Transportation Operations Specialist (Rail Division)

Contribute. Grow. Lead...with OxyChem. Looking for a challenge? Desire to achieve your true potential? OxyChem is a growing, action-oriented, safety-driven chemical manufacturing company continually striving to be the best in the business while staying focused on environmental protection. The secret to our success has and will continue to be our people.

Occidental Chemical Corporation (OxyChem) is a leading North American manufacturer of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resins, chlorine and caustic soda - key building blocks for a variety of indispensable products such as plastics, pharmaceuticals and water treatment chemicals. Other OxyChem products include caustic potash, chlorinated organics, sodium silicates, chlorinated isocyanurates and calcium chloride. OxyChem's market position is among the top three producers in the United States for the principal products it manufactures and markets. Based in Dallas, Texas, the company has manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Canada and Latin America.

In a fast-paced industry that demands precision, we create a supportive workplace where the safety and well-being of our employees are paramount. We are committed to rewarding top performers, offering very competitive pay and benefits, and providing tremendous career development opportunities. We are looking for an experienced and self-motivated individual to fill the position of Transportation Operations Specialist (Rail Division) with our corporate office located in Dallas, TX.

Position Overview

This position is responsible for managing daily truck and rail operations to ensure customer needs are met in a safe and timely manner including authorizing and committing funds to various carrier special options, determining fleet requirements, maintaining data integrity for area of responsibility, developing and reporting on metrics and managing various cost and freight issues. This position is also the regulatory expert for the operations group including extensive knowledge regarding Department of Transportation hours of service, one time movement approvals and Hazmat regulations for product descriptions.

Job Responsibilities

1. Regulatory (DOT/Hazmat): Serve as the Regulatory expert for the operations group as required by the Manager Hazmat. Maintain up to date knowledge of applicable regulations and interact with appropriate regulatory agencies as well as corporate and plant personnel to resolve issues related to truck and rail operations. Serve as technical expert for Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)regulations including researching and analyzing applicable regulations, determining and communicating requirements, directing implementation of required action items and preparing permit requests (such as OTMAs, one time movement approvals).Maintain detailed knowledge of truck and railcar design and maintenance. Research and review Hazmat regulations to determine source of error for SAP generated report of delivery orders containing hazmat discrepancies (SAP kick-outs), correct the order, and/or modify hazmat input. Submit routine federal and state reports for pipeline operations. Identify non-bulk packaging options for plant shipments and maintain details in the company Sample Manual. Answer freight classification requests for truck shipments and standard transportation commodity codes (STCC) for rail shipments. Maintain Hazardous Material shared calendar.
2. Truck and Railcar Maintenance: Serve as the Regulatory expert for the Maintenance Quality Assurance Programs including following regulatory updates, revising quality manuals, communicating with the plants and auditors and reviewing audit action items. Manage mobile repair call-outs, bad-ordered equipment, scrap equipment and regulatory testing programs including maintenance and cost trend analysis, identification and resolution of systemic maintenance issues, cost outlooking, identifying opportunities for cost savings, participation in budget development and review and approval of repair invoices.
3. Truck and Rail Operations: Manage daily truck and rail operations and make decisions on resolution of issues that affect on-time and safe movement of Oxy's shipments to customers, exchange partners, terminals, and manufacturing and repair facilities. This position prioritizes and expedites shipments including authorizing and committing funds for special trucks, special switches, special trains, diversions, rebills, movement to shops, mobile crewrepairs, and other options required to meet business or manufacturing needs. Available after hours to manage and follow any issues.
4. Metrics/Improvements/Reporting: Analyze data, document truck and rail service failures, and provide metrics to the carriers in order to identify and take corrective action to improve carrier service to both the plants and customers. Prepare and analyze metrics on performance of the truck and rail fleets; i.e., utilization, fleet status, cost. From these metrics, develop and implement recommendations on process improvements, cost reductions, and fleet sizes. These reports are for other departments such as Customer Service and Demand Chain Planning as well as Supply Chain Management. Identify, create and analyze metrics related to mobile repair call-outs, shop performance, bad-ordered equipment and other maintenance related items and resolve any systemic issues. Investigate and respond to Customer Action Reports. Identify and implement cost reduction opportunities. Prepare routine reports and develop special reports to support business, manufacturing, and customer requirements.
5. Fleet Requirements: Analyze production forecasts, sales forecasts, and inventory requirements and determine fleet requirements. Evaluate fleet sizes vs. business needs and make decisions on whether to clean and move equipment into other fleets or move equipment into storage. Evaluate costs between various storage options and authorize movement into the facility.
6. Data Integrity/Procedures: Maintain data integrity in SAP, Railtrac and other transportation systems ensuring that all relevant information is updated on a timely basis. Maintain up-to-date specialized knowledge of internal software programs as well as external transportation E-business tools. Develop procedures as required for the Transportation Operations Team. Direct changes to SAP to support EDI/Elemica changes and resolve EDI/Elemica issues with the carriers. Conduct training on systems.
7. Freight/Billing: Investigate and compile costs involved in freight claims pertaining to transportation movements such as accidents, derailments, loss of lading, damages to equipment, etc. and make recommendations to the Commercial Rail group to recoup costs. Review and research customer disputed billing including evaluation of maintenance issues, service contracts or special circumstances to determine and make a recommendation on whether the customer is due a credit or is responsible to pay for the detention. Audit invoices, research discrepancies, deduct disputed dollar amounts, notify carrier of dispute, and work with carrier on resolution. Manage billing issues and provide corrected information to the carrier to resolve the issue. Initiate corrective actions for any issues identified.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelors Degree in Logistics, Supply Chain, Transportation, is preferred.
• 3 years in Logistics, Transportation or Customer Service experience preferred.
• Be able to work independently with minimal supervision and give direction to others.
• Have strong verbal and written communication skills to interact with both internal and external customers, carriers, and regulatory agencies.
• Possess a strong sense of urgency and the ability to multitask.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to research and understand government regulations.
• Proficient computer skills including Microsoft Office, SAP, Railtrac or similar programs.
• Must be willing to handle duties in off-hours as required.

Occidental is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, marital status, political preference, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, or disability status.