A site logistics model shows the temporary works and site set-up around the building: hoardings, gates, cranes, hoists, scaffold, storage areas, welfare cabins and delivery routes. Linked to the programme, it shows how the site changes phase by phase. Most site incidents and delays involve these temporary things, not the permanent building.
At a glance
| Who uses it | Construction and logistics managers, temporary works designers, planners, health and safety, neighbours and local authorities |
| What's modelled | Site boundary and access, cranes (with radius and capacity), hoists, scaffold, laydown areas, welfare, traffic routes, exclusion zones |
| Inputs | Site survey, neighbouring buildings and roads, the permanent works model, the programme |
| Outputs | Logistics plans per phase, crane studies, delivery schedules, method statements, consents |
| Key condition | Correct location: the site model must sit in the same coordinates as the survey and the building |
Questions a logistics model answers
| Question | How the model helps |
|---|---|
| Can the crane lift every heavy item where it needs to go? | Crane radius and load chart against the weight and position of each lift |
| Where do deliveries wait and unload? | Swept paths of vehicles through gates and around the site |
| Does storage fit the sequence? | Laydown areas sized for each phase's materials |
| Is the public kept safe? | Exclusion zones under lifts, hoarding lines, pedestrian routes |
| Do two activities need the same space? | Logistics zones linked to 4D activities show conflicts in time |
Worked example
A city-centre block has one gate onto a narrow street. The logistics model, phase by phase, shows that during the façade phase the curtain wall deliveries (12 m trailers) need the only unloading bay at the same time as the concrete pours. Delivery windows are split: pours early morning, façade units mid-morning, with the swept path of the trailer checked against parked cars on the street. The plan goes into the local authority's traffic application with the model views as evidence.
Common mistakes
- Drawing one logistics plan for the whole job, when the site changes every few weeks.
- Placing cranes from experience without checking the heaviest lifts at their radius.
- Logistics models on a different coordinate system from the building model.
- Forgetting neighbours: overhanging jibs, oversailing rights and noisy activities.
Where to read more
Health and safety regulators and construction logistics schemes publish guidance on site layout, traffic management and lifting operations. Crane suppliers publish load charts; temporary works guidance covers scaffolds, propping and hoists.