Washington DC
U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Classification Appeal Decision
Under sections 5103 and 5112 of title 5, United States Code
Support Services Branch
National Processing Center
Bureau of the Census
Department of Commerce
Jeffersonville, Indiana
WG-6907-05
Damon B. Ford
Acting Classification Appeals and FLSA Claims
Program Manager
Agency Compliance and Evaluation
Merit System Accountability and Compliance
10/29/2019
Date
As provided in section S7-8 of the Operating Manual: Federal Wage System, this decision constitutes a certificate that is mandatory and binding on all administrative, certifying, payroll, disbursing, and accounting officials of the Government. There is no right of further appeal. This decision is subject to discretionary review only under conditions specified in section 532.705(f) of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations (addresses provided in the Introduction to the Position Classification Standards, appendix 4, section H).
Introduction
The appellants occupy an identical additional Materials Handler, WG-6907-5, job, (hereinafter referred to as “job”) and are assigned to the Warehousing and Transportation Section, Support Services Branch, National Processing Center (Center), Bureau of the Census (Bureau), Department of Commerce (Department), in Jeffersonville, Indiana. The group appeal filed by their designated representative includes appellants [names]. They request their job be graded at the 6 level. The appellants filed a job grading appeal with the Department and its July 6, 2018, decision sustained the pay plan, occupational code, title, and grade of the job. We accepted and decided this appeal under section 5346 of title 5, United States Code (U.S.C.).
Background and general issues
The record shows that in April 2003, the Center’s servicing human resources office conducted a job grading review of the Materials Handler, WG-6907-05, job. They found the employees performed a variety of grade 6 level work. No action was taken at the time to upgrade the job. However, in 2006, all materials handler jobs were non-competitively upgraded to the 6 grade level with the exception of two jobs, which had been occupied at the time by newly hired employees, that remained graded at the 5 level. As WG-6 materials handlers retired or resigned from the Center, the agency recruited for and filled the jobs at the 5 grade level.
The appellants make various statements about the Department’s July 2018 evaluation of their job, specifically that the agency classifier failed to conduct an onsite visit of their warehouses “in order to fully review all duties performed, as well as the vast numbers of warehouse buildings and operations that Material Handling Staff are required to oversee.” In adjudicating this appeal, our only concern is to make our own independent decision on the proper grading of their job. By law, we must grade jobs solely by comparing their current duties and responsibilities to appropriate job grading standards (JGS) (5 U.S.C. 5346). Because our decision sets aside all previous agency actions and decisions on the appellants’ job, their concerns regarding the agency’s job grading review process and April 2003 classification review finding the job properly graded at the 6 level are not germane to this decision. Our evaluation of their work is based on our independent application of the appropriate JGSs to those duties actually performed.
The appellant’s supervisor has certified to the accuracy of their job description (JD) number MR 027698, but the appellants believe it lacks detailed information in describing their duties and responsibilities. A JD is the official record of the major duties and responsibilities assigned to a job by an official with the authority to assign work. A job is the duties and responsibilities that make up the work performed by the employee. OPM’s appeal regulations permit OPM to investigate or audit a job and decide an appeal on the basis of the actual duties and responsibilities currently assigned by management and performed by the employee. An OPM job grading appeal decision classifies a real operating job, and not simply a JD. Thus, as noted above, this decision is based on the work currently assigned and performed by the appellants.
The appellants request back pay, if their appeal request is approved, for performing grade 6 level work. However, the U.S. Comptroller General (B-232695, December 15, 1989) states that an “…employee is entitled only to the salary of the position to which he is actually appointed, regardless of the duties performed. When an employee performs the duties of a higher grade level, no entitlement to the salary of the higher grade exists until such time as the individual is actually promoted. This rule was reaffirmed by the United States Supreme Court in United States v. Testan, 424 U.S. 392, at 406 (1976), where the Court stated that ‘…the federal employee is entitled to receive only the salary of the position to which he was appointed, even though he may have performed the duties of another position or claim that he should have been placed in a higher grade.’ Consequently, backpay is not available as a remedy for misassignments to higher level duties or improper classifications.”
