Instrumentation & Monitoring Services
All Services
If it settles, tilts, cracks, vibrates or rises, we measure it and tell you what it means.
Deep excavation, pile driving, tunneling and demolition move the ground and the structures around it. The question is whether you find out from an instrument or from a neighbor’s attorney. Hudson Peaks designs, installs and operates monitoring programs that detect movement early, compare it against project thresholds and put interpreted data in front of the people who need to act.
Our programs combine automated sensors, survey-grade geodetic monitoring and manual instruments with a web-based data platform and engineers who read the data every day. We support programs from a single seismograph on a demolition job to multi-year, multi-sensor networks along transit corridors.
What We Provide
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Program Design & Baseline
We review the drawings, the geotechnical report, the construction sequence and the surrounding structures, then specify instrument types, locations, frequencies and threshold values to match the owner’s specification, NYC Building Code Chapter 33 and the actual risk. Instruments are installed and baselined before any work that could influence them begins.
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Installation, Monitoring & Data Management
Seismographs, AMTS, piezometers and data loggers report by telemetry into a web-based platform with threshold lines and automatic notifications. Survey, inclinometer and manual instruments are read at the specified frequency by our field crews. Where instrument casings require drilling, licensed drillers install them under our direction; our team installs the sensors, protects them on the active site and keeps them calibrated.
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Interpretation & Reporting
Readings are reviewed by engineers, not just logged. We identify trends, filter instrument noise and tell the project team when an exceedance is real and what it likely means. Daily, weekly and monthly reports are issued in the owner’s format, with event reports for exceedances and a final monitoring report at completion.
Who We Serve
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Contractors with adjacent-property protection obligations
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Owners and construction managers
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Transit and public agencies
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Engineers of record who need baseline and performance data
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Property owners adjacent to construction
Your Challenges, Our Solutions
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Excavation beside occupied or landmark buildings
AMTS and prism networks, crack gauges and tiltmeters tied to a pre-construction condition survey, with review/alert/action thresholds.
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Pile driving, vibratory compaction or demolition
Automated seismographs recording peak particle velocity continuously, alerting the superintendent before a limit is reached.
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Dewatering and groundwater drawdown
Vibrating-wire and standpipe piezometers read in real time, correlated with settlement points on adjacent structures.
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Support-of-excavation performance
Inclinometers, strut load cells and optical survey of wall tops, compared with design predictions after each excavation lift.
What's Involved
Our instrumentation & monitoring scope typically includes:
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Monitoring plan preparation, threshold development and agency/owner approval
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Automated vibration monitoring (seismographs with remote alerting, PPV and frequency)
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Automated Motorized Total Stations (AMTS) and survey prism networks
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Optical settlement and deformation surveys of structures, tracks, utilities and SOE
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Inclinometers (manual and in-place), extensometers and settlement cells/plates
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Vibrating-wire and standpipe piezometers and observation wells
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Crack gauges, tiltmeters, strain gauges and load cells
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Noise and dust monitoring (with Environmental Support)
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Data loggers, cellular telemetry and web-based data management (GIMS administration)
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Review / alert / action threshold reporting and real-time notifications
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Pre- and post-construction condition surveys
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Instrument protection, maintenance, calibration and decommissioning
Standards & Methods
Codes, guidance and methods our programs reference include:
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NYC Building Code Chapter 33 (BC 3309 protection of adjacent property) and NYC DOB TPPN 10/88 monitoring and vibration provisions
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MTA / NYCT, LIRR and PANYNJ adjacent-construction and monitoring specifications
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USBM RI 8507 and project-specific peak particle velocity limits; NYC Noise Code
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ASTM D6230 (inclinometers), D4750 (groundwater levels), D7764 (vibrating-wire piezometers), D4428 (crosshole seismic, where specified)
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Instrument manufacturers' calibration and installation procedures; NIST-traceable calibration of seismographs
Why Hudson Peaks Stands Out Among Monitoring Firms
Hudson Peaks’ monitoring group is led by geotechnical professionals who understand why the ground moves, so an alert arrives with an interpretation rather than a raw number. We work within MTA, LIRR, PANYNJ and NYC DDC monitoring specifications, track-access protocols and reporting formats on transit, bridge, waterfront and hospital programs.
Movement, groundwater, vibration and noise are measured by one firm and interpreted together, and our 24/7 dispatch lets us add instruments or increase reading frequency when construction conditions change.
