Concrete supply companies charge waiting time to cover extended delivery costs
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What is waiting time?
Concrete supply companies charge waiting time costs to their concrete customers in situations when a concrete truck is on site for an extended period of time when making a concrete delivery. The charge is often between $3.00 to $3.50 plus GST per minute after the concrete truck has been on site for either 45 or 60 minutes (i.e., depending on the supply company’s surcharges). Many metropolitan concrete suppliers charge after the concrete truck has been on site for only 30 minutes. Therefore if your concrete truck is on site for two hours, expect to pay anywhere from $200 to $300 extra for your concrete delivery, depending on where you live.
Why do concrete supply companies charge waiting time?
Many concrete customers are irate when they receive an additional bill from their concrete supplier for waiting time. But the concrete supplier is merely recouping their cost of production. Having a concrete truck on site for over an hour means the driver needs to be paid for his or her second, or even third hour on site, whilst the concrete trucks fuel and running costs need to be accounted for. More importantly the concrete truck is unable to return to the concrete plant and make additional deliveries that day, lowering the concrete plants output and sales for the day. Whilst the longer a truck is held up on one site, the later it is to another. This often leads to anger and frustration, as concreters and concrete customers wait patiently for their truck to arrive. “Your truck is held up on another site,” is the concrete batcher or allocators frequent response, when customers call to ascertain why their concrete truck is late.
How is waiting time calculated?
Waiting time is calculated take from the time the concrete truck arrives on site, to the time it leaves site, not merely the time it is pouring or discharging your concrete. Keep in mind it takes time for a concrete truck to back in and commence pouring. The driver needs to be supervised when entering site, and often takes time to drive to the exact location on site required by you. Then they need to spend a few minutes with their barrel on full mix to ensure your concrete load is fully homogenised and mixed right through, without any lumps or excess water.
Then if your concrete is too dry for placement there is often the need to add more water on site and mix the concrete through again for a few minutes, to ensure the water is mixed throughout the load. This adds to the time your concrete truck is on site, as do any additional truck movements form one part of the concrete pour to another. And don’t forget the concrete truck driver is required to wash his barrel out and clean his truck before leaving site, to prevent excess concrete and rock from falling out on the road or onto oncoming cars, on the way back the concrete plant. This washout prices ads even more time to your concrete delivery.
How to avoid waiting time costs?
Photo by Sonja Langford on Unsplash
1. Make it as clear as possible for your concrete truck to enter site, so the driver can move their truck to the concrete pours location quickly and efficiently, without having to sidestep obstacles such as trees or other vehicles,
2. Ensuring you have enough labour to place your concrete delivery within an hour is the key to reducing time on site and avoiding waiting time. If you do not have a concrete pump on your site, and are required to wheel barrow your concrete during the concrete pour, smaller load sizes may reduce the extent of waiting time charged. A three or four cubic metre concrete delivery is much easier and faster to unload than a six or seven cubic metre concrete delivery, in situations where you are required to wheel barrow your concrete in, and
3. Consider the distance from where the concrete truck can park is site, to where the concrete is being poured. If it is over 30, 40 or even 50 metres, ie, in the back yard, or down a footpath, a concrete pump may be required to avoid time on site and additional waiting time charges. Alternatively more people and additional wheel barrows may make your delivery tie that mush faster, ensuring the concrete truck is not on site longer than the 45 or 60 minutes provided to discharge your concrete load.
So now you’ve been warned. Concrete deliveries can be very costly in situations where your concrete truck is onsite for extended periods of time. Make sure your concrete pump is on site early and set up ready for your concrete trucks arrival to avoid any undue delays. And in circumstances where you do not have a concrete pump on site make sure you have enough wheel barrows and people to discharge your concrete as quickly as physically possible.