Job information
As the Bureau’s primary location for mail processing, survey processing, data capture, and imaging and scanning, the Center is comprised of approximately 11 buildings on a 75-acre campus. The appellants perform materials handling, fork lift operating, and packing duties in Buildings 60, 61, and 71 on campus. As discussed in their official JD, they handle approximately 2,150 publications, 600 expendable items, 2,700 current survey items, 3,000 decennial or special census items, 12,000 equipment items, and hundreds of pallets of census-related records. The appellants’ first-level supervisor, i.e., the Materials Handler Supervisor, WS-6907-05, is responsible for scheduling the appellants to one-month rotations in either Buildings 60, 61, or 71, or as a “floater” assigned to any of the three buildings depending on work requirements or staff shortages. The following is a brief overview of the major duties and responsibilities performed at each building.
Building 60
United States Postal Service, UPS, FedEx, DHL, truck freight, and other shipments are delivered to the building. After shipments are unloaded, the appellants scan deliveries, open boxes, review and check contents against documents to ensure correct identification and quantities, and report overages and shortages. Depending on their review, they may move and store materials in the appropriate bay; contact Quality Assurance (QA) staff if items appear damaged; notify the supervisor if unable to identify the recipient, locate appropriate paperwork associated with the shipment, or other situations; or move the shipment to Transportation for delivery if the recipient is located inside the Center but outside Buildings 60, 61, or 71. When partial shipments are received, the appellants note paperwork as an incomplete shipment and may either move and store materials into the appropriate bay, move rush orders to Transportation for delivery inside the Center, or hold it temporarily if the remaining order is expected shortly. For all materials moved to warehouse bays, they identify the location, quantities, etc., on locator forms submitted to Inventory Control (IC) staff who are responsible for updating the inventory control system. The appellants also maintain the bin room, replenishing pens, pencils, paper, and other commonly used supplies when necessary.
In addition, the appellants pick up rush, outbound, and inbound orders (e.g., request for five dozen markers) from the trays maintained in the supervisor’s office. They pull items from their storage location and move them to the packing table in Building 71, after orders are checked for accuracy. The appellants also complete weekly inventory or cycle counts of items stored in the warehouses, notifying the warehouse clerk once the count is completed or IC staff if any discrepancies or problems are identified.
Building 61
Various projects are completed simultaneously on production lines. The Center’s Document Services Branch (DSB) supervisors and leaders maintain the production lines responsible for printing materials, folding papers and envelopes, cutting papers, inserting materials into envelopes, printing addresses on envelopes, etc. The appellants ensure the lines have adequate raw materials at the beginning of and throughout the day to minimize work stoppages and slow downs. For example, if a line requires envelopes, return envelopes, pamphlets, and forms, they will locate and move all required raw materials to the line at the start of the day and monitor the DSB’s production line throughout the day so they can replenish the raw materials, empty pallets, tubs, lids, and other items required. They also palletize, wrap, weigh, and/or move finished products for storage or shipment.
Because QA staff is also located in the building, the appellants regularly operate fork lifts to move materials to, from, and around QA’s designated area.
Building 71
The building serves as storage for most materials handled by the appellants including, but not limited to, accessions (i.e., records maintained at the request of regional or other Bureau offices), American Community Survey (ACS) forms, special census forms, paper, cardboard boxes, and other supplies.
The appellants prepare outgoing shipments at the packing table. They locate and move orders or other items to be shipped to the packing table. They make packing decisions based on the weight, size, destination, and special packaging requirements of shipments. The appellants identify the appropriate carton or container, cushion, and sealant required by shipments. They prepare labels and required paperwork, as well as mark and label boxes based on shipping requirements. After weighing shipments, the appellants decide the appropriate shipping provider (e.g., shipments over 500 pounds are delivered by freight) and if the order requires overnight, two-day, priority, or other delivery method. If a shipment includes cleaning solution, oil, or other chemical, they place the item in a plastic bag as an added safety precaution.
The appellants also move paper and cardboard boxes to the shredding area. Once items to be disposed of are identified, they pull the records, forms, or other items to be shredded and ensure a sample is checked and cleared by IC staff prior to moving all materials to the laborers for shredding. Once materials are treated, the appellants weigh and move shredded paper and compressed cardboard boxes onto delivery trucks.
