Dock Supervisor

As a Dock Supervisor, you oversee the Dockworkers who load and unload materials from vessels on the water. The work can be dangerous considering the materials being moved, but there are also a lot of administrative duties in this position. Dock Supervisors ensure that safety, first and foremost, is being observed. But you also have to meet quotas and deadlines, so you make sure the Dockworkers are staying on schedule and transporting materials effectively.

Because Dock Supervisors work at a marine terminal, dealing with barges, ships, and tankers, it’s not uncommon for the workers they supervise to be moving flammable liquids, such as crude oil, gasoline, kerosene, fuel oil, motor oil, and grease. You likely went through that kind of work before becoming the Dock Supervisor. But now, your Supervisors are relying on you to be the voice of leadership.

You receive regular instructions, schedules, and information that you need to relay to your team, all of which—times, locations, workers—you coordinate. You also oversee the actual docking of the vessels as well as the inspection of the oil tanks, ensuring that they’re intact and not leaking. Additionally, you check all of the pumping reports to make sure the materials were indeed moved from point A to point B, and that the bills exchanged parties correctly. On top of all this, you may oversee the storage of materials that aren’t immediately bought or sold.