best practices.
Vibration monitoring is common for construction projects involving demolition, excavation, or pile driving that can cause excessive vibration in nearby buildings. Monitoring helps ensure that projects can be completed with minimum impact to the sensitive systems, processes and equipment.
Our Vibration Control Methods
At ESI Engineering, monitoring goes hand-in-hand with vibration control strategies. Once monitoring data is collected, we can identify issues, recommend mitigation options, and specify or design solutions to reduce and manage the vibration impacts. Strategies may include:
- Isolation systems for sources – designing and specifying isolators, foundations, and damping devices that reduce vibration transmission at the source.
- Isolation systems for sensitive equipment – designing and specifying isolators, foundations, and damping devices that reduce vibration at the receiver.
- Structural modifications –analysis and design recommendations to change the dynamic response of the structure to forces.
- Equipment balancing and alignment –reducing forces from equipment by identifying mechanical issues and specifying repairs.
- Customized mitigation plans during construction – engineering strategies to meet vibration requirements and to keep projects on schedule during construction. Alternate construction techniques may be recommended.
By combining vibration monitoring with proven control methods, we deliver comprehensive vibration management services that reduce vibration related risks, reduce costs, and keeps projects on schedule.
With ESI Engineering, you gain tailored systems that meet the specific requirements of your client and project. We are continuously adding features to our vibration measurement and monitoring system to reduce your risk, provide actionable innovation, and support you in creating better designs and environments.
Some of our recent monitoring projects include:
Frequently Asked Questions About Vibration Monitoring
Any facility that has vibration sensitive equipment and processes. Many times, excessive vibration is a temporary issue during construction. However, in sensitive manufacturing facilities, vibration monitoring has been relied on to help improve production rates and yields.
We use geophones, accelerometers, and velocity transducers connected to electronic hardware that analyzes the measurement data in real-time and compares the results with criteria. These systems provide accurate data and instantly alert stakeholders when vibration thresholds are exceeded.
Monitoring is commonly required to protect nearby buildings from damage caused by excessive construction vibration. The vibration amplitudes are measured in units of Peak Particle Velocity (PPV), which is the highest amplitude in the velocity time waveform. However, the PPV unit cannot be compared with the criteria for sensitive facilities. Also, the vibration transducers used for construction vibration monitoring cannot measure the low amplitudes that cause issues in sensitive facilities.
The vibration monitoring performed by ESI is much more sophisticated. Monitoring vibration for sensitive facilities during construction requires extremely sensitive measurement equipment and real-time frequency domain analysis. The monitoring systems used by ESI provide accurate results in the proper format, and instantly alert stakeholders when vibration thresholds are exceeded.
Monitoring involves measuring, analyzing and trending vibration levels, while control involves strategies to reduce or mitigate those vibrations (e.g., isolation devices, structural changes, or equipment maintenance). ESI Engineering provides both vibration monitoring and control services.
Occasionally requirements for vibration are set by city ordinance and state statutes. Usually, the requirements are from equipment manufacturers or published industry guidelines. Several sophisticated clients have internal requirements for vibration that have been developed from experience. Our services help ensure all relevant requirements are being met.
Yes. Continuous monitoring identifies unusual vibration patterns that often signal wear, imbalance, or misalignment of mechanical equipment, allowing maintenance before unplanned shutdowns occur.
The system is installed by ESI, configured and maintained via remote connection, and the monitoring service is billed monthly. The monthly cost depends on the number of locations and the monitoring duration. We have had installed systems for as several years and as short as several weeks. In most cases, ESI maintains ownership of the monitoring system, however for some long-term installations, the equipment was purchased by our client.
Why Partner with ESI Engineering?
With decades of experience in the fields of mechanical, structural, and acoustical engineering, ESI Engineering delivers more than just monitoring. We bring:
- Cross-disciplinary engineering expertise in vibration, structural analysis, and noise control.
- Custom monitoring solutions tailored to your project or facility.
- Advanced technology for accurate, real-time data collection.
- Proven results with construction, healthcare, and industrial projects.
When you partner with ESI Engineering, you gain peace of mind knowing your project is supported by a team dedicated to providing exceptional service, dependable results and clearly communicated recommendations.