To help decide the appeal, we conducted telephone audits with three appellants selected to speak on behalf of the group. We conducted separate telephone interviews with the first-level supervisor (the Materials Handler Supervisor) and the second-level supervisor (the Warehousing and Transportation Section Supervisor). Because the first-level supervisor is temporarily promoted to a Motor Vehicle Operator Supervisor, WS-5703-06, job, we also conducted a separate interview with the appellant who has been temporarily promoted to the Materials Handler Supervisor job since January 6, 2019, to gather information in his role as acting supervisor. In deciding this appeal, we carefully considered the audit findings and all information of record furnished by the appellants, their representative, and their activity. We find their JD contains the major duties and responsibilities assigned to and performed by the appellants and we incorporate it by reference into this decision.
Occupation and title determination
The agency allocated the appellants’ job to the Materials Handling, 6907, Series, and titled it “Materials Handler.” The appellants do not disagree and, after careful review, we concur.
We note that the Bureau, in their July 25, 2017, position desk audit findings, determined the appropriate title of the appellants’ job as Materials Handler (Forklift). However, no action was taken to include the (Forklift) parenthetical in the official JD. We concur with the basic title of the job but the addition of the parenthetical is not appropriate. As discussed in the Introduction to the Federal Wage System Job Grading System, specializations are added to basic titles only when needed for a specific personnel purpose to distinguish between jobs on the basis of qualifications and other special requirements. The JGS for Materials Handling, 6907, recognizes that skill in operating fork lifts and motor vehicles is regularly required of materials handler jobs, and specifically addresses use of those vehicle types in the grading criteria. While the appellants are required to operate fork lifts, we find that based on our review of the JGS for Fork Lift Operating, 5704, those duties would not exceed the grade 5 level. See discussion under the grade determination section. Therefore, the appellants’ fork lift duties are fully covered for both titling and grading purposes by the 6907 JGS. Because this work has no impact on the final grade of the job, a parenthetical title is not required to reflect additional qualification requirements or other special requirements.
Standards and grade determination
In their rationale for a higher grade, the appellants state they regularly perform materials handling work covered by the 6907 JGS, fork lift operating work covered by the 5704 JGS, and packing work covered by the JGS for Packing, 7002. The appellants’ rationale states that their materials handling, fork lift, and packing work are properly graded at the 6 level. In the Federal Wage System, mixed jobs that perform in two or more occupations are graded based on the highest level of regular and recurring work performed. If a job involves regular and recurring work at the same grade level in two or more occupations, such a mixed job is graded at the same level.
The appellants’ fork lift operating duties, as previously discussed, are covered for grading purposes by the 6907 JGS. We will nonetheless compare their fork lift operating work to grading criteria in the 5704 JGS to fully address their concerns and because they regularly operate fork lifts exceeding the height limit described at the grade 5 level of the 5704 JGS. To explain why the appellants’ fork lift operation duties fail to fully meet the 6 level, we will compare their duties to grading criteria in the 5704 JGS.
The appellants’ packing duties are covered by the 7002 JGS, which describes work involved in preserving and/or packing and repacking equipment, parts, tools, materials, and other items in various types of containers to protect them from damage, deterioration, or corrosion during shipment and storage. Based on our review of the 7002 JGS, we find the appellants’ duties would not exceed the grade 4 level. Unlike the grade 5 level, their packing duties do not involve following specialized safety and regulatory requirements and procedures applying to hazardous materials handling, shipping, labeling, storing, and packing; require applying various chemicals, solvents, preservative oils, corrosion sealants, and greases in preservation procedures; or require applying knowledge of international regulatory requirements to store, ship, and pack materials. Because their packing work is graded lower than the materials handling and fork lift operating work and thus has no impact on the grade of their job, we will not address such work any further. Our evaluation regarding the appellants’ 6907 and 5704 work follows.
Evaluation using the Materials Handling, 6907, JGS
This JGS covers nonsupervisory work involved with receiving, storing, and assembling for issue, shipment, and distribution, a wide variety of bin and bulk supplies, materials, equipment, and commodities using mechanized, automated, and manual material moving equipment, devices, and systems. Most work requires the incidental or regular use of fork lifts and motor vehicles. The JGS uses four factors to determine grade level: Skill and Knowledge, Responsibility, Physical Effort, and Working Conditions.
