Example Career: First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material-Moving Machine & Vehicle Operators

Career Description

Directly supervise and coordinate activities of transportation and material-moving machine and vehicle operators and helpers.

What Job Titles First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material-Moving Machine & Vehicle Operators Might Have

• Driver Manager
• Operations Supervisor
• Transportation Supervisor
• Warehouse Supervisor

What First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material-Moving Machine & Vehicle Operators Do

• Enforce safety rules and regulations.
• Plan work assignments and equipment allocations to meet transportation, operations or production goals.
• Direct workers in transportation or related services, such as pumping, moving, storing, or loading or unloading of materials or people.
• Review orders, production schedules, blueprints, or shipping or receiving notices to determine work sequences and material shipping dates, types, volumes, or destinations.
• Inspect or test materials, stock, vehicles, equipment, or facilities to ensure that they are safe, free of defects, and consistent with specifications.
• Confer with customers, supervisors, contractors, or other personnel to exchange information or to resolve problems.
• Monitor field work to ensure proper performance and use of materials.
• Dispatch personnel and vehicles in response to telephone or radio reports of emergencies.
• Drive vehicles or operate machines or equipment to complete work assignments or to assist workers.
• Plan and establish transportation routes.
• Maintain or verify records of time, materials, expenditures, or crew activities.
• Interpret transportation or tariff regulations, shipping orders, safety regulations, or company policies and procedures for workers.
• Prepare, compile, and submit reports on work activities, operations, production, or work-related accidents.
• Resolve worker problems or collaborate with employees to assist in problem resolution.
• Recommend or implement personnel actions, such as employee selection, evaluation, rewards, or disciplinary actions.
• Perform or schedule repairs or preventive maintenance of vehicles or other equipment.
• Explain and demonstrate work tasks to new workers or assign training tasks to experienced workers.
• Requisition needed personnel, supplies, equipment, parts, or repair services.
• Recommend and implement measures to improve worker motivation, equipment performance, work methods, or customer services.
• Examine, measure, or weigh cargo or materials to determine specific handling requirements.
• Assist workers in tasks such as coupling railroad cars or loading vehicles.
• Compute or estimate cash, payroll, transportation, personnel, or storage requirements.

What First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material-Moving Machine & Vehicle Operators Should Be Good At

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

What First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material-Moving Machine & Vehicle Operators Should Be Interested In

• Enterprising - Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
• Conventional - Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
• Realistic - Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

What First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material-Moving Machine & Vehicle Operators Need to Learn

• Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
• Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.