Using a weather station on your construction site
When working outside we're subjected to the elements. Whether it's frost, rain, storm or extreme heat. Knowing the exact weather at your construction site can give more information about what kind of work is possible on a certain day, at a certain time. In a lot of cases it's also useful to have a datalog of the weather of the last days and months. To track the curing of mortar and concrete for example.
On big projects a general weather forecast isn't always accurate enough for your location. It would be useful to have access to your own weather station that can send out alarm notifications when certain extremes have been reached. This way you will be notified if work onsite is possible, keeping you up to date, allowing you to reschedule and preventing time from being wasted.
The value of live data
Even when you aren't able to keep a live eye on the construction site, it's vital to stay updated. Remote monitoring with live data streaming solves this problem. This allows you to:
- instantly react to potential problems by staying up to date.
- quickly change your planning when the weather doesn't allow for what's scheduled.
- easily look through your data logs and analyse the weather of the past days or months.
- effectively manage the site.
Remote monitoring weather stations are frequently used during the construction of large buildings. They monitor and register the weather, allowing this data to be analysed at a later time. Having an extensive data log can show in detail what periods of construction suffered delays, and whether that was related to the weather.
Historical data to find patterns
When constructing large buildings, it can be important to see if a specific location is subjected to a certain weather pattern. Let's take a large office building for example, prior to construction it would be wise to monitor whether the specific location suffers from strong winds during a particular season. Or if there is heavy rainfall that needs to be taken into consideration (providing ample drainage, an underground reservoir etc.) Both for the actual construction period as the building's design, this data can be relevant.
Work smarter by utilising live data
Monitor curing times
Every cm of concrete needs a week to harden completely, depending on temperature and other factors this can be either faster or slower. With the live and logged data in the cloud you can determine whether recently poured concrete still needs extra curing time, or whether it's ready to carry some weight.
Protect your workers and equipment
Monitoring the weather allows you to make better decisions safety-wise. Human perception isn't objective, we might perceive a risk as minimal and continue working. Meanwhile, the actual factual data might show that work cannot be carried out safely and should be paused. Low temperatures can cause hypothermia. High temperatures can cause overheating, both for your workers and your equipment. Don't forget that dangerous chemicals could also spontaneously combust. Rain can impair vision and cause roads and fields to become slippery. Big trucks could get stuck in heavy soil when it turns to mud.
Frost on the construction site
When it's freezing or is about to freeze, it's impossible to pour concrete (foundations) or lay bricks. Mixing becomes impossible when the mixture is too stiff. Concrete and mortar only harden at temperatures of 5°C and up. Besides, fresh brickwork can break by freezing, it's vital to cover up and insulate new walls to protect them. It would be useless to come onsite with these works in mind, only to find out that the temperature is too low to carry out the planned works. That's simply wasted time.
Storms and wind on the construction site
Scaffolding, cranes, ladders and other temporary constructions need to be windproofed so they aren't blown away. But even then they aren't safe from storms.
An extra pair of eyes on your construction site, gives you information about the current wind speed. Even when you're not physically onsite, a remote monitoring system can help you stay posted.
Rain on the construction site
A little drizzle never hurt anyone, but a full-blown rainstorm can cause a heap of problems on your construction site. Fresh brickwork can be damaged by heavy rain as mortar can be washed away, hurting the structural integrity of the wall as the bricks fall out.
When rain is registered after completing the bricklaying, you should be able to receive an alarm notification. Putting an extra cover over your fresh brickwork is a simple measure that prevents big problems.
What you need for your own weather station
What you need for your personal weather station:
- A mobile, autonomous weather sensor
- A stable base to mount the sensor on (a crane, a machine, a pole)
- Real-time data and alarm notifications
- A power source
- An internet connection
Those last two factors are no simple task when the construction site is at a remote location where a WiFi connection hasn't been established yet and grid power is unavailable. So you need an autonomous system. You need a system that keeps an eye on your construction site, that continuously sends data to the cloud for you to access but that also notifies you when something is wrong. So you need Reporter.
Reporter is a mobile, autonomous and customisable plug & play system that allows you to do all of the above. Reporter is compatible with grid power or its own solar panel. It has its own internet connection through a SIM card. Reporter is able to send out measurements to the cloud as frequently as every 60 seconds. It instantly sends out alarm notifications to your phone when a set limit has been exceeded.
Get started with your own weather station and optimise your construction site.
