Guide to Concrete Pumping

The Key To A Successful Concrete Pump Pour Is To Manage The Pour. From Ordering The Right Pump And Concrete Through To Organising The Site And Supervising To Pumping Operation. Some Guidelines Are Set Out Below To Assist With Planning A Pump Pour.  

When Ordering A Concrete Pump Please Give The Following Information:  

• Company name.  
• Contact name and telephone number.  
• Full site address including postcode (if known).  
• Date and time for the pump, allow approximately 1 hour for the pump operator to set up the pump. Our hires start commencement from 8am but can be booked earlier if needed.  
• Type & Size of concrete pump required Boom size / Pipeline length.  
• Volume in cubic meterage and type of concrete including any admixtures, additions, fibres etc.  
• Brief description of the pour e.g. footing, external slab, bridge deck etc.  
• Any other special requirements – additional pipeline, small diameter pipeline (75mm) second man etc.  

To Ensure A Safe And Efficient Concrete Pump Pour, Please Supply:  

• Clear and safe access to the pump set-up area for the pump and the truck mixers.  
• A level area of hard standing, with no overhead obstructions, on which to set up the pump.  
• A set-up area that is strong enough to support the maximum outrigger loadings of the pump.  
• Cement to grout the pipeline – 1 x 25 kg bags per 20 metres of pipeline.  
• Somewhere to deposit excess grout.  
• A good pump mix concrete of S3, S4 or S5 consistence to pump the distance and height required. Please liaise with your concrete supplier regarding pumpable mixes.  
• A competent concreting gang to lay the concrete.  
• A suitable place for the operator to wash the pump out at the end of the job. At least 0.5 cubic metre of concrete will be left in the pump after the pumping operation. We suggest making up a box to wash out the excess concrete. It can be made from four wooden boards (scaffold) approximately 2m2 and a plastic sheet cover (polythene). This helps contain the water and concrete from running over the site.  
• A good supply of water will help the operator, although the pump does carry its own supply.  
• Sufficient lighting provided if job is commencing before sunrise or on-going past sunset.  

The Sequence Of A Typical Concrete Pump Pour:  

• The pump will arrive, and the operator will liaise with the contractor before setting up the pump, pipeline (if required) and preparing the grout. 
• Do not confirm your concrete until your pump arrives on site. And the operator has viewed the pour.  
• The concrete mixer truck will arrive and back onto the pump. 
• The pump operator will grout the line and commence pumping. It is good site practice to pump excess grout to waste, not into the pour.  
• The concrete will be placed into position using the boom where possible. Where ground-line is used, the concreting gang will be required to move the pipeline around site as the pour progresses.  
• Cautionary note: Concrete is pumped at high pressure. All personnel should be made aware of the risks and dangers associated with end hose usage.  
• When the truck mixer has discharged its load, the mixer chutes will be cleaned before the mixer leaves. The chutes should not be washed into the hopper as this could cause a blockage and affect the quality of the concrete.  
• The following mixer will then arrive, back on to the pump and discharge its load.  
• At the end of the pour, the pump operator will clean all the concrete from the pump and pipeline. This operation will take approximately one hour. (This may increase if the job involves a long pipeline). 
• The pump operator will then put the boom back into its travel position and load all the ancillary equipment onto the pump. The hirer must ensure that sufficient competent labour is made available to assist the operator to prepare the pump for leaving the site of operations at the completion of pumping.  
• The job sheet will then be produced for the contractor to sign.  
• The pump will leave site and travel back to the depot.