| Skill | What it means | Level needed |
|---|
| Follows plant, dock and aisle safety rules, wears the required PPE for the area, spots and reports hazards such as spills, blocked aisles, damaged racking and unguarded edges, and knows the fire, emergency-egress and lockout expectations for the material handling area. | |
| Uses correct lifting, lowering and carrying technique on boxes, bags, totes, rolls and awkward loads, sizes up a load before moving it, and calls for a team lift or a mechanical aid instead of muscling a load that is too heavy, too bulky or too low. | |
| Sustains a full shift of standing, walking, bending, reaching, climbing and repeated lifting at the weights the job's material actually comes in, in whatever heat, cold, dust, wet or noise the building has, and paces the work to finish the shift without getting hurt. | |
| Inspects and operates manual and electric walkie pallet jacks, two-wheel hand trucks and platform carts to move palletized and loose material safely, keeps the load under control on ramps, dock plates and in congested aisles, and tags out equipment found damaged instead of running it. | |
| Works safely around powered industrial trucks as a pedestrian and as a spotter, understands load center, the stability triangle and the danger zone around the truck and whatever it is carrying, and knows that driving one is a separate OSHA 1910.178 certified occupation (SOC 53-7051) requiring employer-specific training and a documented evaluation, not something a new material handler does. | |
| Receives inbound freight, counts and checks what actually arrived against the packing slip, bill of lading and purchase order, and writes shortages, overages and visible damage on the paperwork before the driver leaves the dock. | |
| Reads work orders, pick tickets, kanban cards, travelers and verbal assignments to determine what material is needed, in what quantity, and where it has to go, and asks rather than guessing when a document is unclear or does not match what is on the floor. | |
| Works an order list, goes to the right storage location, checks the material against the order by description, number, size or grade before taking it, pulls the correct quantity, and assembles the order without damaging the goods. | |
| Sorts material by destination and puts received stock in the spot the plant's storage scheme calls for, allowing for weight, turnover and any moisture, age or temperature requirement, and stages outbound or line-side material where the next person expects to find it. | |
| Packs the product in the container the packing spec calls for, protects it with the right wrap, dunnage or fill for that product, closes and secures it, and includes the paperwork so it arrives complete and undamaged. | |
| Builds a stable unit load using the stacking pattern and weight distribution the product needs, keeps it inside the base footprint, and secures it with wrap, banding or dunnage so it survives handling and transport. | |
| Attaches the identifying tags, lot and part labels, the handling and hazard labels the material requires and the correct shipping label to containers and pallets, places them where the next handler and the scanner can find them, and checks the label against the order before the load moves. | |
| Records material moves in the plant's tracking system, by scanning a barcode or by entering the job, order or location number, confirms receipts, picks, putaways and transfers, and stops and corrects an obvious wrong entry rather than pushing the transaction through. | |
| Performs physical and cycle counts accurately, counts what is actually on the shelf rather than what the system says, records units handled and counted on the daily production sheet, work ticket or count screen, and reports variances instead of quietly adjusting them. | |
| Blocks, braces and secures freight in trailers, containers and on pallets using dunnage, load bars, straps and airbags so that nothing shifts, falls or gets crushed in transit. | |
| Loads and unloads trucks, trailers, containers and rail cars safely, makes sure the vehicle cannot move before working on or in it, and builds the outbound load so the weight sits right and it comes off in the order it is needed. | |
| Prepares and checks the outbound paperwork the load requires, including the bill of lading, packing list and any shipping papers the material's rules call for, verifies piece counts, weights and consignee against the load actually on the dock, and records the seal number before the truck leaves. | |
| Recognizes hazardous materials by placard, label and container marking, knows which items must be segregated, kept upright or kept away from heat and ignition sources, and stops and gets a trained person rather than moving, storing or shipping hazmat alone. | |
| Identifies the raw stock, components and finished goods the plant handles by part number, lot or batch identifier, grade, form and packaging, and can tell whether the material in hand is actually what the order calls for. | |
| Inspects incoming and stored material for damage, wear, leaks, moisture, pest activity and short count, tags and quarantines anything suspect, and reports it to a supervisor rather than sending it on to the production line. | |
| Keeps aisles, dock and staging areas clear and swept, returns tools and equipment to their marked homes, breaks down and routes packaging waste to the right stream, and takes part in 5S audits and shadow-board upkeep. | |
| Rigs a load for a powered lift by attaching the sling, hook or lifting frame the job calls for, keeps the load balanced and under control while it moves, and keeps everyone clear of the load path. | |
| Works as part of a dock or line-side crew, communicates clearly by radio and face to face about what is staged, held or still open, hands the job off at shift change so the next crew is not guessing, and works alongside coworkers of many backgrounds and first languages. | |
| Counts accurately, converts between the units the plant buys and ships in such as pieces, cases, pallets or board feet, works out load weight and the space a load takes, reads a scale and a tape measure, and checks that the numbers on the paperwork add up before signing for a load. | |
| Moves, racks and stages rolls of fabric and sides of hide or leather by hand or with non-powered handling equipment, getting each roll or side to the rack or table location someone else assigned without crushing an edge, creasing the material or soiling the face. | |
Oregon publishes ten employability skills, the same statewide. Tick the three that matter most for this job.
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