pump machine stopped while pouring a big concrete volume

[chekre]

hi guys,

during the concrete pouring of a reinforced concrete slab (the volume poured was 650m3 - quite big), and after 14 hours of work, the pump machine stopped and the contractor didn't have any plan B since he didn't have any other pump to replace the old one. The remaining volume was around 80m3.
it was too late for a construction joint since concrete was everywhere (the slump was around 20cm so u can imagine that we couldn't retain the concrete mass).
what we did is that we continued with a basket using the crane at the site but it was too slow since the basket capacity was around 0.5m3.
I was afraid of a cold joint formation so i asked a worker to pass each 2 hours and to vibrate for some seconds the unfinished concrete while waiting the basket to put the final concrete layer above it. (i dont know if i explained well the situation).
anyway, it was a mess. i will ask for a load test in the upcoming days.
wanted to share this with you and take your opinions about what to do in such cases !
Thanks

 

[JStephen]

Long ago, working as an estimator, our foundation foreman told me, "When you figure a pump truck, always figure two, because you want a spare standing by during the pour." And that was why.

A similar issue: When you figure a large pour in a rural area, ask how many trucks the readymix plant can put on it. Some of the small-town plants may only have two or three trucks available for a pour, and if they have to dry 45 minutes each way, they just can't haul enough in a day to make the pour.

 

[chekre]

yes, i am the consultant and the contractor never faced this problem.
from now on, ill ask for 2 of course in order not to face this shit anymore

 

[Ingenuity]

What was the 'foot print' area of the slab being poured?

Lot of concrete volume for one pump - I assume your average slab thickness was pretty thick, like say 0.5m+

Was this a foundation mat or a suspended floor system?

 

[chekre]

a big suspended slab of 1500m2 with a slab thickness of 450mm and 350mm in some particular areas.