Staging reels for pickup

Why staging matters

A run has several stops and a window at each. A stack that is ready loads in well under an hour. A stack that is tangled, half-buried or fenced in can take three, and every stop after it slides. Staging is the single thing a yard can do to make its own pickup quick and keep the run on time for its neighbours.

Large reels on edge

From 48 inches up, stand reels on edge in a single row with their flanges parallel to each other and to the way the truck will park. A chock each side stops them rolling: a wedge of timber, a scrap of 4 by 4 or a commercial rubber chock all work. Leave a gap between reels wide enough for a forklift tine. Never lean one reel against another; when the first is lifted, the second falls.

Small reels flat

Up to 42 inches, lay reels flat on a flange and stack them square, one size per stack. Stacks of 24 and 30 inch reels can go four or five high if they are stable; 36 and 42 inch reels two or three. Square stacks can be forked as a block or handed up one at a time.

Exceptions

• Stencilled reels. Owner's name on the flange: put them in their own group. They go back to the owner, not on our truck, unless we have agreed otherwise.
• Damaged reels. Split flanges, missing staves: their own group, loaded last.
• Reels with cable. Even a few turns: cut it off or set the reel aside. We collect empties.
• Steel and plastic reels. Not ours; leave them for their owners.

On the day

Have the gate open at the start of the window, someone at the stack who can answer questions, and the forklift fuelled with its driver nearby. The driver brings straps and chocks for the deck and loads the truck; your forklift lifts the large reels up to it. Small reels can be handed up or rolled up a ramp. At the end, the driver gives you a count by size.

Long-term staging

If reels pile up every week, give them a permanent bay: a pad of gravel or concrete, a row of chocks left in place, a sign so crews know where empties go. Yards that do this load fastest, and their reels stay sound enough to resell. See standing pickups for a regular slot.

Utility laydown yards

Laydown yards for undergrounding jobs are often on leased lots with gravel and tight gates. Ask the yard owner where a 53 foot truck can stand, and stage the big bolted reels at that spot before the end of the phase. That turns a full run into a single short visit. The securing reels page shows what happens once they reach the deck.

A checklist for the morning of the pickup

• Gate unlocked and any site badge or escort arranged with security.
• Parked cars, skips and pallets moved off the truck's approach.
• Forklift charged or fuelled; its forks able to spread wide enough for a 48 inch flange.
• The count by size written down, matching what you sent us.
• A contact name and mobile number for the driver, given when you booked.