What Do Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators Do (including Their Typical Day At Work)

Job Description

Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators operate industrial trucks or tractors equipped to move materials around a warehouse, storage yard, factory, construction site, or similar location. They also move levers or controls that operate lifting devices, such as forklifts, lift beams with swivel-hooks, hoists, or elevating platforms, to load, unload, transport, or stack material.

Other tasks include:

• Inspect product load for accuracy and safely move it around the warehouse or facility to ensure timely and complete delivery.
• Manually or mechanically load or unload materials from pallets, skids, platforms, cars, lifting devices, or other transport vehicles.
• Move controls to drive gasoline- or electric-powered trucks, cars, or tractors and transport materials between loading, processing, and storage areas.
• Position lifting devices under, over, or around loaded pallets, skids, or boxes and secure material or products for transport to designated areas.
• Weigh materials or products and record weight or other production data on tags or labels.
• Perform routine maintenance on vehicles or auxiliary equipment, such as cleaning, lubricating, recharging batteries, fueling, or replacing liquefied-gas tank.

We asked Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators how satisfied they are with their job. Here is what they said.

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53% of them said they were satisfied with their job and 29% said they find that their job makes the world a better place or helps to make someone else’s life better.

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Typical Day At Work

On a daily basis, Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators perform routine maintenance on vehicles or auxiliary equipment, such as cleaning, lubricating, recharging batteries, fueling, or replacing liquefied-gas tank. They move levers or controls that operate lifting devices, such as forklifts, lift beams with swivel-hooks, hoists, or elevating platforms, to load, unload, transport, or stack material.

A typical day for an Industrial Truck and Tractor Operator will also include:

• Move controls to drive gasoline- or electric-powered trucks, cars, or tractors and transport materials between loading, processing, and storage areas.
• Inspect product load for accuracy and safely move it around the warehouse or facility to ensure timely and complete delivery.
• Manually or mechanically load or unload materials from pallets, skids, platforms, cars, lifting devices, or other transport vehicles.
• Turn valves and open chutes to dump, spray, or release materials from dump cars or storage bins into hoppers.
• Position lifting devices under, over, or around loaded pallets, skids, or boxes and secure material or products for transport to designated areas.

We asked some Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators a few questions to find out what else does their work day look like. Here is what we found.

	Do you have telephone conversations everyday in this job?	36% said yes
	How important is it to work in a team in this job?	50% said very important
	Do you have group discussions everyday in this job?	71% said yes
	Do you talk or work with customers everyday in this job?	35% said yes
	Do you have to deal with angry customers everyday in this job?	28% said yes
	Do you have to make decisions everyday in this job?	82% said yes

Other responsibilities

Besides their typical day, Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators also perform routine maintenance on vehicles or auxiliary equipment, such as cleaning, lubricating, recharging batteries, fueling, or replacing liquefied-gas tank. They may also weigh materials or products and record weight or other production data on tags or labels.

On a weekly to monthly basis, Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators Position lifting devices under, over, or around loaded pallets, skids, or boxes and secure material or products for transport to designated areas. They might also Move controls to drive gasoline- or electric-powered trucks, cars, or tractors and transport materials between loading, processing, and storage areas.

In addition, they Turn valves and open chutes to dump, spray, or release materials from dump cars or storage bins into hoppers.

Although specific duties may vary, many of them Hook tow trucks to trailer hitches and fasten attachments, such as graders, plows, rollers, or winch cables to tractors, using hitchpins.

To some Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators, it is also their responsibility to Signal workers to discharge, dump, or level materials.

Working life

Standard 40 hour work week

Regular schedule like a 9 to 5

In a typical work week as an Industrial Truck and Tractor Operator, you can expect to work 40 hour work week.

Is this right for me

People who are suitable for this job tends to like work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They like working with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery..

They also like following set procedures and routines. They like working with data and details more than with ideas.

You can read more about these career personality types here.

Explore other careers

http://www.bls.gov/OOH/transportation-and-material-moving/material-moving-machine-operators.htm

http://www.indtrk.org/