---
title: Ground-borne noise
description: Ground-borne noise (GBN) is one of the most challenging environmental impacts to measure and manage.
image: https://support.sitehive.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Knowledge%20Base%20Import/homepageimages/enviro-setup.jpg?width=1200&name=enviro-setup.jpg
---
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2. [SiteHive Enviro Pro: advanced features](https://support.sitehive.com/en-au/sitehive-enviro-pro-advanced-features?hsLang=en-au)
# Ground-borne noise
**Ground-borne noise (GBN)** is the low rumble that reaches people indoors through the ground and building structure, rather than through the air. Your **SiteHive Hexanode Vibration** devices can estimate GBN in real-time, so you can monitor it without entering properties or installing indoor microphones.
---
### What is ground-borne noise?
Ground-borne noise starts as **vibration**, from works such as tunnelling or rock hammering, that travels through the ground into nearby buildings. Once it reaches a building, it can be:
- **felt** as vibration, and
- **heard** as a low rumble or hum when it re-radiates as sound from walls, floors and ceilings.
It's most common on:
- tunnelling and rail projects, including TBM operations
- underground construction
- piling and rock hammering
- heavy vehicle movements.
Ground-borne noise is often more noticeable at night, when background noise drops, and it can seem louder than airborne noise at the same level. That makes it a frequent cause of complaints on night works.
---
### How SiteHive estimates it
SiteHive estimates ground-borne noise from vibration using a modernised version of the **Kurzweil method**, a long-established way of predicting the noise a room will hear from the vibration of its floor.
**On the Hexanode Vibration device:**
1. Raw vibration is recorded, sampling at 1KHz.
2. **A-weighting** is applied, to match how people hear.
3. The A-weighted combined vibration velocity (**Vsum**) is calculated.
4. The maximum A-weighted Vsum for each period, typically one minute, is sent to the cloud.
**In SiteHive Enviro:**
1. A **scaling factor** is applied to estimate the equivalent noise level in **dB LAeq**.
2. The result is shown as ground-borne noise on your Dashboard, alongside PPV and VDV.
The method is built around the **NSW Interim Construction Noise Guideline (2009)** and was validated on **Sydney Metro West (Eastern Tunnelling Package)**, where estimates were compared against direct indoor measurements.
For the full method and the Sydney Metro West validation results, read the research paper: [Ground-borne noise monitoring in construction: a real-time, non-intrusive approach](https://sitehive.com/resources/research-paper-ground-borne-noise).
---
### Turn on ground-borne noise and set your scaling factor
Ground-borne noise is turned on for each Monitoring Point, so you can choose which locations report it.
In the Monitoring Point's **Setup** tab ([Click Manage to adjust settings and devices](https://support.sitehive.com/en-au/click-manage-to-adjust-settings-and-devices?hsLang=en-au)), toggle on **Vibration Ground-borne Noise**, enter the **Scaling Factor** for that location, then click **Save**.
The scaling factor, typically between **27 and 35**, accounts for things like distance from the source and how the building responds to vibration. It's what makes the estimate specific to each location, so set it separately for each Monitoring Point.
> 💡 **Tip:** Ask your acoustic consultant which scaling factor applies to each location. If you're not sure, contact your Regional Success Manager or [support@sitehive.com](mailto:support@sitehive.com) and we can help you set it.
---
### See ground-borne noise on your Dashboard
Select the **Vibration** aspect and a Monitoring Point, then open the **Ground-borne Noise** tab on the graph. Values are shown in **dB LAeq**, so they're easy to read and compare against your criteria, even if you're not a vibration specialist.
---
### Add it to reports and rules
- **PDF reports:** tick **Ground-borne Noise Graph** in the Vibration section of your report setup, and GBN appears alongside PPV and VDV. See [Create a PDF report](https://support.sitehive.com/en-au/create-a-pdf-report?hsLang=en-au).
- **Rules and notifications:** set a rule on ground-borne noise so you're alerted when levels approach your criteria. See [Set up rules and notifications](https://support.sitehive.com/en-au/set-up-rules-and-notifications?hsLang=en-au).
---
### What's next
[SiteHive Vibration: what it measures and how](https://support.sitehive.com/en-au/sitehive-vibration-what-it-measures-and-how?hsLang=en-au) (the device behind the estimate: PPV, VDV and waveforms)
[Waveform classification: what caused the vibration](https://support.sitehive.com/en-au/vibration-classifier-what-caused-the-vibration?hsLang=en-au) (AI labels every exceedance construction or non-construction)
[Vibration Criterion (VC) curves](https://support.sitehive.com/en-au/vibration-criterion-vc-curves?hsLang=en-au) (monitoring for sensitive equipment)
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