5 Essential Skills That Highway Dispatchers Should Know After Dispatching School
Highway dispatchers play a crucial role in Canada’s transportation industry, ensuring that drivers complete their runs in a safe, cost-effective manner while meeting regulatory requirements. If you’re interested in a fast-paced, engaging role that will allow you to put your managerial skills to work, highway dispatching could be the perfect path for you. Keep reading to learn about five of the essential skills that you’ll need to succeed after completing your automotive training.
1. Highway Dispatchers Must Have Excellent Data Entry Skills
There are many moving parts involved in the successful completion of a dispatch. You may constantly be receiving calls and messages with crucial information that needs to be relayed to drivers in a timely manner. For that reason, you’ll work with a variety of computer systems that allow you to input data. You’ll want to be proficient in data entry by ensuring that your typing speed allows for efficiency and accuracy, and that you know how to compile data that will be relevant and helpful to your drivers.
2. Problem-Solving Skills Help Transportation Companies Save Time and Money
Naturally, since transportation companies are responsible for a high volume of goods and manage lots of information, there are bound to be mishaps from time to time. The way you respond to emergencies and mistakes will make or break your success after dispatching school. Evaluate whether you are typically able to remain calm under pressure and how strong your strategizing skills are. That being said, remember that these skills are trainable and will only improve with experience on the job!
3. Key Maintenance Skills Will Improve the Lifespan and Safety of Vehicles
Since you may be responsible for scheduling service appointments, you’ll need to be familiar with the maintenance needs of heavy-duty vehicles. This will help you to ensure the safety of your drivers and others on the road. In addition, by properly maintaining and repairing trucks, you’ll be saving money for your company by avoiding unnecessary vehicle replacements down the line. With a solid understanding of truck maintenance, you’ll be able to communicate effectively with team members, like fleet managers, about what services are needed for a vehicle.
4. Proficiency in Dispatching Software Will Make it Easier to Complete Your Duties After Dispatching School
In recent years, dispatching software has become smarter, helping workers in the transportation industry streamline their demeaning workflows. After dispatching college, it’s possible that you’ll run into software solutions that manage accounting, compliance, load optimization, asset management, and more. Being able to navigate such platforms could help you complete your duties more efficiently–though keep in mind the use of dispatching software varies from company to company.
5. Numerical Skills Will Help You Keep Track of Crucial Information
Though you won’t need a mathematics degree to be a great highway dispatcher, you’ll likely need to perform basic calculations in order to determine important information, such as mileage between Point A and Point B and how much the necessary fuel will cost. Being able to complete these calculations quickly will certainly come in handy, and luckily, you’ll have plenty of opportunity to practice in and out of training at ATC Cambridge. The Transportation and Dispatching Operations training program will help you develop the skills discussed above and leave you with the confidence to take on a role within one of Canada’s biggest industries.
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