Structural Health Monitoring

Structural health monitoring is the continuous measurement of a structure’s response to loading using sensors that track vibration, tilt, displacement, strain, and cracking. Unlike periodic inspections alone, it provides near real-time data that can show changes in structural behaviour before they are obvious from visual inspection.

Oculus deploys accelerometers for vibration, tiltmeters for angular movement, crack gauges for opening/closing, strain gauges for stress, displacement sensors for settlement, and total stations for absolute position. The sensor mix is designed by RPEQ engineers to match the specific monitoring objective.

It depends on the objective. Construction-adjacent structural health monitoring typically runs for the project duration (months to years). Long-term asset monitoring for bridges, dams, or heritage buildings can run indefinitely. Oculus designs systems for the required monitoring period with options to extend.

Yes. All Oculus monitoring systems include automated SMS and email alerts when sensor readings exceed pre-set thresholds. Alert levels are configurable: early warning triggers at 80% of the limit, alarm triggers at 100%. Our engineers review high-priority alerts within minutes.

Construction-adjacent monitoring follows SARA, TMR, BCC, and Queensland Rail approval conditions. Vibration thresholds reference AS 2187.2 and DIN 4150-3. For structural health monitoring programmes, Oculus sometimes uses ISO 13374 only as a loose workflow model (it is written for industrial machinery), while limits and acceptance stay with the project’s Australian and contract documents.