Issued by Issue Date Document No.

Construction Supervision January CIV-Con-10

Department 2013
Subject

Transporting, Placing & Compacting Concrete

Purpose
The purpose of this guide is to identify the points to be inspected to ensure that
ready-mixed concrete produced off-site by the supplier is delivered to site,
placed in the forms and compacted correctly in order to achieve the designer’s
requirements.
The aspects covered are as follows:
 Delivery to the site by agitator trucks
 Methods of delivery to and placing where needed
 Preparation of construction joints
 Compacting of concrete
 Curing of concrete

Delivery to the site by agitator trucks

The delivery of ready-mixed concrete to site is covered under CIV-Con-05,

including all the necessary tests for acceptance.
On acceptance of the concrete it is imperative that the concrete reaches the
designated location without detriment to its potential strength or workability. If left
too long between delivery and placing the concrete will lose workability and have
a potential to create voids and honeycombs in the finished concrete. In addition,
the concrete will be difficult to place, compact and finish; the labour will be
tempted to add water.
If the concrete is not placed and compacted fully then the full strength will not be
achieved.

Methods of delivery to and placing where needed

There are numerous methods of delivering and placing concrete where needed
and each has its disadvantages as well as advantages. The types are listed and
assessed below:

Wheelbarrow/Bucket
 Cheap but labour-intensive
 Slow rate of delivery so cannot be used for large pours
 Watch for segregation if long travel distance
 Useful if no access available for larger plant delivery methods, i.e. in
existing buildings or refurbishment

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 Issued by Issue Date Document No.

Construction Supervision January CIV-Con-10

Department 2013
Subject

Transporting, Placing & Compacting Concrete

 Safety considerations of scaffold and access if used at height

Chute
 Cheap but not convenient if casting a large area
 Quick delivery method if big quantity needed in one location
 Gradient needs to be sufficient for concrete to flow freely
 Watch for segregation at discharge point
 Chute needs to be grout-tight to avoid loss of grout

Concrete Skip
 Concrete skips come in many sizes but their use is often governed by the
capacity of cranes on site
 Speed of delivery is governed by the safety aspects of maneuvering the
skip to and from the concrete delivery truck
 Speed of delivery is governed by the hoisting and slewing time of the
concrete skip by the crane
 Discharge in to a column or wall is slowed by the need to have a tremie
pipe and hopper to avoid segregation
 Skips need to be kept clean so that the opening mechanism remains easy
to operate and does not cause grout to be lost

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 Issued by Issue Date Document No.

Construction Supervision January CIV-Con-10

Department 2013
Subject

Transporting, Placing & Compacting Concrete

Concrete Pump
 Very versatile for both vertical and horizontal reach
 Horizontal reach can be increased by addition of pipes
 Fast delivery of concrete
 Can be used for casting walls and columns without the need for tremie
pipe as hose can be fed between the steel into the element being cast
 Workability of concrete needs to be high to avoid blockage in pipes
 Blockages can cause disruption to the casting operation while the pipe
blockage is being cleared
 Delivery pipes need to be kept away from steel reinforcement as there is
much movement during the pumping operation that will loosen it

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 Issued by Issue Date Document No.

Construction Supervision January CIV-Con-10

Department 2013
Subject

Transporting, Placing & Compacting Concrete

Placing Boom
 Needs holes through the floors and support to the mast
 Needs the pipe risers to be attached to a core wall, plus access to the
joints to clean out in the event of a blockage
 Needs a stationary pump located at the ground level with access by
concrete truck
 Fast delivery of concrete
 Placing boom is installed on site permanently until the concrete
operations are complete
 If placing boom supplied by ready-mixed concrete supplier no chance to
change suppliers
 Range of boom is limited

Preparation of construction joints

Construction joints are the joints formed between cast concrete and new
concrete. They need to be clean and clear of debris so that the new concrete
bonds with the existing concrete. Construction joints are unavoidable so need to
be in the position with the least detriment to the structural integrity.

In beams and slabs they are placed within the middle third of the span. In walls
and columns they are just above the slab level for storey-height casting; for
others the joints are minimized.

In slabs and beams the construction joints are vertical (or perpendicular to the
main axis if sloping). In columns they are horizontal and in walls they can be
both horizontal and vertical dependent upon the wall length.

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 Issued by Issue Date Document No.

Construction Supervision January CIV-Con-10

Department 2013
Subject

Transporting, Placing & Compacting Concrete

The usual preparation is by sandblasting or scabbling the hardened concrete in

order to remove the concrete laitance and expose the large aggregate. Voids
need to be avoided as they can trap air and water creating a weakness.
Spillages of concrete and grout from the existing concrete need to be removed
from the rebar and construction joint – the earlier the better.

Compacting of Concrete

Concrete needs to be compacted in order to achieve maximum density, remove

air and ensure that all the reinforcement is encased. The usual method is by
poker vibrator, although vibrating beam screeders can be used for slabs.
The use of poker vibrators is a skill where the following can go wrong:
 Leave the poker too long in the same place and segregation will occur –
stop when air bubbles stop coming to the surface
 Pulling out the poker too quickly can leave voids – remove slowly and tilt
back so the concrete fills the void
 Drop the poker in vertically – never drag along the surface
 Do not use the poker vibrator to distribute concrete
 Keep away from the reinforcement and formwork

Curing of concrete

Concrete needs to be cured in order to ensure complete hydration of the cement

which takes place over several days and, hence, strength development.

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 Issued by Issue Date Document No.

Construction Supervision January CIV-Con-10

Department 2013
Subject

Transporting, Placing & Compacting Concrete

Curing is basically the prevention of loss of moisture from the concrete before it
is used in the hydration process, and can be achieved by either wrapping the
concrete in an impervious layer (polythene sheet or sprayed on membrane) or
by having a sacrificial water layer (water-ponding of slabs or wet hessian sheets
on vertical surfaces).

With large volume casts, such as deep rafts, curing should also take into account
the dissipation of the heat built up during the hydration process. Concrete will
rise in temperature, approximately 10 oC for every 100kg/m3 of cement used in
the mix, and this heat needs to be dissipated slowly to avoid large differential
temperatures between the core of the concrete and the external surfaces. In
these cases, insulated mats or polystyrene boards will be needed along with the
curing method chosen –water-ponding or sprayed membrane.

Comments
This is probably the single most important operation on the site as the structural
integrity and expectations of the designer rely on this being correctly performed.
Good quality concrete can be achieved with very little additional effort.

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