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Concrete Pump
General arrangement · Boom pump, unfolded over a slab

Pouring concrete safely, from the truck to the slab

A guide to concrete pumping and the pour in plain words, published by Dotto from the official sources linked on each page. It follows the boom out from the truck, one reach at a time.

A truck-mounted concrete boom pump, unfolded over a slab A drawing of a concrete pump truck standing on its outriggers and timber pads. Its folding boom rises from a turret behind the cab and reaches out to the right, where a rubber delivery hose hangs straight down over a slab being poured. Dashed arcs centred on the turret show the idea of the boom’s reach. At the top right an overhead power line runs from a pole, wrapped in a dashed band marking its exclusion zone. Six numbered callouts point to the pads, the hopper, the boom, the hose, the power line and the slab. R1R2R3 exclusion zone 1 2 3 4 5 6 R1R2R3 exclusion zone 1 2 3 4 5 6
Drawing not to scale. The reach arcs show an idea, not a machine: Queensland’s code says an operator’s training should cover the boom’s allowable operating range.
  1. 1Ground and pads. Queensland’s code says the pump should not stand over or beside backfilled ground, trenches, pits, basements or soft ground.
  2. 2The hopper. The pump runs only with the hopper grate closed, and with enough concrete in the hopper that air is not drawn into the line.
  3. 3The boom. Operating a concrete placing boom is a class of high risk work that needs its own licence.
  4. 4The hose. It should hang close to vertical, guided only by the line hand, and never be stretched to reach further.
  5. 5The line overhead. Queensland’s code keeps the boom and hose at least three metres from lines up to 132kV, and further above that.
  6. 6The slab. Under the NCC’s Housing Provisions, outside South Australia, slab surfaces and edges are moist cured for 7 days.

On this page Three things to read before pour day · Five people, one pour · The order of a pour · The six guides · What changed in 2026

Before anything else

Three things to read before pour day

Life safety

A boom that touches a live line. NSW’s code sets out the steps, in order, for when a boom pump or other machine touches a live overhead line. NSW’s code is plain that untrained and unequipped people should not attempt a rescue. Read every step, and the distances, in the powerlines guide.

Cutting hardened concrete. Concrete counts as a crystalline silica substance, and cutting, grinding or drilling it with power tools at work has its own rules for dust. What the silica rules ask.

A hot day. Safe Work Australia says there is no single temperature at which work must stop; the duty is to manage the risk, which can mean moving the work to a cooler time. Heat and the pour, with first aid.

Yellow diagonal hazard stripes painted on a cracked grey concrete surface
Hazard stripes on worn concrete. Photo by anb20c on Pixabay

Safe Work Australia lists the ways concrete pumping has hurt people in recent years: booms failing, booms touching overhead powerlines, delivery hoses whipping, and hazardous moving parts. Each of those has a guide here, written from the regulators’ own codes and pages.

Who does what

Five people, one pour

Queensland’s concrete pumping code shares the work of a safe pour between the people on site. It is one state’s approved code; other states word their rules differently.

From Queensland’s Concrete pumping Code of Practice 2019, as varied in June 2026: a selection. Other states word their rules differently.
RoleBefore the pourDuring the pour
Principal contractor, or whoever controls the siteGives the pump a clear, firm base that can carry the boom and the delivery trucks, clear truck access, a defined washout area, a way to keep wash-down residue out of stormwater drains, and a realistic time schedule. Has traffic control in place for the concrete deliveries and, if the pump is in the street, a safe and clear way past it for the public.
Pumping businessPlans with the site: enough workers to pump safely and to run the emergency shut-down if a line fails, and controls for hose whip. Has enough trained workers watching the pump and, on a boom pump, the outrigger feet and pads.
Boom operatorHolds the high risk work licence for a concrete placing boom and shows it before starting. Checks nobody unauthorised is in the exclusion zone, stays in view of the line hand, and watches the outriggers and ground.
Line handIs trained and competent, which the pump’s owner has to make sure of. Guides the delivery hose. The code says the operator is not to do the line hand’s job as well.
Concrete truck driverIs consulted about where to stand while pumping and how trucks will reverse to the pump. Follows the directions of any traffic controllers or spotters, and tells the operator if the mix looks different.

The same code says a pre-mix truck driver is not a pumping worker unless trained for it and authorised by their own business. The code’s rules for set-up, hose whip and clean-out.

The order of a pour

From the trench to the cured slab

  1. Before the concrete

    A house slab or footing is inspected before it is poured. In Queensland the rules name excavation, footing and slab stages, each before the concrete goes in. Inspections in NSW, Queensland and Victoria.

  2. Planning the set-up

    Overhead lines are found and dealt with early: both NSW’s and Queensland’s codes start with turning the power off or re-routing the line, arranged with the electricity supply authority or entity.

  3. Setting up

    A WorkSafe Victoria safety alert reports more rollovers of truck-mounted booms in recent years, and a worker seriously injured in July 2026 when one overturned. Ground, pads and outriggers.

  4. Pumping

    An exclusion zone is kept around the line while the pump starts, and people not involved in the pour stay out of the delivery hose area.

  5. The first week

    For a house slab under the Housing Provisions, outside South Australia, no stacked materials or building plant go on it for at least 7 days. The NCC’s concrete clause, line by line.

  6. Later, with a saw

    Cutting, grinding and drilling hardened concrete at work is processing of a crystalline silica substance and must be controlled. The silica rules.

The six reach arcs

Six guides, from the pump out to the slab

  1. 01The pumpConcrete pumping safetyWhat Queensland’s code asks of the site, the crew and the ground, and why the hose whips.
  2. 02OverheadBoom pumps and powerlinesApproach distances in NSW and Queensland, the safety observer, and what to do after contact.
  3. 03DustSilica dust from cutting concreteWhen cutting and grinding is controlled, when it is high risk, and the exposure standard.
  4. 04InspectionBefore the slab is pouredThe certifier’s inspection, state by state, and what the trench should look like.
  5. 05CuringCuring a house slabThe NCC’s concrete clause in plain words, and wet concrete on skin.
  6. 06HeatA pour on a hot dayPlanning around heat, the 32ºC line for house slabs, and heat stroke first aid.
Dated

What changed in 2026

  • From 1 July 2026, codes of practice in NSW became the minimum standard a business is expected to meet: it complies with the code or manages the risk in a way that is equivalent or higher.
  • SafeWork NSW’s code on work near overhead and underground electric lines commenced on 22 May 2026, replacing the 2006 code on overhead power lines.
  • Queensland’s Concrete pumping Code of Practice 2019 was varied on 24 June 2026.
  • From 1 December 2026, Australia moves from the workplace exposure standards to the workplace exposure limits for airborne contaminants, and Safe Work Australia’s silica page points to the new list from that date. Check it before relying on any figure after 30 November 2026.

Where to check The work health and safety regulator in your state or territory, listed with contact details by Safe Work Australia, and for a house slab, your certifier or building surveyor.