Skill and Knowledge
At the grade 5 level, materials handlers are assigned a wide variety and range of duties requiring specialized knowledge of warehouse plans, methods, procedures, and techniques of material handling. They are able to operate mechanized equipment including utility vehicles, standard size fork lifts, mobile stock selectors, and electromechanical automated equipment, such as high rise automated storage and retrieval vehicles, which use remote computer terminals to receive and transmit storage, inventory, and requisition data in automated warehouses. In both automated and non-automated warehouses, they are able to process and independently complete shipping and receiving documents to ensure correctness of quantities, identification criteria, and labeling. They may use automated equipment such as optical readers and scanners (bar code wands) and computer keyboards to develop computerized inventory data, access materials, and fill item requisitions. They are skilled in stacking, moving, and arranging items on pallets and must consider height, weight, and special handling requirements. They are able to use pallet measuring gauges and automated devices to ensure that proper height, weight, and other load and storage requirements are met and damage in storage or in transit is prevented.
At the grade 6 level, materials handlers must have an in-depth knowledge of the overall warehousing plan, documentation requirements, and accepted warehousing methods, procedures, and techniques. As senior workers, they often work independently and may be assigned functional responsibilities for a major commodity segment or equipment group in a larger warehouse or may serve as the primary materials handler in a small warehouse such as a base or post supply facility. They are able to lay out storage space and establish item and material locations in accordance with agency regulations. Grade 6 materials handlers are able to prepare inventory and production reports, screen and identify shipping and receiving documents for discrepancies, and direct shipments to shipping or storage areas. They have a thorough knowledge of the physical distribution functions of a warehouse such as material receiving, storage, issuing, and preservation. Grade 6 materials handlers determine sequences for loading materials and organize incoming shipments for maximum space utilization, safety considerations, and damage protection. They are skilled in the use of onsite automated equipment and systems. They are able to operate the larger material moving equipment and vehicles inside the warehouse and fork lifts and related vehicles in outside holding areas on unpaved, unimproved, or difficult terrain.
The skill and knowledge required by the appellants’ job fully meets the grade 5 level. Like this level, they perform a wide variety and range of duties requiring specialized knowledge of warehouse plans, methods, procedures, and techniques of materials handling. They are skilled at stacking, moving, and arranging items on pallets and must consider height, weight, and special handling requirements to prevent damage in storage or transit. Similar to the grade 5 level, they rotate and store materials based on established space assignment practices and materials handling techniques, e.g., storing items for easy retrieval, convenience in handling, and protection from damage. Established storage and retrieval procedures include rotating materials using a right-to-left process when storing to facilitate using older items before newer ones, relocating items on skids and pallets to make room for newer ones, and consolidating stock as floor space is cleared. On their own initiative, the appellants may assign locations for items in particular situations, e.g., when keeping partial shipments pending receipt of the remaining order or storing items when the available space at the designated location is inadequate. They operate fork lifts and use automated equipment and tools, including computer terminals, scanners, scales, electric pallet jacks, and hydraulic platform lifts, to access shipping and storage information, calculate weight and apply dimensional limitations in planning vehicle capacities, and load, unload, and store materials. The appellants are responsible for comparing bills of lading against actual items received, inspecting for damaged goods, and distributing materials as appropriate. Consistent with the grade 5 level, they independently process and complete shipping and receiving documents, ensuring correctness of quantities, identification criteria, and labeling.
