10 Key Attributes Tank Car, Truck, And Ship Loaders Need To Succeed In Their Career

by Alex Garcia

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Tank car, truck, and ship loaders load and unload chemicals and bulk solids, such as coal, sand, and grain into or from tank cars, trucks, or ships using material moving equipment. They may also perform a variety of other tasks relating to shipment of products. They may also gauge or sample shipping tanks and test them for leaks.

The core tasks that tank car, truck, and ship loaders are likely to carry out include:

Verify tank car, barge, or truck load numbers to ensure car placement accuracy based on written or verbal instructions.
Observe positions of cars passing loading spouts, and swing spouts into the correct positions at the appropriate times.
Operate ship loading and unloading equipment, conveyors, hoists, and other specialized material handling equipment such as railroad tank car unloading equipment.
Monitor product movement to and from storage tanks, coordinating activities with other workers to ensure constant product flow.
Record operating data such as products and quantities pumped, gauge readings, and operating times, manually or using computers.
Check conditions and weights of vessels to ensure cleanliness and compliance with loading procedures.

In order to successfully forge ahead with their careers, analysts in a survey carried out by U.S. Department of Labor (via O*NET) have marked out the following as important attributes that tank car, truck, and ship loaders would need. These attributes have been selected from characteristics and requirements strongly associated with the occupation. They are

Abilities: Enduring attributes of the individual that influence performance
Interests: Preferences for work environments. Occupational Interest Profiles (OIPs) are compatible with Holland's (1985, 1997) model of personality types and work environments. Six interest categories are used to describe the work environment of occupations: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. An OIP consists of six numerical scores indicating how descriptive and characteristic each work environment (or interest area) is for an occupation
Knowledge: Organized sets of principles and facts applying in general domains
Skills: These include basic skills, which are developed capacities that facilitate learning or the more rapid acquisition of knowledge. Plus cross-functional skills, which are developed capacities that facilitate performance of activities that occur across jobs
Style: Personal characteristics that can affect how well someone performs a job

We have listed out attributes which were scored 80% or more in terms of importance by the analysts.

Having a strong preference for realistic work environments. 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.
Attribute Type: Interests Score: 100%

Being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 95.6%

Being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 92%

Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Attribute Type: Knowledge Score: 89.4%

Being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 88.6%

A willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 88%

Being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 83.6%

A willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 83.2%

Developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 81.8%

Persistence in the face of obstacles.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 80.8%