Common asphalt paving dispatch problems

On a paving job, the paver can only place what the trucks deliver. The Asphalt Paving Handbook warns that stopping and starting the paver for each truck lowers smoothness and mat density, so a steady supply of mix is a quality issue, not just a scheduling one.

That is why small dispatch problems become big ones on paving days. The problems below are commonly reported by contractors. They are not ranked by how often they happen, and each comes with the fixes that tend to help.

1. Trucks arrive late, early or all at once

How it shows up: the paver waits for mix, then a queue of trucks forms behind it. Mix sits in the boxes, and the crew alternates between standing around and rushing.

Common causes: report times that are not staggered, haul times estimated without traffic, a slow start at the plant, or too few trucks for the round trip.

What helps:

• Count trucks from the full round trip: load and ticket, tarp, haul, wait, dump and clean, return. Round up.
• Stagger report times at the plant so loads arrive at a steady interval.
• Release trucks from the paver in an orderly way. The handbook's section on establishing paver speed notes that orderly release helps keep returning trucks spaced out.

2. Three start times, one confused crew

How it shows up: half the crew arrives for the first load and half for set-up. Trucks report before the surface is ready, or the crew is ready with no mix in sight.

Common cause: a single "start time" on the dispatch that is meant to cover the crew, the first load and the trucks.

What helps: list each time separately on every assignment. Crew start covers prep such as sweeping, tack and adjusting frames. First-load time is when mix is needed at the paver. Truck report times are when each truck reports to the plant.

3. The weather call doesn't reach everyone

How it shows up: after an early-morning go/no-go call, some people get the new start time and others don't. Trucks queue at the plant, or a crew drives to a site that won't open until mid-morning.

Common cause: the change is passed on by phone, one person at a time, with no single updated plan.

What helps:

• Agree who makes the call, by what time, and who must hear it: crews, the plant, brokers and, where relevant, the client's inspector.
• Update the dispatch with the new times and publish it as a revision, so the plan and the phone calls match.
• Agree delay and cancellation expectations with brokers before the season, so a late weather call doesn't turn into a dispute.

The Asphalt Institute advises against starting to pave in the rain. Your contract specification sets the limits that apply to your job.

4. Double-booked machines and operators

How it shows up: the same roller is promised to two foremen, or an operator is listed on two jobs.

Common causes: each foreman or project manager keeps their own plan, or a swap is agreed on the phone and never written down.

What helps: keep one plan across all projects and check it for conflicts before publishing. A swap that isn't on the dispatch hasn't really happened.

5. The wrong equipment or attachment arrives

How it shows up: the skid steer arrives with a cold planer head when the job needs a broom, the paver can't reach the width without extensions, or nobody brought the tack truck.

Common cause: the dispatch lists machine types but not the specific unit, attachment or support vehicle.

What helps: assign specific units by number, list attachments and support units on the assignment, and add notes for anything unusual, such as screed extensions or a smaller roller for a tight area.

6. A breakdown in the middle of the day

How it shows up: a truck can't raise its box at the paver, a roller won't start, or the tack truck runs dry.

What helps: decide quickly between three options: substitute, slow down or stop. If the rollers can't keep up, the handbook's paver speed guidance is to reduce paver speed and plant production, or add rollers.

Whatever you choose, record the issue, update the plan and tell the people it affects.

Here is an example. On a resurfacing job, the intermediate roller won't restart after the morning break. The foreman slows the paver so the remaining rollers can keep up, and asks the plant to slow the loads to match.

The dispatcher sends the spare roller from the yard on the float and publishes the change, so the operator and the float driver have it in writing. The foreman records the slowdown as a delay with its cause and times, so a short day is explained on the day.

For a breakdown that hits the trucking loop instead, see the broker truck example in coordinating broker trucks on paving projects.

7. Trucks moved between jobs without updating the plan

How it shows up: a foreman doesn't know which trucks are coming, a driver reports to the wrong plant, or truck hours end up charged to the wrong job.

What helps: treat every reassignment as a change to the dispatch. Publish it, tell both foremen and tell the broker. Record the time of the move so hours can be split correctly.

8. Equipment moves that don't line up

How it shows up: the float arrives before the machine is released, or the paver reaches tomorrow's job after the crew does.

What helps: give every move a ready time at pickup and an availability time at the destination, and assign the truck, trailer and driver. Our guide to managing equipment moves between jobsites has a full checklist.

9. End-of-day numbers that don't match

How it shows up: plant tickets, the tonnes reported by the foreman and broker truck hours tell three different stories.

What helps: record loads that were not placed, with the reason, on the same day. Keep tonnes, loads and hours as separate entries. Our guide on how contractors track daily asphalt production walks through a simple reconciliation.

10. Site notes that live in someone's head

How it shows up: the crew arrives without knowing that three frames need adjusting before paving, that the inspector wants to see the tack, or that the lane closure starts later than usual.

Common cause: the information was discussed with the foreman but never written onto the assignment, so the rest of the crew and any replacement foreman don't have it.

What helps: put site notes on the assignment itself, in plain words: work area, traffic layout, access, inspections and anything to do before the first load.

A pre-publish check for paving days

Before you publish tomorrow's paving dispatch, confirm that:

• Crew start, first-load and truck report times are all set and consistent.
• The truck count is based on the round trip, with report times staggered.
• The paver, rollers, skid steer attachment and tack truck are assigned by unit number.
• No person or machine appears on two jobs.
• Tomorrow's equipment moves have a driver, a float and a ready time.
• Someone owns the weather call, and the call list is agreed.
• Site notes are on the assignment: work area, traffic layout, frames to adjust.

Where software fits

Most of these are communication problems. The plan exists, but not everyone is looking at the same version of it. Whatever tool you use should hold one plan for every project, show separate times and make each change visible as a revision.

In STRACTA, a dispatcher can edit a published dispatch, substitute a truck or machine and publish an update, and affected users get an in-app notification. Broker trucks sit on the same board as crews and equipment, so a substitution is part of the plan rather than a side note.