So just what is a pump operator? What skills does it take to actually be a professional concrete pump operator?

He needs to be honest. That honesty needs to be directed inward as well as out. He is entrusted with not only a giant piece of equipment but even more important, the lives of those around him. He needs to not sell his company’s gear or their time. He needs to be right and fair on his application, timecard, job tickets and accident reports. He needs to ‘tell it like it is’ no matter the cost. Equally important is the inward looking honesty. I can’t speak for everyone, but I have doubts as to whether or not I am qualified for one task or another; my guess is that everyone is about the same. If an operator feels for whatever reason that he or his equipment is not up to a task he needs to tell the responsible party. “I have never done this – I have never been trained to do this – It just doesn’t feel safe” are all reactions of an honest individual. To doubt and question is honest.

He needs to be able to interact with others. Before an operator can do his thing, he needs a chance; he needs a job. If you cannot talk the boss into giving you a shot you need to brush up on your people skills. If given the opportunity to show a company what you are made of you need to be able to get along with the most important guy in the world, your customer. The fact is that no matter what you can do if you can’t get along with the customer, you won’t make it as an operator.

He needs to be able to communicate. The boss, the dispatcher, the mechanics, your fellow operators, the safety guy, the contractor, the hoseman all need to understand what it is you need while at the same time you are able to understand what they need. That is communicating. It is a two way street. God gave all of us a clue as to the proportions of talking and listening. We were issues two ears and only one mouth. Listen – think – talk. If you are lost, the first thing that was lost was the ability to communicate. If you cannot understand what the customer wants or he cannot understand your problem, you are lost. If the mechanic asks you what the pressure was and you do not answer the question you are lost, when the dispatcher asks you where you are and you don’t know; brother, you are lost.

He needs to be an excellent driver. You need a good driving history and good habits. You need to respect your stopping distance and difficulty to see next to your unit. You need to not see how fast you can get from here to there even when the pressure is on. You need to back off when the young lady eating breakfast styling her hair while she texts her sister and putting on her lipstick cuts you off. Being a professional driver is a full time job while you are behind the wheel. There isn’t time or attention for anything else.

He needs to be a salesman. The guy in the pickup sells the first pour on a job. A professional operator sells the rest.

He needs to be a soils engineer. When he pulls on the job and gets out to ask the job sup’t where he is to set up, he is looking at the dirt. Will it allow him to drive to the designated setup area, will it support the load imposed by the outrigger, can he drive out after the ready mix trucks have tracked back and forth. Now is the time to have the conversation about the responsibility of getting the pump back on the roadway.

He needs to be able to build bridges. He needs to be able to build a structure that will safely transfer the load imposed by the outrigger onto a large enough area of the ground to properly support that load. Throwing a bunch of wood on the ground and pounding it in with the outrigger is not what it is all about. He needs to have a plan for how this may be properly accomplished.

He needs to be a ringmaster. He needs to be able to deal with all that is going on around him without ever loosing focus on who is responsible for the safety of his machine, his hoseman, the mixer when possible, the concrete and all the hazards of the jobsite.

He needs to be able to run a boom.

I would like to add that he needs to stay ahead of the concrete. It should come before he "can run a Boom".

A hopper and boom full off hard concrete can ruin everbody's day. He needs to know what to do in times of:

"my agitator won't turn and the valve won't stroke"

or "it won't come out of E-stop".

Only your seasoned professional operators can teach the emergency procedures or tricks to stay ahead of hardening concrete. Not falling asleep in the truck cab helps tremendously.

There is my 2-cents, carry 0n.

may I also add nowadays needs to learn how to speak english if he wishes to work in a hazardous environment as the one we work in everyday,he needs to have courage,no cowards allowed on pumps having courage gives him the ability to be able to tell the customers his responsibilitys and what as an operator he needs to have to get a job done safely

Thanks guys, keep 'em coming, please

well I will add somethings on this topic

first, a concrete pumper needs some technical background.

when a mechanic asks him something he must know what he is talking about. and the basic probs  must be solved by himself

second, he must have a sight for space and measures.

will you look dumb when you setup your pump and your boom will be to short to reach the corner

third, he needs to be multilinual

maybe not for the states but my work area is the netherlands and I heva to deal with several foreign workers with different languages spoken. will I make a stand as I say that when I can't communucate with the man on the hose, the pump will be not switched on ??

all of the above and......he must enjoy/like his job as a pump operator,if you like it everything else will fall in place

im w/ bis. u gotta love ur job and every else comes naturally, theres a difference when ur paid to go pump, vs. pumping and getting paid for it

;)

they should name those the " TEN COMMANDMENTS OF A PUMP OPERATOR" includu=ing the one captain vic added. every one of those ring so true. especially the one about the salesman sales the first job and the operator sales the rest. ive been on a job where we were just covering a pour for another company and after our performance that afternoon( there were 2 of us there) the contractor not only swapped companies but requested that only one or the other of us be sent to the job. job security, i think so.

Bob you must have had something else to do when you posted this because its half the size I expected it to be? Here's one of your favorites... A professional operator wears the proper attire, From head to toe. No loose fitting clothes, Good work boots and NO face jewlery...

A Pro is also punctual (on time), He's the first one there and often times the last to leave because his equipment is always ready to work!

He must be prepared for almost anything, this sometimes requires having your own tools, supplies and gadgets to ensure that he can handle whatever the day throws at him... extra water hoses, a bag of sugar, cheater pipes, pipe patch kit, flash light and batteries..............and on and on....

A Pro keeps an organized and clean machine but is NOT affraid to get it dirty in order to get the job done!

A Professional Concrete Pump Operator remembers every day that his Pump pays his pay check and treats it accordingly! (He Loves It!)... If it's broke,,,so are you!

 This list could go on and on but I am tired?    Pump off...

I'll second the technical knowledge. There's nothing harder than trying to help a customer through a problem if he doesn't understand any term you use.  There's only so much you can teach a new owner, they must take it upon themselves to read their manuals and understand their machine to some extent.

"The red light is flashing on my panel and nothing works!"

Did you check all the e-stops?

"E, what? What are those?"

A good pump operator must have some technical knowledge.

TT,does that mean I can't wear my hoop earings and heals when running a pump?People just want to take all the fun out of life.

Yes Bob,and many other things as well.

Many: Only if you promise to wear the fishnets too!But it's got to be the bodysuit! You can tell them its a new kind of safety harness!

I have another one!

You must not be a 9 to 5 paycheck player!  If you want consistent hours, go work at a bank.  There is nothing worse than some dumb rookie who complains that he is either getting too many hours or not enough; that is the nature of the job people.  It is not your boss' fault that the customers need your pump alot in the spring and rarely in  the winter, so grow up and deal with it.

Here is another; if you have a drug habit, go work for a drug dealer.  These machines are too cabable of damage and death (let alone expensive) to let some idiot full of chemicals operate them.  It still surprises me how many companies don't do drug testing.

Be PROUD of your trade and learn every thing about it,be proud of your pump,be proud of your company,be proud of the industry,most of be proud of yourself because you can work hours and suffer thru what most men cant or wont do.

It's just like my ol' man told me

"TRY TO FIND A NICE JOB AND YOU'LL NEVER HAVE TO WORK A DAY IN YOUR LIFE'"