What are the advantages of working with measuring points in vibration monitoring?

Gathering accurate measurement data from vibration monitoring is essential to carrying out your project. Precise measurement data forms the basis for preventative efforts, which in turn ensures that buildings remain damage-free and guarantees that people are able to work and relax without any nuisance from disturbances. Therefore, it is within your best interests to have the measurement data for analyzing the vibrations arranged as transparently and as easily as possible. This has been a crucial focal point for Omnidots; to opt for referencing measuring points instead of referencing the measuring device itself. But why does this give you a big advantage?

What is a measuring point?

A measuring point references a physical location that has been measured for a certain period of time. You have the ability to disconnect the sensor, the physical measuring device, from a specific measuring point, in which the data has already been recorded in the cloud. This allows you to use the measuring device again on a new project and for a new measuring point. In the online platform Honeycomb, you can view the measurement data of each measuring point and the sensor used at that location whenever you want.

Evaluating measuring points vs measuring units

Using an example of a sewerage project at the canal houses in Amsterdam, Lourens Rozema (CTO of Omnidots) explains the advantage of evaluating measuring points instead of the measuring device itself. “For a large-scale sewerage project on the Amsterdam canals, vibration measurements had to be carried out in order to protect Amsterdam’s large monumental townhouses. Replacing the sewerage does not happen all at once, but rather piece by piece. The vibration measurements are then taken at the houses where the excavator is at that time working. This allows you to move the sensors along and create a new measuring point for each house in the measuring platform. So for each canal house, you have created a measuring point in the online platform Honeycomb, but you may only need three physical measuring sensors.”

infographic measuring point

Pre-set easy measuring points in Honeycomb

Most canal houses in Amsterdam are quite old. They date back to the 17th century, during the Golden Age. Due to the state of some buildings, it is necessary to set a custom measurement configuration. With the handy functionality of the Honeycomb platform from Omnidots, you can give each building its own measuring point in advance. This also allows you to set the correct measurement configuration for each building in advance. After moving the vibration sensor, you only need to disconnect from the old measuring point and then connect it to the new measuring point; Honeycomb will ensure that the SWARM (vibration sensor) will use the correct configuration.

infographic timeline

Linking multiple sensors to one measuring point

Another advantage of Omnidots referencing the measuring points and not the measuring device itself, is in the event that the sensor breaks down, all data previously measured will simply remain stored at that measuring point in the Honeycomb platform. “For example, someone can drive their truck too close to the sensor and knock the sensor off the wall. You can replace the sensor, but the measuring point and all the data that was measured will still remain. This allows you to link multiple sensors to the same measuring point," adds Lourens finally.

infographic truck

How do I create a measuring point in the online platform Honeycomb?

In Omnidots online platform, Honeycomb, you can easily create one or more measuring points. You can get started in just 4 simple steps.

  1. Go to Honeycomb and log in with your username and password.
  2. Click on 'Measuring point' in the menu at the top of the page and then on 'Create SWARM measuring point'.
  3. Choose a name for your measuring point and click "Save". You have successfully created a measurement point. Our advice: Always choose a name that makes a measurement location easy for you to find. For example, 'University Main Building 1'.
  4. Note: By connecting your SWARM to the measuring point, the Honeycomb knows which type of vibration meter you have. All associated options and choices are then offered on this configuration page.
  5. After linking, you can continue with the configuration on the measuring point page.

Important note: it is impossible to connect a sensor that is already connected to another measuring point.

Would you also like to see how to create a SWARM measuring point step by step in Honeycomb? Watch the instruction video

Would you like more information about Omnidots products? Do you have any questions on how to correctly set measuring points? We are more than happy to connect with you and tell you more about it.

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