According to people in this career, the main tasks are...
| Task | Importance |
|---|---|
| Seal outlet valves on tank cars, barges, and trucks. | 94% |
| Verify tank car, barge, or truck load numbers to ensure car placement accuracy based on written or verbal instructions. | 91% |
| Connect ground cables to carry off static electricity when unloading tanker cars. | 91% |
| Start pumps and adjust valves or cables to regulate the flow of products to vessels, using knowledge of loading procedures. | 89% |
| Check conditions and weights of vessels to ensure cleanliness and compliance with loading procedures. | 89% |
| Observe positions of cars passing loading spouts, and swing spouts into the correct positions at the appropriate times. | 89% |
| Monitor product movement to and from storage tanks, coordinating activities with other workers to ensure constant product flow. | 89% |
| Copy and attach load specifications to loaded tanks. | 88% |
| Remove and replace tank car dome caps, or direct other workers in their removal and replacement. | 87% |
| Operate ship loading and unloading equipment, conveyors, hoists, and other specialized material handling equipment such as railroad tank car unloading equipment. | 86% |
| Test samples for specific gravity, using hydrometers, or send samples to laboratories for testing. | 86% |
| Test vessels for leaks, damage, and defects, and repair or replace defective parts as necessary. | 85% |
| Record operating data such as products and quantities pumped, gauge readings, and operating times, manually or using computers. | 85% |
| Operate industrial trucks, tractors, loaders, and other equipment to transport materials to and from transportation vehicles and loading docks, and to store and retrieve materials in warehouses. | 84% |
| Unload cars containing liquids by connecting hoses to outlet plugs and pumping compressed air into cars to force liquids into storage tanks. | 81% |
| Clean interiors of tank cars or tank trucks, using mechanical spray nozzles. | 80% |
| Lower gauge rods into tanks or read meters to verify contents, temperatures, and volumes of liquid loads. | 77% |
| Operate conveyors and equipment to transfer grain or other materials from transportation vehicles. | 77% |
| Perform general warehouse activities, such as opening containers and crates, filling warehouse orders, assisting in taking inventory, and weighing and checking materials. | 70% |
