July 2025 | Campbell Associates

Mastering Your Section 61: How Our Environmental Monitors Simplify the Process

News

As a site manager or project coordinator, you’re constantly juggling a dozen different things at once. The last thing you need is a complex legal application holding up your project. That’s where the Section 61 application comes in—a crucial but often time-consuming step for managing noise on site.

At Campbell Associates, we understand the pressure you’re under. We’ve designed our environmental monitors and the Sonitus Cloud platform to take the headache out of Section 61s, helping you get approval faster and work with confidence.

What Exactly is a Section 61?

Simply put, a Section 61 is a formal application for prior consent to carry out noisy works under the Control of Pollution Act 1974. You submit this to your local authority, detailing your planned work, noise predictions, and mitigation measures. Getting it right is key to avoiding noise-related complaints, costly fines, and project delays.

But how do you prove your predictions and demonstrate you’re meeting your commitments? That’s where we come in.

From Paperwork to Peace of Mind: A Step-by-Step Guide

Our environmental monitors aren’t just for checking compliance after a complaint; they are powerful tools that simplify your entire Section 61 process.

Step 1: The Pre-Application Phase – Building Your Case A strong Section 61 application starts with solid data. Before you even submit your paperwork, our monitors can be deployed on site to:

  • Baseline Monitoring: Accurately measure existing noise levels. This provides a clear starting point and helps you make realistic noise predictions for your application.
  • Predictive Data: Use our noise, vibration, and dust data to precisely model the potential impact of your planned activities on the surrounding area. This robust information makes your application more credible and professional.

Step 2: The Application – The Numbers that Count Once you have your baseline data, you can fill out the Section 61 form with confidence. Instead of using rough estimates, you’ll have a report generated from our monitors, demonstrating a proactive approach to environmental management. This can significantly speed up the approval process, as it shows the local authority that you have a plan rooted in accurate, real-time information.

Step 3: Post-Approval – Working Confidently Your Section 61 is approved, and work can begin. Now, our monitors shift from a planning tool to a real-time safety net.

  • Continuous Monitoring: Our monitors run 24/7, tracking noise and vibration levels against the agreed-upon limits in your Section 61.
  • Real-Time Alerts: If a limit is approached or exceeded, our system automatically sends you an immediate alert via email or text message. This lets you react instantly, before a complaint is made.
  • Automated Reporting: Our Sonitus Cloud platform automatically generates clear, concise reports on your project’s compliance. When the local authority asks for an update, you don’t need to manually pull data. With a single click, you have a professional report ready to send, saving you hours of admin time.

Why Choose Campbell Associates?

  • Accuracy & Reliability: Our monitors are built to provide accurate, dependable data, giving you the confidence to stand by your applications.
  • Simple to Use: With a simple setup and easy-to-use platform, our systems are designed for busy professionals.
  • Remote Management: The Sonitus Cloud platform gives you full control and visibility from your laptop or phone—no need to constantly be on-site.
  • Peace of Mind: We help you transform your Section 61 from a potential roadblock into a smooth, efficient process.

Don’t let noise monitoring slow down your next project. Let our environmental monitors and the Sonitus Cloud platform give you the data, alerts, and peace of mind you need to work confidently.

Contact Campbell Associates today to learn more about our solutions for your next Section 61 application.

Syscom Rock vibration monitor put through its paces

Construction Resources

Syscom Blog Image

At Campbell Associates, we are committed to providing the UK’s construction, demolition & acoustic industries with the most advanced and reliable environmental monitoring solutions. That’s why we were thrilled to showcase the power of our new Syscom Rock Vibration Monitor at the recent Institute of Acoustics meeting on “Measurement, Prediction and Assessment of Ground Borne Vibration.”

We seized the opportunity to put the Syscom Rock through its paces in a live, practical demonstration, highlighting its exceptional capabilities in real-world scenarios.

Putting the Rock to Work: A Live Demonstration

The practical session involved meticulously testing the vibration emitted by Geomatrix Ltd’s innovative system – a device renowned for assessing ground stiffness by emitting a precise sweep of frequencies (5Hz to 300Hz). This is crucial for understanding how vibration propagates, especially in complex urban areas where drilling, piling, and demolition are needed near sensitive structures.

Our new Syscom Rock monitor was strategically placed just 10 meters from the vibration source, alongside other leading systems, to meticulously measure ground-borne vibration across multiple cycles.

Real-Time Data, Real-World Insights with Sonitus Cloud

One of the Syscom Rock’s standout features is its seamless integration with the Syscom Cloud platform. As vibrations were generated, data was transferred in real-time, allowing us to immediately visualise critical insights. We demonstrated how background vibration levels were instantly displayed in X, Y, and Z directions, with clear indications of peak levels as the vibration source was activated and then scaled down.

The detailed signal files instantly revealed nuanced behaviours, such as the X and Y directions peaking earlier at a 30Hz frequency, indicating an observed decoupling effect of the machine. The Z direction, by contrast, peaked at 50Hz. This level of precise, real-time data empowers our clients to truly understand vibration propagation and make informed, proactive decisions on site.

Engineered for Efficiency: Solar Power & Single-Button Simplicity

Decision-makers in construction and demolition demand reliability and ease of use. The Syscom Rock delivers:

  • Exceptional Power Efficiency: Powered by a compact, integrated solar panel, the Rock ensures continuous monitoring with minimal power consumption, even in remote locations.
  • Effortless Setup: Its intuitive design means simple, single-button operation to initiate measurements, getting you up and running quickly with minimal training.

Secure Your Site’s Future with the Syscom Rock.

The Syscom Rock Vibration Monitor is more than just a device; it’s your solution for robust compliance, enhanced safety, and unparalleled insight into ground-borne vibration. Available or purchase and hire within the UK.