The appellants seek to credit their job at the grade 6 level, stating their work requires in-depth knowledge of the overall warehousing plan, documentation requirements, and accepted warehousing methods, procedures, and techniques. They assert they “oversee segments of a large warehouse regularly and routinely,” and are responsible for overseeing and supporting the non-stop productivity of the DSB-managed projects, which require they locate raw materials, retrieve items from the pallet rack, and move materials to the production line. The appellants perform a broad range of warehouse assignments including, but not limited to, receiving, shipping, and storing items; and stacking, palletizing, and rotating items considering their use, size, shape, quantity, and special handling requirements. Although their work requires overall knowledge of the warehouse functions and documentation requirements covering storage and retrieval, this knowledge is not applied in the manner expected at the grade 6 level. The JGS clearly reserves the grade 6 level for senior workers who are assigned either functional responsibilities for a major commodity segment or equipment group in a large warehouse setting or, alternatively, as the primary materials handler in a small warehouse setting. Our interviews, review of their JD, performance standards, and other items of record, confirm the appellants do not serve as senior workers. Because (1) the training of new employees would fall under the responsibility of the two materials handler leaders assigned to the Warehousing and Transportation Section and (2) there are no lower-graded materials handlers to be guided by senior workers as all jobs are filled at the WG-5 level, we conclude the appellants’ job is not delegated senior worker leadership responsibilities for work control, materials accountability, and storage decisions as described at the grade 6 level. Because the JGS describes decision-making at the grade 6 level within the context of materials handlers serving as senior workers, the decisions made impact the work performed by other materials handlers as well. In contrast, because the appellants do not serve as senior nonsupervisory workers at their facility, their storage, work control, and other decisions would not exceed the grade 5 level as their decision-making generally does not impact the work performed by other materials handlers.
Unlike the grade 6 level, the appellants also do not have functional responsibility for a major commodity segment or serve as the primary materials handler in a small warehouse. Grade 6 materials handlers delegated with functional responsibility for such segments are tasked with its oversight, e.g., watching over and directing the work to ensure a satisfactory outcome or performance. The appellants assert they are delegated such oversight responsibility for DSB’s production lines and segments of a large warehouse. Because production lines are managed by DSB staff, we conclude the appellants’ job serves to facilitate (i.e., by minimizing work stoppages), rather than oversee, the various projects completed on production lines. Furthermore, we note their performance standards identify a receiving and warehousing element, describing the expected results as: (1) all receipts are logged in and routed per warehousing operating procedures, (2) receiving paperwork is located, verified, signed, and dated, (3) all pertinent information for items being stocked is reported to inventory or property management personnel, (4) items for storage are properly warehoused, located, and/or accessioned, and (5) materials for disposition are pulled and/or sorted for destruction. The results, describing specific and individual tasks and actions, are consistent with their official JD, which describes performing a variety of individual services such as warehousing, shipping and receiving, fork lift operating, and packing. Because their performance standards, JD, and other items of record describe primarily individual tasks and actions, we conclude the agency has not delegated to the appellants’ job the broader responsibility for the oversight of the warehouse or major segment thereof, or as primary materials handler of a small warehouse. Oversight of the overall warehouses and commodity segments, including responsibility for their work operation and direction, is instead delegated to the Materials Handler Supervisor.
This factor is credited at the grade 5 level.
Responsibility
At the grade 5 level, materials handlers are responsible for document processing and verification of the quantity and condition of materials and equipment handled. They receive only general instructions from a supervisor. Assignments are usually completed without guidance on methods, procedures, or techniques, and work is reviewed for compliance with general guidance and results achieved. Grade 5 materials handlers follow established methods and procedures, and work is spot-checked upon completion for accuracy, adherence to procedural requirements, thoroughness, and results. Grade 5 materials handlers may be responsible for operating mechanized and electromechanical systems such as fork lift trucks, tugs, manned storage and retrieval vehicles, and high-rise platform lifts which may operate in narrow and constricted warehouse aisles. Whether using manual or computerized equipment, grade 5 materials handlers are responsible for processing documents or data handled. They work independently using computer terminals, keyboards, and optical scanners to develop coding data or with traditional printed shipping and receiving documents, making written entries and verifying data in printed formats.
