Coordinating broker trucks on paving projects

Few paving contractors own enough dump trucks for their busiest days. Broker trucks fill the gap: trucks booked for the day or the job through a broker, driven by people who are not on your payroll.

The arrangement works well when bookings are clear and changes travel quickly. It strains when report times are vague, plans change without notice, or hours and tickets don't match at the end of the day.

What broker trucks are

In Ontario, many dump trucks are contracted through brokers and paid by the hour, as Daily Commercial News reported during a 2022 dispute between truckers and the industry. Arrangements vary by region, broker and contract.

The practical point for dispatch: the broker organizes the trucks and drivers, and you direct the work on site. Changes usually go through the broker, so the broker is part of your communication plan.

Work out how many trucks you need

Trucks follow production. The Asphalt Paving Handbook sets out the planning method: add up one truck's full cycle (loading and ticketing, tarping, hauling, waiting on site, dumping and cleaning, and returning), then work out how many trucks keep the operation supplied, always rounding up.

An illustrative calculation, not a benchmark: if one round trip takes 110 minutes and the job needs a load at the paver every 15 minutes, you need 110 ÷ 15 = 7.3 trucks, so you book 8.

The inputs change from job to job and hour to hour. Haul distance, traffic, plant output, paving width and thickness, and the rollers' capacity all matter. Too few trucks and the paver stops. Too many and trucks wait at the paver while the mix cools in the box.

Ask for the right truck type

The truck type affects how mix reaches the paver, so name it in the booking rather than leaving it to the broker.

• Tri-axle dump trucks are a common choice for asphalt and aggregate haul in Ontario.
• Tandem dump trucks carry less but suit small jobs and tight sites.
• Live-bottom trailers unload with a conveyor in the floor, so the box is never raised against the paver's hopper.

Check whether your paver set-up, the site and the contract specification favour one type, and book accordingly.

What to put in a booking

A booking request that answers the broker's questions up front saves a round of calls. Include:

• Number and type of trucks, such as tri-axle, tandem or live-bottom trailer.
• Job, with the job number and site address.
• Material and source, such as the mix and the plant.
• Report location and time for each truck, staggered.
• Expected duration, such as a full day or until a set quantity is placed.
• Box preparation, such as tarps and an approved release agent.
• Site instructions: access, where to wait and how to approach the paver.
• Site contact: the foreman's name and how to reach them.
• Who communicates changes, and how.

Confirm the booking the afternoon or evening before, including which units and drivers are coming.

Prepare the site for trucks

Trucks lose time on site when nobody has decided where they wait, turn and approach the paver. Before the first load, the foreman should know:

• Where trucks wait, clear of traffic control and the work area.
• How they approach the paver, and who guides them in.
• Where they can turn around or exit.
• Where boxes can be cleaned out, if that is allowed on site.

Brief drivers when they arrive. A broker driver may be on your job for the first time.

Stagger report times

The handbook's guidance is that deliveries should arrive at a consistent interval, without trucks bunching at the plant or the paver. The simplest way to start that pattern is to stagger the times trucks report to the plant.

Here is an example. For a 9:30 AM first load on a resurfacing job, a paving contractor books three broker trucks to report to the plant 20 minutes apart, starting at 8:45 AM. The first loads reach the paver spaced out rather than together, and the foreman adjusts from there.

On the day: one channel for changes

The foreman sees the trucking loop first-hand. On a typical day, the foreman tracks arrivals and tickets, calls the plant with the last loads needed to finish and decides when to release trucks.

Changes to the trucking plan should run through one channel. If the foreman, the dispatcher and the project manager all call the broker separately, someone will get conflicting instructions.

Agree who calls the broker, and make sure the dispatch reflects every change.

When the plan changes

Three kinds of change come up again and again:

• Delayed start: after a weather call or a plant delay, tell the broker as early as possible and update the report times on the dispatch.
• Breakdown: a truck that can't raise its box at the paver means a load that won't be placed and a gap in the cycle. Decide whether to substitute, and record the load as not placed.
• Reassignment: if a truck moves to another job, update the dispatch, tell both foremen and the broker, and note the time so hours can be split by job.

Take a day on a resurfacing job. A broker truck's hoist hose fails at the paver at 10:20 AM with a full load, and the paver waits for mix. On the same contractor's grading job the grader sets the pace, so three trucks can keep up there instead of four. The dispatcher moves one truck across, publishes revision 2 of the dispatch at 10:40 AM and phones the broker.

The foremen on both jobs know which trucks to expect, and the load that was never placed is noted for the end-of-day reconciliation.

Agree release and cancellation terms in advance

Cancellations and early releases are where relationships with brokers are tested. Compensation for cancelled work was among the issues truckers raised in the 2022 Ontario dispute.

Discuss notice periods, minimum hours and cancellation terms with each broker before the season, and write down what was agreed. Terms vary, so don't assume one broker works like another.

Close out the day: hours and tickets

At the end of the shift, confirm each truck's hours with the driver; often the foreman signs or approves the driver's record. Collect the tickets for every load.

Then reconcile, ideally the same day:

• Hours by truck, against the time each truck was booked and released.
• Loads by truck, against the plant tickets.
• Loads not placed, with the reason.
• Trucks that moved between jobs, with hours split by job.

When the broker's invoice arrives, those records make checking it straightforward.

Build a working rhythm with your brokers

Brokers plan their trucks too. A predictable rhythm helps everyone: send bookings by an agreed time, name one contact for changes, give notice early and share feedback on box preparation or site behaviour so problems don't repeat.

Watch for patterns too. A truck that regularly reports late, or a box that keeps arriving unprepared, is worth raising with the broker early, while it is still a small conversation.

Where software fits

Broker trucks are easier to coordinate when they are part of the same plan as the crews and equipment, not a separate list on a notepad.

In STRACTA, broker trucks and their daily bookings are assigned on the dispatch alongside crews and equipment, so a substitution is part of the published update. A booking can be as quick as saying it: tell STRACTA what you need, and the trucks land on the dispatch with their report place and time. For the end-of-day side, see how contractors track daily asphalt production.