Project Type: Labs & Medical Research Facilities

Project Detail: Non-Human Primate Laboratory- Vibration 

Philadelphia, PA

This laboratory facility is a biomedical research and teaching institution and houses laboratories, a vivarium, classrooms, an auditorium, and administrative offices. The building was built in the 1970s and was badly in need of renovation. With live animal laboratories, there were concerns about noise and vibration from the proposed construction which was going to take a number of months. The facility contracted with Metropolitan Acoustics to perform vibration monitoring throughout the duration of the renovation.

Little quantitative information is available regarding the sensitivity of live animals to vibration. It is known that noise and vibration can create stress which leads to unusual eating habits, increased aggression and poor mating. Our goal was to monitor the conditions on site and document our findings. We conducted an initial site survey to measure sound and vibration levels at various locations throughout the building and provided a detailed report with the survey procedures and results.

Our vibration monitoring provided detailed graphs and information about the conditions on site at various times throughout the day and night. We then monitored noise and vibration throughout the entire construction project. Ultimately, the interpretation of the data in a scientific application like this is left up to the client. In this case, our reports and measurements were used to alert them to unacceptable levels of sound or vibration on site and to immediately take measures to correct them before they became an issue for the animals.