At the grade 6 level, materials handlers are generally responsible for performing a full range of warehouse functions in either a major segment of a large warehouse or as the principal materials handler in a small warehouse. Their responsibilities include receiving, locating, storing, shipping, and re-warehousing materials, commodities, or equipment in accordance with established procedures and operating requirements. Unlike grade 5 materials handlers, they generally work with a high degree of independence in determining sequences of loading and unloading, developing space utilization plans, and implementing the movement of materials from dock to bin or from storage to shipping. They guide lower-level workers in accessing and using remote computer terminals and equipment to verify inventory levels, fill orders, place stock, and develop the necessary computerized documentation. They are responsible for effectively accomplishing all types of warehouse functions as assigned. They are often responsible for directing and guiding the work of lower-level workers as well as making determinations as to placement, unloading, timing, and general movement of materials within assigned areas. Grade 6 materials handlers work under the general direction of a supervisor or facility supervisor. In smaller warehouse and storage facilities, grade 6 materials handlers may have responsibility for the movement of the stock as well as the maintenance of stock level inventories. In larger warehouse stock such as hazardous materials, high value items, an equipment or commodity group, or surplus materials areas, they have responsibility for ensuring appropriate adherence to established documentation, safety, material movement, and preservation procedures and requirements.
Assignments of grade 6 materials handlers may include responsibility for the re-warehousing of a large storage area, maintaining and arranging storage areas in accordance with warehouse plans and safety procedures, and the automated equipment and warehouse material movement vehicles. Grade 6 materials handlers may recommend the sequence of warehouse functions for an assigned area such as the order of receiving, shipping, and issuing, based on general guidelines and knowledge of material movement priorities and procedures. Review of work is based on results achieved including the meeting of schedules and priorities, accuracy of stock balances, orderliness of storage areas, adherence to general warehouse plans, and customer service effectiveness.
The responsibilities of the appellants’ job fully meet the grade 5 level. As at this level, they are responsible for processing documents and verifying the quantity and condition of materials and equipment handled. They work independently using computer terminals, keyboards, scanners, etc. or with traditional printed shipping and receiving documents, making written entries and verifying data in printed formats. While receiving only general instructions from the supervisor for assignments, they complete their work without guidance on the methods, procedures, and techniques to be used. The appellants complete bullet reports identifying their daily activities, which they submit weekly to the Materials Handler Supervisor. Their work is reviewed for results achieved and compliance with general guidance. Similar to the grade 5 level, the appellants operate mechanized materials handling systems and equipment such as fork lifts and platform lifts, sometimes in narrow and constricted areas.
The responsibilities of the appellants’ job do not meet the grade 6 level. Although they refer problems relating to shipments, fork lifts and other equipment, and customers to the Materials Handler Supervisor, the appellants work under only general supervisory direction because of the recurring nature of their assignments. However, responsibility at the grade 6 level is dependent on performing the full range of senior materials handler functions including receiving, locating, storing, shipping, and re-warehousing materials, commodities, or equipment in accordance with established procedures, determining the sequences of loading and unloading, developing space utilization plans, and implementing the movement of materials from dock to bin or from storage to shipping. The appellants are responsible for identifying warehouse layout and stock locations, e.g., in Building 71, publications and accessions are stored in Bay A, American Community Survey materials in Bay B, etc. They move expendable items and other materials to their appropriate locations and complete requisite locator sheets, identifying the skid count, boxes per skid, box quantity, form number, and/or other item, for IC staff to update the Center’s inventory control system. Because they do not operate as senior workers and have not been assigned the functional responsibility for major commodities or equipment groups, the appellants’ job does not have responsibility for, nor are they required to, change the sequencing of warehouse functions such as the order of receiving or shipping, or deal with the variety of other receiving, storing, shipping, and retrieving issues expected at the grade 6 level.
Grade 6 level assignments also include responsibility for maintaining and arranging storage areas in accordance with warehouse plans and safety procedures. The appellants are responsible for re-warehousing (moving materials around to make space for incoming stock) and returning items to stock when unused census forms and other materials are returned by regional and other offices to the Center. Although aware of the general location of materials, it is at the appellants’ discretion to rotate, consolidate, or move materials if, e.g., there is insufficient space at the assigned location. The Center recently reorganized materials in Building 71, in order to make raw materials used for production line operations better organized and accessible for retrieval. The warehouse was reorganized at the initiative and direction of the Materials Handler Supervisor, with concurrence by the Warehousing and Transportation Section Supervisor, and in discussion with the appellants. Although they are required to properly store materials on a day-to-day basis, the appellants’ job has not been delegated authority by management officials to independently make decisions regarding the arrangement of storage areas including, but not limited to, how best to make use of available space, reduce the handling of materials, provide easy access to products, and/or control the amounts stored. In addition, the Center ships, receives, and stores cleaners, batteries, ink cartridges, oils, and other chemicals. The appellants’ handling of the mostly household materials require opening packages following orientation arrows, shipping items in plastic bags in case of spills, and taking other such precautions, but this work does not require ensuring adherence to established preservation procedures and requirements or other added measures expected at the grade 6 level.
