Monitoring Plan

Monitoring Plan

Adjacent, or adjoining, property protection is a necessity nowadays with continuous frivolous lawsuits impeding millions of dollars of construction work daily. The Big Apple Group is able to analyze your project and its surroundings and assist in generating the most efficient possible protection plans and measures that should be taken to not only protect your best interests, but the interests of your neighbors.

As a construction consulting firm Big Apple Group offers services to assist with the protection of adjacent structures. Our services can monitor for allowable thresholds and aid in understanding potential causes and provide possible solutions to a site’s particular situation. The Big Apple Group has provided quality control construction services for numerous projects and work with the client to find appropriate solutions. We can provide quick and direct feedback of vibration levels to allow immediate adjustment and control over construction methods and procedures.

Construction activities may impact the structural integrity of the adjacent existing structures during certain phases of new construction or renovations. Examples of these activities include but are not limited to Demolition, Support of Excavation (SOE), underpinning, Pile Driving/Drilling, Dynamic Compaction, rock Chipping/Hammering and Rock Blasting. Without a construction monitoring plan, activities such as the above can affect structures in many ways such as cracks to the adjacent structure foundations, causing structure damage and/or failure.

In order to help your construction project comply Chapter 18, Section 1814.3 of the New York City Building Code; The Big Apple Group will be with you every step of the way. When excavation, foundation construction, or underpinning is required, adjacent structures and properties shall be monitored in accordance with a plan prepared by the Big Apple Group. We develop the scope of the monitoring protocol, including location and type of instruments, frequency and duration of readings, and permissible movement and vibration criteria. Our Monitoring Protocol takes into account the structures or property to be monitored and the conditions thereof and include necessary actions to address exceedances.

Monitoring Plans are prepared by the Big Apple Group’s in house Professionally Licensed Engineers in accordance with various building codes throughout the Eastern United States. The Monitoring Plan represents the instrumentation requirements and monitoring procedures that are recommended to be implemented for the protection and safeguarding of the structures adjacent to the project site.

Section BC 3309 of the 2014 New York City Building Code (NYCBC) outlines the requirements for protection of adjoining buildings and property from damage during construction, structural demolition, and excavation activities. Section BC 3309 includes requirements for preconstruction documentation and monitoring of adjacent structures with below grade excavations beyond a depth of five feet. In addition, BC 3309 references New York City Department of Buildings Technical Policy and Procedure Notice #10/88 (TPPN 10/88) which outlines the documentation and monitoring requirements for adjacent structures located within Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) designated Historic Districts. TPPN 10/88 provides for monitoring of Landmark or Historic District buildings within 90 feet of any site with foundation construction or earthwork excavation.