How Do You Dispatch Concrete Pumps for the First Time?
By PumpX Team ·
Dispatch is where a pump company makes or loses money. A well-run board means trucks are busy, pours start on time and customers come back. A poorly run board means idle machines, double-bookings and angry builders. If you are new to dispatching pumps, here is a practical framework.
Start with the booking call
Every booking needs the same core information. Build a checklist and never skip it.
| Detail | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Site address and access | Can the truck physically get in? Width, height, slope, soft ground |
| Type of pour | Slab, footings, columns, suspended slab, driveway |
| Volume | Drives job length and number of concrete trucks |
| Reach needed | Horizontal and vertical distance to the furthest point |
| Start time and concrete supplier | Pump should be on site before the first truck |
| Site contact | A phone number that actually gets answered |
| Hazards | Powerlines, trees, neighbouring buildings, overhead obstacles |
| Pump type requested | Boom, line pump, trailer pump |
Our ordering checklist lists what customers should provide, so you know what to ask. If customers regularly forget something, add it to the form.
Match machine to job
Match pump size and type to the work, not just to what is free.
- Boom pump for slabs, footings and anything where the boom can reach quickly. Check the reach required against the machine's rated reach, and the access against its size and outrigger spread.
- Line pump for tight access, backyards, small pours or places a truck cannot enter. See what is a line pump.
- Bigger boom for high-rise or long-reach jobs.
If the job needs more reach than the machine has, or the site cannot take the outriggers, that is a conversation to have at booking, not on the day.
Plan the day with buffers
New dispatchers underestimate how many things can go wrong:
- Concrete trucks run late and the pump sits waiting.
- Pours run over because of site delays or slow finishing.
- Travel between jobs takes longer than the map suggests, particularly in peak traffic.
- Cleanup takes time, and some councils or sites have washout rules. Check the washout guide.
Leave buffer time between jobs. Packing a board to the minute works until the first delay, and then every later job is late. Factor in operator hours too. Fatigue is a safety issue, and local working-hour rules or award conditions may limit how long someone can work.
Confirm and communicate
- Confirm the day before with the customer and, if you can, the concrete supplier. Time, address, pump type.
- Make sure the operator has the job details, site contact, hazard notes and any access instructions.
- Tell customers what to expect: arrival window, what the pump needs, who is responsible for site preparation. For what customers might expect on price, our guide to what's included in pump hire is a useful reference.
- Have a plan for weather. Rain, wind and heat all change pours, and customers will cancel or postpone. Agree on cancellation terms in advance.
Handle emergencies and changes
Expect last-minute calls: a pour that has to move, a machine that breaks down, an urgent job. Know your options before you need them:
- A backup machine or a trusted partner company to sub work to.
- An on-call operator roster for after-hours work.
- A simple way to re-sequence the board without losing track of who is where.
If you want to learn about alerts for urgent jobs or backfill, look at PumpX Alerts.
Pricing and paperwork
Quote consistently: minimum hire, per-metre or hourly rates, call-out or standing time charges, line hire, travel and any extras. Put it in writing and make sure the customer knows what triggers extra charges. Use the rate calculator to sense-check your numbers against typical structures.
Mistakes new dispatchers make
- Taking bookings without checking access.
- Not asking about powerlines or overhead obstacles.
- Over-booking the best operator.
- Skipping confirmations.
- Forgetting that concrete trucks, not the pump, usually set the pace.
Tools for the job
You do not need fancy software to start. A shared calendar or a whiteboard with one row per machine and one column per hour is enough, as long as everybody uses the same source of truth. As the fleet grows, consider job sheets that capture the booking checklist and a simple end-of-day record of actual start, finish and cleanup times. After a month you will see how long jobs really take, which makes your buffers far more accurate than guesswork.
Key takeaways
- Use a booking checklist and never skip site access and hazard questions.
- Match pump type and reach to the job, not just availability.
- Build buffers into the board for delays, travel and cleanup.
- Confirm the day before and give operators full job details.
- Keep a backup plan for breakdowns and urgent jobs.
Need to find a pump partner for overflow work? Browse pump companies at /services on PumpX.
Original question on Reddit: r/Concrete: First time dispatching