Monitoring

Auscultation is a specialized discipline that consists of the systematic measurement of terrain parameters and structures to obtain relevant information about their real behavior. This technique is essential in any construction process because it allows us to know how the structural elements and the ground really respond to the stresses to which they are subjected, facilitating informed decision-making to improve safety and reduce risks. At SOCOTEC, we have extensive experience in geotechnical, structural and environmental auscultation, providing objective data that allows us to anticipate problems, validate designs, optimize projects and guarantee the integrity of infrastructures during their construction and useful life. Auscultation thus becomes an essential safety tool that mitigates risks, prevents structural failures, and can lead to a significant optimization of the project, reducing both execution times and costs associated with unforeseen events.

At SOCOTEC we develop our R+D+i to innovate and apply the most advanced techniques that provide added technological value to our customers. Our auscultation services include:

• Drafting of auscultation plans: We design personalised monitoring strategies adapted to the specific characteristics of each project.
• Design of measurement systems: We develop technical solutions for the control of the efficient use of infrastructures.
• Supply, installation and monitoring of instrumentation: We provide and install specialized equipment to monitor the real state of the infrastructures, continuously monitoring the measurements.
• Automation and alert management: We implement automatic continuous monitoring systems that generate real-time alerts when predefined thresholds are exceeded, allowing an immediate response to potentially dangerous situations.
• Technical advice: We analyse and evaluate results and data to facilitate decision-making, seeking at all times the anticipation and planning of preventive actions.
• SHM - Structural Health Monitoring: We apply advanced structural health monitoring techniques that allow us to evaluate the state of conservation of existing infrastructures.

SOCOTEC provides auscultation services in a wide variety of sectors and infrastructures:

Civil Works:

• Tunnels: Convergence control, decompression ring, support tension, lining pressure, bolt loading, section perimeter, piezometry, and slope auscultation (inclinometry, settlements, total and interstitial stresses, anchor loading).
• Dams: Monitoring of temperatures, meteorological variables, reservoir level, subpressures, seepage, input flows, movements of the dam body and foundation, stresses in the body of the dam, accelerometry and induced seismicity.
• Bridges: Control of temperatures, wind direction and speed, structural stresses, loading of hangers and stay cables, span arrows, movements in foundations, corrosion of metal elements and vibrations.
• Railway tracks: Track superstructure, rail movements, sleeper displacements and vibrations.

Building:

• Ports: Wave height, impact force, stress on the bed foundation, structural stresses on caissons, inclinometry, seating movements and anchor loading.
• Meter: Inclinometry, piezometry, seat tray, toe-ups, decompression crown, support tension, lining pressure, anchor load and vibrations.
• Buildings: Control of movements, collapses, structural stresses, foundation settlements and cracking.

An Auscultation Plan is a technical document that establishes in detail the strategy for monitoring geotechnical and structural parameters during the execution and useful life of an infrastructure. This plan defines what parameters must be measured, what instrumentation is necessary, where and how it must be installed, how often the readings will be taken, what alert thresholds are established, and what action procedures must be followed in the event that these thresholds are exceeded. At SOCOTEC we write customized auscultation plans for tunnel projects, dams, bridges, deep excavations, unique buildings, and any infrastructure where the behavior of the terrain or structure requires controlled monitoring. These plans are especially necessary in complex projects where there are significant geotechnical risks, when works are carried out near existing buildings that could be affected, in critical infrastructures where safety is a priority, and when the applicable regulations or the conditions of the project require it. A well-designed auscultation plan provides peace of mind for the developer and technical team, ensuring that objective information is available to validate design hypotheses and make informed decisions throughout the life of the project.

The automatic auscultation systems implemented by SOCOTEC provide substantial advantages over traditional manual reading. Automation enables continuous 24/7 monitoring of critical infrastructure parameters, eliminating reliance on the physical presence of technicians in the field and ensuring that no relevant information is lost that could occur between two manual readings. Automatic systems transmit data in real time using communication technologies (GPRS, 4G, radio, fiber optics), which allows the behavior of the structure to be visualized at any time from remote locations. Automated alert management is an essential functionality: the system continuously compares the readings obtained with predefined alert thresholds and, when these limits are exceeded, automatically generates warnings to technical managers via SMS, email or notifications on web platforms, allowing an immediate response to potentially dangerous situations. In addition, automation guarantees the complete traceability of all data, facilitates its historical storage, allows advanced statistical analysis and generation of evolutionary graphs, and significantly reduces the operating costs associated with travel and manual taking of readings. At SOCOTEC we implement specific auscultation software that integrates all the information in an accessible, intuitive and secure way, providing our clients with a powerful management tool for decision-making.

SOCOTEC has a network of offices strategically located in Barcelona, Madrid and Zaragoza, as well as multiple delegations and technical teams distributed throughout Spain. This territorial structure allows us to provide auscultation services anywhere on the peninsula, guaranteeing proximity, fast response times and immediate availability for our clients. We have multidisciplinary teams specialized in geotechnical and structural auscultation that can travel to carry out the installation of instrumentation, the monitoring of measurements, and the analysis of results in projects of any size and complexity, regardless of their geographical location. Our experience ranges from large infrastructures in urban environments to projects in hard-to-reach areas, including rail and road tunnels, dams in mountainous environments, bridges over rivers and valleys, deep excavations in urban centers, and unique buildings. This territorial capillarity, reinforced by our technical capacity and our specialized equipment, constitutes a guarantee of success for our clients, ensuring that any auscultation project, regardless of its location, will receive the same professional attention, the same technical rigor and the same commitment to safety that characterizes all our services.

 For more information about our auscultation services and to contact the technical manager in your area, visit www.socotec.es or contact our offices in Barcelona (+34 932 244 370), Madrid (+34 917 021 584) or Zaragoza (+34 976 301 113).