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Engineer-reviewed data, every day, with written interpretation of exceedances
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Automated telemetry and alerting on vibration, AMTS and piezometer systems
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Web-based dashboard with threshold lines, plots and report archive for the whole project team
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Transit and public-agency monitoring experience
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Integrated with geotechnical investigation, condition surveys and environmental monitoring
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24/7 dispatch and mobilization
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Certified MBE / DBE / SBE participation with a technically substantive scope
Support for Every Project Phase
1. Design
Advise on monitoring requirements and threshold values; prepare the monitoring plan for owner approval.
2. Pre-construction
Perform condition surveys; install and baseline instruments at least two to four weeks before influencing work.
3. Construction
Monitor, interpret and report; respond to exceedances; add instruments as the work advances.
4. Closeout
Post-construction survey and final monitoring report; decommission instruments.
Have a monitoring specification to meet?
Contact us today with your drawings and we will design a program that satisfies it without over-instrumenting the site. Call (917) 477-4042 or email info@hudsonpeaks.com.
Digging Deeper: Choosing Thresholds That Mean Something
A threshold set too tight generates alarms nobody trusts; one set too loose protects no one. We derive review, alert and action levels from the structure’s tolerance, the geotechnical design, the owner’s specification and the building’s age and condition, and tie each level to a defined response. Baseline variability is measured before construction so seasonal and thermal movement are not mistaken for construction effects.
Digging Deeper: Automated vs. Manual Monitoring
Automated systems earn their cost when readings are needed frequently, access is restricted or a fast response matters: vibration during pile driving, AMTS on a landmark façade beside a deep excavation, piezometers during dewatering. Manual instruments remain the right choice for low-frequency, long-duration observation. Most programs use both, and we design the mix around the construction schedule rather than the equipment list.
Frequently Asked Questions
What instruments does Hudson Peaks provide?
Automated seismographs, AMTS and survey prisms, optical settlement points, inclinometers, extensometers, settlement cells, vibrating-wire and standpipe piezometers, observation wells, crack gauges, tiltmeters, strain gauges and load cells, with data loggers, telemetry and web-based data management.
Do you provide automated, real-time monitoring?
Yes. Vibration, AMTS and piezometer systems report by telemetry to a web-based platform with automatic threshold alerts to the project team by text and email.
Who installs inclinometer casings and piezometers?
Boreholes and casings are drilled and installed by licensed drilling contractors under HPCL's direction; we specify, oversee installation, instrument, read and interpret them.
When should monitoring start?
Before any construction activity that could influence the monitored structure or ground, so that reliable baselines exist. Plan for instruments to be in place at least two to four weeks ahead of the work.
Is monitoring required by code in New York City?
NYC Building Code Chapter 33 requires protection of adjacent property during construction and demolition, and DOB TPPN 10/88 and most agency specifications require pre-construction surveys and monitoring for excavation, underpinning, pile driving and demolition near existing structures. The monitoring plan is typically a required submittal.
Related Projects
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83 Worth Street, Manhattan, NY
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Hackensack Meridian Hospital – Red Bank, NJ
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MTA – 9th Avenue Station, Brooklyn, NY – Noise and Vibration Monitoring
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The Bridge at Mineola – Monitor LIRR, NYU Langone, County Bridge, and Commercial Properties
Meet the Experts
Credentials & Agencies
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NYC DOB Class 1 Special Inspection Agency (#008381)
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NYC DOB Registered Concrete Testing Laboratory (#000136)
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NJ DPMC Certified Materials Testing Laboratory
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Quality system built to ISO/IEC 17020 (inspection) and ISO/IEC 17025 (laboratory)
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Certified MBE / DBE / SBE
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Offices in Elmhurst, NY and Edison, NJ
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Agencies and owners we work with:
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MTA / NYCT
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MTA C&D
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LIRR
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PANYNJ
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NYC DDC
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NYC SCA
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NYSDEC
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NJDEP
Also Consider
Pre- & Post-Construction Documentation
Capture existing site conditions with detailed documentation to help minimize disputes, claims, and unexpected construction-related issues.
Geotechnical Support Services
Build on a solid foundation with expert site investigations, soil analysis, and practical engineering recommendations for safer construction.
Environmental Support Services
Address environmental challenges with site assessments, compliance support, and practical solutions that keep your project moving forward.
Special Inspections
Keep your project compliant with building codes, approved plans, and quality standards through accurate inspections and dependable reporting.
Build with Hudson Peaks
One technical partner for inspection, testing, geotechnical, environmental and monitoring services across New York and New Jersey. Field teams mobilize within 24 hours for scheduled work and same day when conditions require it.