If you are hiring a concrete pump, you need to ensure you are using it safely. To keep yourself safe and to avoid breaking the pump, here are some tips you should keep in mind.
Choose Your Site Carefully
You need to ensure that you choose a safe spot for your concrete pump. It needs to be on level ground or in a place where the outriggers can easily stabilise the equipment. Ideally, you should take a walk through the site to make sure you have a safe spot for the pump. For instance, you don't want to put it on a muddy patch of ground where it will just sink in and become unstable.
If you are using tall equipment, you need to ensure power lines aren't nearby. Finally, if you have additional heavy equipment, you also need to make sure that has ample space to get around the concrete pump without hitting it, knocking it over or damaging it in other ways
Check All Moving Parts Before Taking Out the Concrete Pump
When you hire a concrete pump, you need to ensure that it's in working order. Take a walk around the machinery and look for any noticeable issues. Then, ask the rep from the hiring company to start up the pump so that you can hear the motor.
You should also ensure the boom works correctly and that the outriggers are in working order. If they don't function correctly, your pump may be unstable.
Create Hand Signals
In most cases when you are using a concrete pump, you will have at least one other person working alongside of you. While the pump is running, it's noisy and hard to communicate. So that you can get messages to each other, you should create a series of hand signals.
Make sure everyone knows what signals you are using. Make signals for start, stop, and slow down, but also make more detailed signals such as add a certain amount of water or turn the boom a certain direction.
Wear Personal Protective Gear
Your skin may come into contact with the concrete while you are using the pump. Touching concrete can lead to chemical burns. To protect your skin, you and anyone helping you should wear heavy duty gloves, long-sleeved shirts and full length work trousers.
Finally, you may want to hire a professional to operate the concrete pump. They can help to ensure everything is safe. For more information, contact a concrete pump hire service.
