Contractor Operations
Jobsite Coordination Checklist
Sequencing deliveries, staging, access, and utilities so install days run on material flow instead of firefighting.
Most blown install days die by logistics: the truck that cannot reach the backyard, the pallet parked where the patio goes, the locate that never got called. This checklist front-loads those decisions into the week before mobilization.
One week out
- Call 811 at least two full business days before any digging; confirm the ticket covers the whole work area and re-verify private utilities (irrigation mains, lighting, propane, pool lines) yourself — public locators do not mark them.
- Walk access with measurements: gate widths (a standard gate is 36 inches; most compact equipment needs 48 to 72 inches), overhead lines, tree limbs, septic and sprinkler zones you must not track over.
- Set the staging plan on a site sketch: bulk drops, pallet zones, spoil pile, dumpster, and portable toilet — placed so nothing gets moved twice and nothing sits on finished or soon-to-be-finished surfaces.
- Schedule deliveries in build order with realistic windows, and confirm what equipment each delivery needs on your end (see delivery notes below).
- Notify the client and neighbors about trucks, noise windows, and driveway blockage; on commercial sites, confirm dock/gate hours and any badge or escort requirements.
- Confirm crew plan, equipment reservations, and fuel the night before — rental counters at 7 am are where schedules go to die.
Sequencing deliveries in build order
| Phase | Deliveries | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Demo / rough grade | Dumpster, equipment | Spoil pile located downhill of work, on fabric or plywood if on turf |
| Drainage / irrigation rough-in | Pipe, basins, wire, sleeves | Small footprint; stage near trench lines |
| Hardscape | Base rock, sand, pavers/stone | Bulk first, pallets as close to the work as the driver can safely set them |
| Planting | Trees first, then shrubs, then flats | Trees same-day-planted or watered and shaded; do not take Friday delivery of plants for Monday work in summer |
| Finish | Mulch, steel edging, lighting | Mulch last — it hides everything and gets trashed if it arrives early |
Delivery-day details that save an hour each
- Mark drop zones with paint or cones before the truck arrives, and send the driver a pin plus gate photos with the order.
- Know each truck's needs: a bulk end-dump needs overhead clearance and a straight back-out; a flatbed with a piggyback forklift can place pallets but needs firm ground; a boom truck needs outrigger room.
- Protect surfaces on the route: plywood over sidewalks for tracked equipment, mats over turf that must survive.
- Check quantities and condition against the ticket at the tailgate, not at the end of the day — shortages found at 8 am get solved by 10.
- Stage plant material in one shaded holding area with hose access, not scattered at planting positions where it wilts while hardscape finishes.
Order lead times at the yard
Same-day pickup works for stock items; give us 24 hours to pull and stage large plant orders and 48 for multi-pallet hardscape loads. Book delivery windows when you order — morning slots go first, and a 7 am bulk drop is worth an hour of crew time versus a 10 am one.
Run the same map at day's end in reverse: empty pallets stacked for pickup, unused material consolidated and covered, trench plates and cones out. A site that resets clean every night is the cheapest marketing on the street.
On HOA and commercial sites, add one more line item to the pre-mobilization list: written notice of work hours and any noise or blocked-access windows, delivered to the property manager or HOA office, not just the homeowner. A crew that shows up to a locked gate or a noise complaint at 7:15 am loses more time than the notice ever costs, and a paper trail of notice given is the fastest way to clear a dispute if one comes up later.
Have a question about material for this job? Call the yard at (817) 431-9490 or browse live inventory.