Worldsensing is a leader in IoT remote monitoring. It has over 3,000 network deployments around the world, in sectors including rail, mining and construction, primarily used to monitor how geotechnical, geospatial and structural conditions impact civil infrastructure to help prevent life-threatening incidents.

We interviewed Sam Buckley, a Technical Sales Specialist at Worldsensing about the benefits of using IoT monitoring in large scale rail projects and its ability to increase the reliability of decision-making for risk management.

What is the role of Internet of Things (IoT) monitoring within the rail sector?

Sam Buckley: Connecting geotechnical and structural data obtained from devices such as data loggers and sensors remotely is really important to the rail sector for many reasons.

Many railways are very old – take the UK for example – and need to be monitored, but it’s not just existing infrastructure we have to check.

Construction of new infrastructure needs to be monitored too. For example, if you’re excavating a new tunnel under an urban area, the space you are excavating can significantly affect the ground above it, you may also need to ensure the ovalisation of the excavation envelope is not excessive or there’s a risk of collapse. Monitoring is therefore critical.

You can also find cost savings during construction through the use of IoT monitoring. As an example, data can show you that perhaps there’s less movement in an area than expected, enabling engineers to tweak designs and spend less money reinforcing the area – or potentially using less concrete, offering a more sustainable build.

Going back to safety, IoT monitoring can help to protect survey staff. Manual monitoring involves putting your staff directly into dangerous environments – if you’ve got a track with an electrified line, or really steep embankments, people are at risk of getting injured.

Read more at: https://railway-news.com/iot-monitoring-in-large-scale-projects-an-interview-with-worldsensing/