CompGeo Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers Salary Survey Benchmark Job Description and Competencies - Transportation Occupation Group

CompGeo Occupation Group: Transportation

Job Family: Railroad

Benchmark Title: Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers

Summary Job Description

Tasks

Drive switching or other locomotive or dinkey engines within railroad yard, industrial plant, quarry, construction project, or similar location.

Confer with conductors and other workers via radio-telephones or computers to exchange switching information.

Signal crew members for movement of engines or trains, using lanterns, hand signals, radios, or telephones.

Observe and respond to wayside and cab signals, including color light signals, position signals, torpedoes, flags, and hot box detectors.

Drive engines within railroad yards or other establishments to couple, uncouple, or switch railroad cars.

Inspect engines before and after use to ensure proper operation.

Apply and release hand brakes.

Read switching instructions and daily car schedules to determine work to be performed, or receive orders from yard conductors.

Inspect the condition of stationary trains, rolling stock, and equipment.

Observe water levels and oil, air, and steam pressure gauges in order to ensure proper operation of equipment.

Spot cars for loading and unloading at customer locations.

Inspect track for defects such as broken rails and switch malfunctions.

Ride on moving cars by holding onto grab irons and standing on ladder steps.

Operate track switches, derails, automatic switches, and retarders to change routing of train or cars.

Receive, relay, and act upon instructions and inquiries from train operations and customer service center personnel.

Couple and uncouple air hoses and electrical connections between cars.

Report arrival and departure times, train delays, work order completion, and time on duty.

Pull knuckles to open them for coupling.

Provide assistance in aligning drawbars, using available equipment to lift, pull, or push on the drawbars.

Drive locomotives to and from various stations in roundhouses to have locomotives cleaned, serviced, repaired, or supplied.

Record numbers of cars available, numbers of cars sent to repair stations, and types of service needed.

Perform routine repair and maintenance duties.

Operate and control dinkey engines to transport and shunt cars at industrial or mine sites.

Operate flatcars equipped with derricks or railcars to transport personnel or equipment.

Provide assistance in the installation or repair of rails and ties.

Operate switching diesel engines to switch railroad cars, using remote controls.

CompGeo Occupation Group: Transportation

Job Family: Railroad

Benchmark Title: Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers

Important Knowledge Competencies

Competency Description

Transportation

Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

Public Safety and Security

Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

English Language

Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Telecommunications

Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

Administration and Management

Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Education and Training

Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Mechanical

Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

Customer and Personal Service

Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Personnel and Human Resources

Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

CompGeo Occupation Group: Transportation

Job Family: Railroad

Benchmark Title: Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers

Important Skill Competencies

Competency Description

Operation Monitoring

Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.

Operation and Control

Controlling operations of equipment or systems.

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Monitoring

Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Complex Problem Solving

Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

Quality Control Analysis

Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Judgment and Decision Making

Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Time Management

Managing one's own time and the time of others.

Coordination

Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

Troubleshooting

Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.

Management of Personnel Resources

Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.

Active Learning

Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

Social Perceptiveness

Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Instructing

Teaching others how to do something.

Service Orientation

Actively looking for ways to help people.

Learning Strategies

Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.

Repairing

Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.

CompGeo Occupation Group: Transportation

Job Family: Railroad

Benchmark Title: Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers

Important Ability Competencies

Competency Description

Problem Sensitivity

The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

Oral Comprehension

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Control Precision

The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.

Visual Color Discrimination

The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.

Oral Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Near Vision

The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Far Vision

The ability to see details at a distance.

Depth Perception

The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.

Arm-Hand Steadiness

The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.

Response Orientation

The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.

Rate Control

The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.

Reaction Time

The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.

Speech Recognition

The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

Speech Clarity

The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

Information Ordering

The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

Spatial Orientation

The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.

Auditory Attention

The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.

Written Comprehension

The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Deductive Reasoning

The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

Selective Attention

The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.

Manual Dexterity

The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.

Multilimb Coordination

The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.

Inductive Reasoning

The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

Perceptual Speed

The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.

Hearing Sensitivity

The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.

Category Flexibility

The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.

Flexibility of Closure

The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.

Time Sharing

The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).

Gross Body Equilibrium

The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.

Visualization

The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.

Finger Dexterity

The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.

Speed of Limb Movement

The ability to quickly move the arms and legs.

Extent Flexibility

The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.

Gross Body Coordination

The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion.

Written Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Speed of Closure

The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.

Trunk Strength

The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without 'giving out' or fatiguing.

Peripheral Vision

The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead.

CompGeo Occupation Group: Transportation

Job Family: Railroad

Benchmark Title: Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers

Prerequisite Qualification Category

Education and Experience Level

Required Level of Education

High School Diploma (or GED or High School Equivalence Certificate)

CompGeo Occupation Group: Transportation

Job Family: Railroad

Benchmark Title: Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers

Alternate Job Title(s)

Car Barn Laborer

Car Mover

Car Repairman

Coal Tram Driver

Coal Trammer

Conductor

Diesel Dinkey Engineer

Diesel Dinkey Operator

Dinkey Driver

Dinkey Engine Operator

Dinkey Engineer

Dinkey Locomotive Engineer

Dinkey Locomotive Operator

Dinkey Motor Operator

Dinkey Operator

Dinkey Skinner

Dump Motor Operator

Dump Motorman

Engine Hostler

Engineer

Equipment Operator

Goat Driver

Haulage Engine Operator

Ingot Buggy Operator

Ingot Car Operator

Larriman

Larry Car Operator

Locomotive Engineer

Mine Motor Engineer

Mine Motor Operator

Rail Equipment Operator

Railcar Switcher

Railroad Engineer

Slag Motor Operator

Switch Crew Supervisor

Switchman

Train Operator

Transportation Specialist

Work Car Operator

Yard Engineer

Yard Hostler

Yard Motor Operator

CompGeo Occupation Group: Transportation

Job Family: Railroad

Benchmark Title: Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers

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CompGeo Salary Survey Benchmark Job Summary and Competencies

Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers

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