Technology is helping to improve the world in many ways, some of them less obvious than others. One of these innovations you might not immediately think of is structural monitoring. Here are four reasons structural monitoring is important.
- Monitoring Structural Integrity
Structural monitoring is a highly useful tool in civil engineering, construction and repair work. The main use of it is to monitor the structural integrity of buildings and various aspects of buildings, such as roofs, walls and foundations. Structural monitoring provides a continuous, holistic view of a building so you can be sure it’s safe at all times.
- Building More Efficient Structures
Not only can structural monitoring help ensure buildings are safer and sounder, but it can also help you improve the efficiency of structures. Monitoring systems can be utilized to detect where a building is losing more energy than average so it can be repaired or remodeled to become more energy efficient. It can also monitor a building’s roof, for example, over its lifespan so you can repair or replace it before it becomes costly through extensive damage or degredation.
- Detecting Damage and Repairing Structures
Because monitoring systems are meant to detect changes in the structural integrity of a building or its components, these systems can be incredibly useful in areas or buildings where threats to structural integrity are likely. These include locations where natural disasters such as earthquakes or tornados are common, as well as skyscrapers, which need to be designed in such a way that they sway with the wind. Structural monitoring systems can detect damage to a building and help you determine what type of repair or how extensive a repair you need.
- Collecting Data
Each of the above uses of structural monitoring can be combined into a larger collection of data, which can then be used to improve architecture and civil engineering in the future. A structural monitoring system can collect data and store it until it’s needed or transmit it to the cloud for use immediately. This data can be used to develop new ideas for safer, more efficient and more versatile types of buildings.
With structural monitoring, buildings are safer for people to use and can be updated or updated as soon as an issue is detected. Previously, physical examination needed to be done regularly to ensure structural integrity was uncompromised. Now, it can be done with technology.
