Description
Inspect equipment or goods in connection with the safe transport of cargo or people. Includes rail transportation inspectors, such as freight inspectors, rail inspectors, and other inspectors of transportation vehicles not elsewhere classified.
- • Prepare and submit reports after completion of freight shipments.
- • Inspect shipments to ensure that freight is securely braced and blocked.
- • Record details about freight conditions, handling of freight, and any problems encountered.
- • Advise crews in techniques of stowing dangerous and heavy cargo.
- • Observe loading of freight to ensure that crews comply with procedures.
- • Recommend remedial procedures to correct any violations found during inspections.
- • Inspect loaded cargo, cargo lashed to decks or in storage facilities, and cargo handling devices to determine compliance with health and safety regulations and need for maintenance.
- • Notify workers of any special treatment required for shipments.
- • Direct crews to reload freight or to insert additional bracing or packing as necessary.
- • Check temperatures and humidities of shipping and storage areas to ensure that they are at appropriate levels to protect cargo.
- • Determine cargo transportation capabilities by reading documents that set forth cargo loading and securing procedures, capacities, and stability factors.
- • Read draft markings to determine depths of vessels in water.
- • Post warning signs on vehicles containing explosives or flammable or radioactive materials.
- • Measure heights and widths of loads to ensure they will pass over bridges or through tunnels on scheduled routes.
- • Calculate gross and net tonnage, hold capacities, volumes of stored fuel and water, cargo weights, and vessel stability factors, using mathematical formulas.
- • Measure vessels' holds and depths of fuel and water in tanks, using sounding lines and tape measures.
- • Visually inspect cargo for damage upon arrival or discharge.
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Supply Chain & Transportation
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Source
Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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Sources & Standards:
This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
