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Buildings

Building safety and resilience are fundamental for owners, facility managers, and structural and civil engineers. Many buildings are aging, subjected to seismic activity, wind, and daily occupancy loads. That’s why continuous monitoring has become a critical requirement for building inspection, people’s safety, performance, and long-term asset value.

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Overview

At Digitex Systems, our xDAS Distributed SHM platform provides continuous, high-precision monitoring tailored to the specific demands of buildings. Using triaxial accelerometers (xWave) as the core technology, we capture vibrations and dynamic responses that reveal a building’s structural health. Also, to extend coverage, we integrate with inclinometers (xInc) for tilt detection and weather sensors (xMet) to record environmental parameters such as wind and temperature—factors that significantly influence building stability.

Because GPS coverage is often unavailable inside large buildings, Digitex Systems leverages DigiSync® time synchronization technology to ensure precise alignment of all recorded data across distributed sensors. In a few words, it guarantees accurate modal analysis and event correlation without reliance on external signals.

With Observer software, engineers can perform detailed Operational Modal Analysis (OMA) to identify natural frequencies, damping ratios, and mode shapes. Furthermore, for long-term monitoring, the Voyager platform automates OMA in real time, continuously detecting modal changes without the need for manual intervention.

Additionally, the xAlarm device ensures that when thresholds are exceeded. Whether it’s weather or seismic activity, strong winds, or abnormal building movements, operators receive instant alerts via SMS and digital outputs.

Moreover, beyond permanent monitoring, Digitex offers xDAS Ambient, a portable SHM solution designed for rapid assessments of buildings on demand or after significant events such as earthquakes or storms. Leveraging the high sensitivity of xWave accelerometers and DigiMESH® protocol, xDAS Ambient detects ambient vibrations without artificial excitation.

Consequently, based on these recordings, the Observer post-processing software performs OMA. This way, it quickly extracts the building’s dynamic characteristics, enabling fast and reliable structural diagnostics.

In recognition of their importance, many countries now classify high-rise and public buildings as part of their critical civil infrastructure, enforcing mandatory requirements for permanent monitoring. In this view, in earthquake-prone countries, this type of risk mitigation is vital. Digitex Systems delivers the technology and expertise to meet these standards. In a nutshell, it empowers building stakeholders and civil engineers with actionable insights from condition monitoring to maintain people’s safety, optimize maintenance, and extend service life.

A diagram with Digitex Systems structural Health Monitoring Solutions for Buildings and Skyscrappers

Challenges

Monitoring buildings presents unique challenges due to their complex behaviour under both environmental and operational loads.

  • Dynamic Response Monitoring
    Capturing vibrations caused by wind, traffic, seismic activity, or occupancy loads requires triaxial accelerometers (xWave). Subtle shifts in modal behaviour can signal the onset of structural weakness long before visible damage occurs.
  • Real-Time Event Detection
    Critical events must be recorded and reported instantly. The xAlarm device, combined with our integrated trigger mechanisms and ring buffer functionality (Voyager), ensures that building operators are alerted without delay while all event data is preserved for analysis.
  • Tilt and Settlement Monitoring
    Inclinometers (xInc) provide early warnings of gradual settlement, tilt, or misalignment, which can undermine safety in high-rise buildings, including all sensitive structures.
  • Environmental Influences
    Weather stations (xMet) capture wind speeds, temperature shifts, and other environmental factors that directly affect building behaviour and are essential for correlating structural responses with external conditions.
  • OMA as the Only Practical Approach
    For buildings, Experimental Modal Analysis (EMA) is not practical—no one can artificially excite an entire skyscraper or large facility. Instead, Operational Modal Analysis (OMA) with accelerometers is the only viable method. With Observer software. Furthermore, civil engineers can perform advanced OMA post-processing, while Voyager automates OMA in real time. In this manner, it ensures continuous insight into dynamic behaviour under natural operating conditions.

Why Choose Digitex?

  • Dynamic Response and OMA Analysis

    Our platforms are centered on triaxial accelerometers (xWave). For this reason, they're delivering precise data on vibrations and dynamic response. Besides that, the Observer software supports detailed OMA, while Voyager automates OMA, enabling real-time tracking of modal properties—essential for buildings where EMA is not possible.

  • Real-Time Safety Alerts

    The xAlarm device, integrated with trigger mechanisms and ring buffer functionality, provides instant alarms via SMS and digital outputs. Simply put, when thresholds are exceeded, the xAlarm ensures timely intervention in the event of earthquakes, windstorms, or abnormal movements.

  • Tilt and Settlement Monitoring

    Inclinometers (xInc) detect even minor tilts, settlement, or alignment shifts in high-rise and critical buildings, offering early indicators of instability.

  • Environmental Monitoring

    Through weather stations (xMet), data on wind, temperature, and humidity is continuously tracked, providing essential context for understanding building responses.

  • Portable Monitoring with xDAS Ambient

    For rapid assessments after earthquakes or extreme weather, xDAS Ambient offers portable and easy deployment. Using xWave accelerometers, it captures ambient vibrations and allows OMA analysis via Observer to quickly extract dynamic properties and diagnose structural integrity based on the structural condition monitoring measurements.

  • Non-Destructive Testing Compatibility

    Digitex SHM platforms integrate seamlessly with non-destructive testing (NDT) methods, enabling deep diagnostics without disrupting building operations.

  • Durable and Low-Maintenance

    Engineered for long-term reliability, our systems withstand harsh environmental conditions and deliver continuous performance with minimal upkeep—ensuring effective monitoring for both modern high-rises and older heritage structures.

Building Monitoring: Choose Your System

Distributed System

A top-notch system for instrumenting large and complex structures. All in all, a fully digital monitoring solution for every type of civil infrastructure.

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Portable System

Researchers, engineers, and contractors can now do a rapid and reliable structural health assessment with ease. 

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Software

A Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) and earthquake engineering software – a powerful suite that covers the full lifecycle of any project!

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Real-world Applications

Case Studies

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