What does a material worker do?
Material worker responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real material worker resumes:
- Utilize a manufacturing cloud ERP system to accomplish tasks.
- Load and unload materials into containers or onto trucks, using hoists or forklifts.
- Arrange contaminated equipment or areas for re-use, using detergents or solvents, sandblasters, filter pumps, or steam cleaners.
- Distribute production materials to designate locations on assembly lines observing the first-in-first-out (FIFO) inventory control practice.
- Organize and secure freight inside FedEx trucks, complete freight paperwork, and clean up warehouse.
- Execute international shipping for FedEx shipments.
Material worker skills and personality traits
We calculated that 55% of Material Workers are proficient in Hazardous Materials, PPE, and Cycle Counts. They’re also known for soft skills such as Hand-eye coordination, Listening skills, and Customer-service skills.
We break down the percentage of Material Workers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Hazardous Materials, 55%
Complied with prescribed safety procedures of federal laws regulating waste disposal methods for hazardous materials and non-hazardous waste disposal.
- PPE, 9%
Exercised operator safety, maintenance, housekeeping practices, quality control and extremely critical importance of PPE.
- Cycle Counts, 7%
Performed inventory control including cycle counts and transferring inventory and materials to meet production schedules and shipping requirements.
- Asbestos, 6%
Executed daily operations of the removal of Asbestos containing material.
- Safety Procedures, 5%
Employed prescribed safety procedures or federal laws while regulating waste disposal methods.
- Inventory Control, 5%
Warehouse inventory control Parts Analyst review, organize and control
"hazardous materials," "ppe," and "cycle counts" are among the most common skills that material workers use at work. You can find even more material worker responsibilities below, including:
Hand-eye coordination. One of the key soft skills for a material worker to have is hand-eye coordination. You can see how this relates to what material workers do because "most hand laborers and material movers use their arms and hands to manipulate objects or move objects into specific positions." Additionally, a material worker resume shows how material workers use hand-eye coordination: "inspect and package parts removed from press molds 5s fifo delivery - coordination - organization of parts for export forklift operation"
Listening skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling material worker duties is listening skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "hand laborers and material movers follow instructions that a supervisor gives them." According to a material worker resume, here's how material workers can utilize listening skills in their job responsibilities: "processed and shipped merchandise orders for retail stores received, audited and researched purchase orders communicated and dispersed paperwork to shippers"
Customer-service skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of material workers is customer-service skills. This skill is critical to many everyday material worker duties, as "hand laborers and material movers who work with the public, such as grocery baggers or carwash attendants, must be pleasant and courteous to customers." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "unload rail cars,flat bed trailers and fill customers orders"
Physical strength. A big part of what material workers do relies on "physical strength." You can see how essential it is to material worker responsibilities because "some hand laborers and material movers must be able to lift and carry heavy objects." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical material worker tasks: "assisted in conducting cycle counts and yearly physical counts. "
The three companies that hire the most material workers are:
- Sodexo Management, Inc.6 material workers jobs
- Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings4 material workers jobs
- Excela Health3 material workers jobs
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Compare different material workers
Material worker vs. Freight team associate
The typical tasks of a freight associate include stocking merchandise on shelves, organizing the sales floor, and providing excellent customer service. Freight associates load and unload trucks and transfer the items from the receiving area to the store. Some of them may operate heavy equipment like forklifts. They may work on the critical functions of equipment for proper maintenance. Also, they maintain the cleanliness of the sales floor and the work area on a regular basis.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, material worker responsibilities require skills like "hazardous materials," "radioactive materials," "ppe," and "cycle counts." Meanwhile a typical freight team associate has skills in areas such as "sales floor," "customer service," "electric pallet jack," and "store shelves." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
On average, freight team associates reach similar levels of education than material workers. Freight team associates are 0.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Material worker vs. Freight associate
Warehouse labour workers are responsible for organizing shipment details by processing the correct quantity of orders, ensuring that the items are free from any defects and mislabeling. Warehouse labourers prepare the items for packaging efficiently, update the inventory records, and escalate production discrepancy to the management for immediate resolution. They should also strictly adhere to the production area's safety regulations, especially on loading and unloading items, and moving each package to appropriate shelves using warehouse equipment.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that material worker responsibilities requires skills like "hazardous materials," "radioactive materials," "ppe," and "cycle counts." But a freight associate might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "sales floor," "cleanliness," "customer service," and "sort merchandise."
Freight associates earn similar levels of education than material workers in general. They're 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Material worker vs. Warehouse labour
A package handler's primary duty is to place and load correct packages to delivery vehicles and review inventory upon shipments. Package handlers are responsible for analyzing product labels to make sure that the items are accurately processed. A package handler should also have basic knowledge on running warehouse equipment and loading tools to finish the task more efficiently. Package handlers must be able to communicate with other personnel for any concerns that might affect the parcel condition and customer's satisfaction.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a material worker is likely to be skilled in "hazardous materials," "radioactive materials," "ppe," and "cycle counts," while a typical warehouse labour is skilled in "pallets," "customer orders," "customer service," and "hand trucks."
Warehouse labours earn the highest salary when working in the technology industry, where they receive an average salary of $33,085. Comparatively, material workers have the highest earning potential in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $36,661.warehouse labours typically earn similar educational levels compared to material workers. Specifically, they're 0.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Material worker vs. Package handler
Types of material worker
Updated January 8, 2025
