# How do you take delivery of cement, steel and blocks in Puntland? > Match every delivery against the order before unloading: check bags, rebar tags and block faces, then record the batch numbers and what you reject. - By: Editorial Team, Somali Construction Review (https://somaliconstructionreview.com/about) - Published: 4 October 2026 - Format: Practical guide (general practice) - Publication: Somali Construction Review (https://somaliconstructionreview.com) - Subject: Materials - Place: Puntland - Tags: puntland, materials, material-receiving, material-testing - Web version: https://somaliconstructionreview.com/blog/receiving-cement-steel-blocks-puntland ## Key points - Goods received checking happens before unloading, while the lorry is still on site and rejection is still possible. - Record batch or heat numbers, tonnage and bag count on a goods received note, then keep the note with the delivery docket until the work is signed off. - Every check here is general good practice, so confirm the acceptance criteria against the project specification and the engineer. Receiving is the last point at which you can reject a bad load cheaply, so meet the lorry, compare it with the order and inspect it item by item before anyone unloads. Nothing that goes into a building should be accepted on the driver's word alone. Cement, steel and blocks are all made to specifications. The delivery is where you check that the load matches what was ordered, and it is also where you write down what you found. ## What do you check on a cement delivery? Answer the paperwork first, then the bags. Check the cement type, the batch number and the production date against the order and the project specification, count the bags against the docket, and refuse torn or damp bags before they leave the lorry. A cement that is past its usable age or has set in the bag cannot be recovered by mixing it harder. Open two or three bags away from the driver and look at the cement. It should run freely and be free of hard lumps; lumps that do not crumble between the fingers mean the bag has taken moisture. Press the middle of a bag on the stack: a bag that has set hard is a reject, not a discount. Ask for the batch and date to be written on the goods received note, because if you later need to trace a pour you will need to know which delivery went into it. Volumes come from your own dimensions, not from what the lorry holds. Work out the cement, sand, aggregate and water from the drawings with the [concrete calculator](/concrete-calculator) before you order, so a short or long load is obvious at the gate. > **Warning:** Never let a load sit in the sun or rain while you argue about the paperwork. Move bags straight to a dry, raised store, off the floor and away from walls. ## How do you inspect steel and blocks at the gate? For steel, check the tag and the order, then look at the bars. Ask for the mill certificate or test certificate that names the grade and heat or batch number, compare that number with the tag on the bundle, and record both on the goods received note. Look along the bundle for heavy flaking rust, bends, kinks and for bars that are visibly thinner than the length beside them. Rust bloom on the surface is not the same as section loss; a bar that has lost cross-section is a reject, and this matters most where reinforcement sits in a coastal environment, which is covered in more detail in [How do you protect rebar from salt air in Berbera?](/blog/protect-rebar-salt-air-berbera). Rolled lengths should be straight and within the diameter called for on the bar schedule. For blocks, inspect a sample from around the stack. Look for cracks, soft corners, and blocks that crumble or sound hollow when tapped together. Set two blocks face to face and see whether they rock, which tells you how square they are. Ask what the blocks were mixed from and how long they have cured, and keep the answers with the delivery record. A block that breaks in your hand is not a cheaper block; it is a repair waiting to happen. ## What record should you keep after delivery? The goods received note is the record: supplier, date, vehicle, material, grade, batch or heat number, quantity, condition on arrival, and what you rejected. Photograph the load, the tags, the dockets and any damage before unloading starts, and write the rejection on the docket before the driver leaves. Ask the supplier to sign the note too, so that everyone has the same version of what was delivered and what went back. That note travels with the work. When the engineer or clerk of works asks for acceptance records, you can show which cement batches went into which pour and which steel heat number went into which column. For the wider sequence of checks on a building, see [materials](/topics/materials) and the site's [construction in Puntland](/tags/puntland) coverage, and keep a small folder per delivery so nothing depends on memory. If you also handle blocks and mortar by volume, the [construction material calculator](/construction-material-calculator) works the quantities from your dimensions. ## What to do next Write a one-page goods received template for your site before the next delivery. Put the columns on it now: supplier, vehicle, material, grade, batch or heat number, quantity, condition, rejected, accepted by, and a signature line for the supplier's representative. Print ten copies, keep them in the store, and hand one to the person who meets the lorry. ## Questions ### Can I use cement that has lumps in the bag? No. Lumps that do not crumble between the fingers mean the bag has taken in moisture and part of the cement has set. Reject that bag and mark it on the delivery docket before the lorry leaves. If the whole load shows lumps, reject the load and tell the supplier in writing on the same day. ### What if the supplier will not provide a mill certificate for rebar? Ask the supplier to write the grade and heat number on the delivery docket instead, and keep a copy. Then tell the engineer or clerk of works which bars arrived without a certificate, so the decision to accept, test or reject them sits with the person who signs off the work, not with the person at the gate. ### How long should I keep delivery records? Keep them until the building is handed over and the defects liability period ends, and longer if the contract says so. Check what the contract requires for record retention. ## Sources - [Somaliland Sun: National Cement Commence Exporting to Djibouti and Somaliland](https://somalilandsun.com/national-cement-commence-exporting-to-djibouti-and-somaliland/) - [Somaliland Sun: Ethiopian Cement Finds A Booming Market In Somaliland](https://somalilandsun.com/somaliland-ethiopian-cement-finds-a-booming-market-in-somaliland/) - [Wardheer News: Raysut Cement to construct new terminal in Somaliland](https://wardheernews.com/raysut-cement-construct-new-terminal-somaliland/) - [Somaliland Sun: Oman's RCC and Barwaqo Co Strike Cement Storage Partnership Deal](https://somalilandsun.com/somaliland-omans-rcc-and-barwaqo-co-strike-cement-storage-partnership-deal/) - [Somali Construction Review: Concrete calculator](https://somaliconstructionreview.com/concrete-calculator)