Construction Noise Monitoring

Noise and vibration monitoring equipment for use around construction sites. We have portable and fixed noise monitors that are suitable for short term and long term noise measurement during the construction process.

For equipment to assess a construction worker's exposure to noise please visit our Occupational Noise page.

Noise During Construction

The main areas of interest with regard to construction noise are hearing protection and annoyance. The products on this page are to help with monitoring and controlling noise that may cause complaints from local residents and businesses.

For information about noise exposure and protecting the hearing of construction workers please visit our Occupational Noise page.

Know the True Situation: By continuously monitoring the noise levels you are in a better position to know the reality and how to respond to complaints. The noise monitors presented here monitor the sound levels continuously, day and night, giving a true picture of the ambient levels and of noise created by the construction processes. You can look back to the period during which complaints were made and make an informed judgment.

Proactive Noise Control: It is better, if possible, to avoid noise complaints by limiting the sound levels that are directly related to construction work. This can be difficult if you just rely on the ear and a person's perception. With a live noise monitoring system or noise activated warning signs, limits can be set and action taken, preferably before the complaints come in.

Where to Measure Construction Noise

Your ideal noise measurement locations will of course be dependent on where the noise issues exist and on potential complaints. From a technical point of view the locations and type of equipment to use will be dependent on:

• Availability of power - battery powered options are available, for longer term mains power is much more convenient
• Communications - we have options to communicate over the 3G/4G cell network, over WiFi or transferring the measurements manually
• Mounting - for longer term monitoring you will need a wall or mast mounting system
• Acoustic considerations - the microphone should be mounted clear of reflections from walls and from local noise sources such as trees or machinery

Noise Measurement Methods

Depending on the nature of the noise and the motivation to measure it, you may want to choose one of the following methods:

Hand Held Sound Level Meter - Ideal for quick checks and making a roving noise survey around the construction site perimeter. Useful for making short measurements at other locations, such as at a complainant's premises. A Class 1 or Class 2 meter is also suitable for occupational noise measurements and so can be used for hearing protection related measurements too.

You can see our full range of hand-held meters see our sound level meters page

Portable Outdoor Noise Kit - These kits provide weather protection for a hand-held sound level meter, giving all the flexibility described above but with the ability to make longer term unattended surveys. These can be easily moved between different noise measurement locations.

Wireless Monitor with Mobile Connection - These noise monitors can be fixed (installed on a wall or mast) or portable with battery power. Designed for medium and long term monitoring their great advantage is that they don't need a network connection. All data is sent to a cloud server over the mobile phone network, making installation and relocation a much easier process.

Noise, Dust and Vibration - When you need to monitor more than the noise, we can offer the Sonitus EM2030 with options to measure sound level, ground vibration and dust at the same time. You can choose any combination of these in a system that is designed for anything from medium to very long term monitoring.

Instant Warning - The noise warning signs can offer an instant warning when the noise levels are getting too high. These devices monitor the sound levels continuously and light up when the noise is above your preset level. Data logging versions are also available to produce sound level charts and simple noise reports.