This factor is credited at the grade 5 level.
Physical Effort and Working Conditions are the same at grades 4, 5, and 6. Because these two factors do not have grade level impact and the appellants’ work meets the levels described in the JGS, we will credit both factors as being met and will not address them further.
In summary, the appellants’ materials handling work is credited at the grade 5 level.
Evaluation using the Fork Lift Operating, 5704, JGS
This JGS covers nonsupervisory work involved with operating electric, diesel, or gasoline powered fork lift trucks to move, stack and unstack, and load and unload materials in and about warehouses, storage areas, loading docks, and on and off vehicles, etc. The JGS uses four factors to determine grade level: Skill and Knowledge, Responsibility, Physical Effort, and Working Conditions.
Skill and Knowledge
The skill and knowledge required by the appellants’ job fully meet the grade 5 level, where the operator must be skilled in handling controls for starting, stopping, backing, and driving fork lifts through narrow aisles in building, up and down ramps, and in and out of trucks; and, for lifting, lowering, and tilting forks by moving hands, arms, feet, and legs to operate controls. As described in the JGS at the grade 5 level, the appellants must know how high, wide, and long the fork lift truck and its load are, and how much the fork lift can lift. Based on this knowledge, they must be able to tell such things as: how high and wide a doorway and an aisle must be to drive the fork lift truck and its load; how high and wide the shelf, bin, etc., must be to place the load; and how high the load must be lifted to reach the shelf or bin. Also like the grade 5 level, the appellants must be able to tell whether the fork lift truck is able to lift the load and whether the load is properly balanced. As specified in the JGS at the grade 5 level, they must know the layout of the storage area to be able to find and place items without need for detailed instructions. They must also be skilled in moving fork lift trucks about in places where there is very little room to stack or remove loads.
The skill and knowledge required by the appellants’ job do not meet the grade 6 level, where the operator must be more skilled than at the grade 5 level in the handling of controls for driving fork lift trucks and for lifting, lowering, and tilting forks since the fork lifts are able to lift more weight to greater heights. At the grade 6 level, work is usually performed outside over rough terrain; because items in an outside storage area are not usually arranged in neat rows and stacks as they are in a warehouse, the layout is more difficult to learn. Because of the larger size of the fork lift truck and load at the grade 6 level, moving about in places where there is very little room to stack and remove loads is more difficult.
The appellants operate Toyota Model 7FBEU15 fork lift trucks with a lift capability of 3,000 pounds and maximum fork height of 170.5 inches. They operate fork lifts on a daily basis, placing and retrieving pallets as well as loading and unloading box and freight car trucks with large, heavy machinery, supplies, and furniture. They must be very skilled when operating fork lifts in heavily trafficked areas (e.g., in Building 61 with approximately 100 employees), around sensitive equipment, near water pipes and wood beams, through narrow aisles, in bad lighting, etc. Occasionally, there is limited space to maneuver, raise, tilt, and lower forks, e.g., when unloading shipments in the receiving area of Building 60, space to stack and remove shipments is minimal. Under the General section of the JGS, the grade 5 level worker operates fork lift trucks capable of lifting loads weighing less than 10,000 pounds as high as 168 inches. The appellants and supervisors agree they regularly operate fork lift trucks above 168 inches in Building 71, where materials are stored with four shelving levels and the top level is approximately 168 inches from the floor. They must raise the load above 168 inches to safely clear and place materials on the top rack of the pallet racking. The appellants state they occasionally lift loads exceeding 3,000 pounds, e.g., when moving refrigerators or freezers. Regardless, operators at the 6 grade level require more skill in handling controls since the fork lift trucks operated are able to lift more weight to greater heights. As described under the General section of the JGS, the grade 6 level worker operates fork lift trucks capable of lifting loads approximately 5 tons (10,000 pounds) or more. Therefore, the appellants’ operation of fork lift trucks capable of lifting approximately 3,000-pound loads falls short of that described at the grade 6 level.
