A clerk in the operations office is responsible for preparing shift rosters and hourly rosters to assign workers to shifts and jobs. They also prepare daily production reports and documents used in production like job cards and time cards. The clerk in the despatch office completes forms for dispatching goods like packing notes and verifies the correct goods are sent. They also work with carriers and track shipments. For the transport office, the clerk prepares records for transporting goods, delivery notes, and liaises with customers regarding deliveries.

1. DUTIES OF A CLERK IN
THE OPERATIONS,
DESPATCH AND
TRANSPORT OFFICES
Ayanna Charles-Ford
Section 12
Objective 2

2. Role of a clerk in the operations
office
 A clerk in the operations office is responsible
for the routine office activities that are carried
out in most offices, together with specific tasks
relating to the factory as assigned by the
factory manager.
 Documents are prepared to assign workers to
shifts, jobs and machinery. As work
progresses, a factory clerk has to prepare the
various reports, forms and documents used in
works control.

3. Duties of a clerk in
the operations
office

4. Operations clerk duties:
 Preparation of a shift roster and hourly roster.
 Preparation of daily production reports.
 Preparation of documents used in
production. A clerk should be able to
complete the following forms that are used in
the factory office.
 Job cards
 Job cost cards
 Cost analysis
 Planning master
 Cost cards
 Time cards

5. What is a shift roster?
List of who is working when.
Shifts are periods of the day
when different groups of
workers do the same job in
relay.

6. The purpose of a shift roster
To make sure that you have
enough staff working when
they are required.

7. 1. Shift Roster
Employee
Monday
13
Tuesday
14
Wednesd
ay 15
Thursday
16
Friday
17
W. O’Grady 9-5 9-5 9-5 2-5 9-12
H. Distin 9-5 9-5 9-5 9-5 9-5
M. Alibu 12-4 12-4 12-4 12-4 12-4
SHIFT ROSTER
Period: Monday 13 November – Friday 17 November 2017

8. Hourly Roster
Employee 9-10 10-11 11-12 12-1 1-2 2-3 3-4 4-5
W. O’Grady        
H. Distin        
M. Alibu    
HOURLY ROSTER
Day: Monday 13 November 2017

9. 2. Daily production reports
 Production planners set daily
production targets for different parts
of the factory.
 The reports tell how well production is
going. The clerk creates a report
summarizing performance.

10. 3. Preparation of documents
used in production
Complete the following forms:
 Job cards
 Job cost cards
 Cost analysis
 Planning master
 Time cards
(These will be explained in the following objective)

11. Duties of a clerk in
the despatch office

12. Despatch clerk duties:
 Completing the necessary forms or preparing
documents for the despatch of goods. For
example
 Packing notes, delivery notes, advice notes.
 Verifying that the right goods are sent.
 Creating and maintaining a database of
couriers, transport contractors and agents.
 Allocating loads to available vehicles.
 Adhering to special legal requirements in
packing and transporting goods.

13.  Filing and retrieving records, including those
on computer, used in the despatch and
transport office.
 Monitoring the despatch and transport of
goods.
 Liaising with the sales department, carrier
organisation, agents, port authority and
customers concerning the despatch, transport
and tracking of goods.

14. Duties of a clerk in
the transport office

15. Transport clerk duties:
 Preparing and maintaining records for
transporting goods
 For example: bill of lading, consignment notes.
 Preparing and maintaining delivery notes and
destination sheets.
 Liaising with customers concerning the
delivery of goods.
 Preparing a maintenance schedule for the
servicing and repairing of vehicles.

16. REFERENCES
 Carysforth, C. et al (2012), Office
Administration for CSEC – A Caribbean
Examinations Council Study Guide,
Nelson Thornes UK.
 Jacob, A. (2014), Office Administration for
CSEC, Nelson Thornes, UK.
 Ramtahal, F. (2013). Office Administration,
(2nd ed.) Caribbean Educational
Publishers Trinidad.