Fence work looks simple on a calendar: a job, a crew, a day or two. In practice, every install has dependencies that the calendar doesn't show. You can't dig until buried utilities are marked. You may not want to hang panels or rails on posts that haven't set. And the material has to be on the truck, or on the driveway, the morning the crew arrives.
The fence companies that keep crews busy schedule those dependencies first and the crews second.
Gate 1: the utility locate
Before any post hole goes in, buried utilities need to be marked. In the United States, the national 811 program says anyone planning to dig should contact 811 to request that the approximate location of buried utilities be marked, and should do it a few business days before digging begins (811 Before You Dig, checked October 2026). Each state has its own 811 center, so check the waiting period and procedure where you work (811 in your state).
For scheduling, that means two things:
- The earliest install date is not "next open crew day". It is the first open crew day after the locate wait has passed and marks are in place.
- Locate requests should go in when the job is sold, not when it's scheduled. If you wait until a crew opening appears, the opening is gone by the time the marks are.
Keep the locate request date and the earliest allowed dig date with the job. When someone looks for a slot, those dates rule out openings that are too early.
Gate 2: posts before panels
Many fence types are built in two phases. The crew sets posts, often in concrete, and the rails, panels or pickets go on afterward. Whether you wait between phases, and how long, depends on the fence type, the post-setting method and the product instructions for whatever you set posts in. Some crews hang the same day; others come back.
When there's a wait, you have a choice about how to run crews.
One crew, two visits
The same crew sets posts on day one, goes elsewhere, and returns to hang panels after the wait. Simple to manage, but every job costs two drives and two load-outs, and the return visit has to fit around whatever the crew is doing by then.
Specialized crews
A post crew moves from job to job setting posts. A panel crew follows a set number of days behind, hanging panels on posts that have had time to set. This keeps each crew doing one thing and loading one kind of truck, and the wait between phases happens while the panel crew is elsewhere. The cost is coordination: the panel crew's route depends on the post crew's route a few days earlier.
A worked example: pairing half-day visits
This is illustrative. The numbers are made up to show the arithmetic, not taken from any real company.
Say a crew of three has five jobs, each needing a half-day of post-setting and, after a wait of at least a day, a half-day of panels. That's ten half-day visits, which pack into five crew-days with two visits a day: posts on one job in the morning, panels on another in the afternoon. Every day has a mid-day leg between two different jobs, and which jobs you pair decides how long it is.
The work is the same and the wait between posts and panels is the same. The only change is which morning job sits next to which afternoon job. Separate post and panel crews face the same arithmetic: each job still gets two visits, and the panel crew's route is fixed by where the post crew was a day or two before. If the post crew's jobs were scattered, the panel crew inherits the scatter. Run it on your own crews: mid-day legs per week × minutes saved per leg × crew size.
Material and the morning
Fence material is bulky. Some companies have it delivered to the site; others load the truck at the yard. Either way, the crew's start time depends on it:
- Delivered to the site means the delivery has to arrive before the crew, and the job can't start if it didn't.
- Loaded at the yard means the crew's day starts at the yard, so the drive from the yard to the first site is part of the morning. A 7:00 start at a site 45 minutes away is a 6:15 departure, plus loading.
Write the material plan into the job so the person scheduling the crew knows which applies.
How to schedule fence installs
- Submit the locate request at sale. Record the earliest dig date it allows in your state.
- Confirm material, then book. Know whether material is delivered or loaded and when it's ready.
- Book posts first, panels second. Schedule the panel visit only once the post day is fixed, at least the wait you've chosen after it.
- Group jobs by area per crew. Especially for a post crew whose route the panel crew will inherit. Crew scheduling explains why drive time multiplies with crew size.
- Hold repair and gate work for gaps. Small repairs, gate adjustments and single-panel replacements fill short gaps near larger jobs.
- Re-plan after rain. Wet days move post-setting, which moves panels. Push the pair together and check the new drive. Landscaping and irrigation crews, who also dig, face the same pattern.
For a broader view of how a job moves from sale to completion, see the field service workflow guide.
Where CrewLink fits
CrewLink is a scheduling and dispatch layer for companies running 5 to 50 trucks. It builds live travel time into availability and checks feasibility before a slot is offered, with travel computed from where the crew will actually be: the previous job, or the yard if that's where the day starts. On the dispatch board, drive time sits next to each job instead of being hidden inside it, so you can see what the post crew's route will hand to the panel crew.
CrewLink does not submit 811 locate requests, track material orders, produce estimates or drawings, or manage permits. You'll handle locate requests through your state's 811 center and enter the earliest dig date when you schedule. If you use subcontracted install crews, see subcontractor scheduling.
What to take away
- A fence install has gates: the utility locate, then posts before panels. Schedule the gates first.
- Submit locate requests at sale and treat the allowed dig date as the earliest possible start.
- With a wait between posts and panels, each job is two visits. Pair each day's visits by area; a separate panel crew inherits the post crew's route.
- Know whether material is delivered or loaded at the yard; it sets the crew's morning.
- Push post and panel visits together after rain, and re-check the drive.
Common questions
How far in advance should a fence company schedule installs?
Far enough to clear the utility locate wait where you work and to have material ready. Submit the locate request when the job is sold, then book the first crew opening on or after the allowed dig date. Your crew backlog sets the rest.
Should fence posts and panels be installed by different crews?
It depends on volume and fence types. Both approaches visit each job twice when there's a wait between posts and panels. Separate crews let each specialize and load one kind of truck; one crew doing both is simpler to coordinate. Either way, pair each day's visits by area, because the drive between them is the part you control.
How do you schedule fence jobs around the 811 locate?
Make the locate request part of closing the sale. Record the request date and the earliest date your state 811 center's rules allow digging. When you look for a crew slot, ignore openings before that date, even if a crew is free.
How do rain days affect fence installs?
Rain usually stops digging and post-setting, which also delays the panel visit that depends on it. Move the post and panel visits as a pair, keep the wait between them, and fill the freed time with repairs or gate work that doesn't need digging.