This factor is credited at the grade 5 level.
Responsibility
The responsibilities of the appellants’ job fully meet the grade 5 level, where the operator must follow oral instructions or written work orders concerning when and where loads are to be moved and placed. Also characteristic of the grade 5 level, they safely handle materials; ensure that the fork lift truck is not used to lift any more of a load than it is able to lift; and place heavy and bulky items at the bottom of stacks to prevent tipping, making sure the forks are put into the pallets as far as possible to give the most support to the load. The appellants drive carefully to avoid injuring others or damaging equipment and property.
The responsibilities of the appellants’ job do not meet the grade 6 level. As described in the JGS at the grade 6 level, the operator follows oral instructions or written work orders concerning when and where loads are to be moved and placed. The responsibility for safe handling of materials is greater than at grade 5, although responsibility for safe driving is the same at grade 5. At the grade 6 level, the fork lift trucks are usually operated over rough terrain requiring the operator to exercise greater care to make sure the load does not tip. The appellants occasionally operate fork lift trucks over wet and slippery pavement when moving materials to the scrapyard in inclement weather or around potholes in parking lots. The appellants usually operate fork lift trucks inside one of the three buildings, characterized as old with patched up and/or uneven floors. However, unlike the grade 6 level they do not normally operate fork lifts over unpaved, unimproved, difficult (e.g., constantly changing due to weather), or other characteristically rough conditions expected at the grade 6 level.
This factor is credited at the grade 5 level.
Physical Effort
The physical effort required by the appellants’ job fully meets the grade 5 level, where moderate physical effort is used in operating hand and foot controls while driving, turning, starting, and stopping the fork lift truck and raising, lowering, and tilting the loads being moved. Strain is caused by the vibration of the fork lift truck.
The physical effort required by the appellants’ job does not meet the grade 6 level, which is described in the JGS as requiring more effort than at the grade 5 level to turn the fork lift since it is heavier and is usually driven over rough terrain. The rough terrain causes a greater vibration of the fork lift trucks which requires greater physical endurance to withstand the strain. Since the grade 6 level fork lift operator is the highest level recognized by the JGS, this level is reserved for workers operating high-capacity fork lifts on usually rough terrain. The JGS describes this under the General section as operating fork lift trucks capable of lifting loads weighing approximately 10,000 pounds or more over rough terrain. Because their standard-size fork lift trucks have a lift capacity of 3,000 pounds, the appellants’ fork lift operation does not require the same physical effort as grade 6 level operators driving or turning heavier fork lifts over rough terrain.
This factor is credited at the grade 5 level.
Working Conditions
The working conditions of the appellants’ job fully meets the grade 5 level, where the operator normally works inside in areas that are sometimes damp and drafty. They occasionally work outside in all kinds of weather. Similar to the grade 5 level, cuts, bruises, and broken bones may result from shifting loads, toppling stacks, fork lift truck’s overturning, falling objects, or accidents with other moving equipment.
The working conditions of the appellants’ job do not meet the grade 6 level, which is described by the JGS as the same as the grade 5 level except the operator usually works outside in all kinds of weather and is exposed to dust and dirt. Occasionally, the appellants operate fork lift trucks outdoors to, e.g., move materials from Building 71 to the scrapyard located approximately 150 meters away and when loading and unloading shipments from the dock. However, usually they operate fork lift trucks inside and between their three buildings, which are connected by tunnels. Because they do not usually operate fork lift trucks outside in all kinds of weather, e.g., typical of construction sites, the appellants are not regularly required to make necessary adjustments for changing terrain, monitor weather forecasts before beginning fork lift operation, decide how weather conditions will impact their ability to safely operate the fork lift, or other such considerations characteristic of grade 6 level operators.
This factor is credited at the grade 5 level.
The appellants’ fork lift operating work is credited at the grade 5 level.
Summary
In summary, both the appellants’ Materials Handling, 6907, and Fork Lift Operating, 5704, work is graded at the 5 level. Therefore, their job is graded at that level.
Decision
The appellants’ job is properly graded as Materials Handler, WG-6907-05.