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

About the job

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

What you'll do

• Assist workers in tasks such as coupling railroad cars or loading vehicles.
• Compute or estimate cash, payroll, transportation, personnel, or storage requirements.
• Examine, measure, or weigh cargo or materials to determine specific handling requirements.
• Explain and demonstrate work tasks to new workers or assign training tasks to experienced workers.
• Perform or schedule repairs or preventive maintenance of vehicles or other equipment.
• Prepare, compile, and submit reports on work activities, operations, production, or work-related accidents.
• Recommend and implement measures to improve worker motivation, equipment performance, work methods, or customer services.
• Recommend or implement personnel actions, such as employee selection, evaluation, rewards, or disciplinary actions.
• Requisition needed personnel, supplies, equipment, parts, or repair services.
• Resolve worker problems or collaborate with employees to assist in problem resolution.

Things you need to know

• 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.

Abilities you'll need to have

• Active Listening – Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Time Management – Managing one’s own time and the time of others.
• Coordination – Adjusting actions in relation to others’ actions.
• Management of Personnel Resources – Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
• Speaking – Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Critical Thinking – Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Reading Comprehension – Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.