The TMC Operator Requirements and Position Descriptions document describes the classification of three generic performance levels of TMOT positions in terms of classification standards used by the United States federal government. This tutorial provides a brief explanation of the system used by the federal government to classify jobs. Although there are no TMOT positions in the federal government at present, the system used by the federal government may be useful to help state and local governments analyze current and future TMOT positions.
The FES is the most common method used to assign grades to nonsupervisory positions under the General Schedule. The General Schedule is the broadest subdivision of the federal classification system. The General Schedule subdivision covers grades GS-1 through GS-15. The different subdivisions represent different levels of difficulty and responsibility. A grade is the numerical designation, GS-1 through GS-15, that identifies the range of difficulty and responsibility, and thus, the pay range and level of qualification required for positions included in the General Schedule. The FES is a method that can be used to determine the grade of positions that are not classified in the General Schedule.
There are a number of formats for classifying the characteristics of work. The FES method uses a Point Factor format. Under the Point Factor format, evaluation factors are used to describe the characteristics of the work. The FES includes nine factors (e.g., knowledge required by the position, complexity of the work) common to most nonsupervisory positions in the occupations listed in the General Schedule. Standards are applied to each description of a factor that enables the judgment of what point level to assign to the factor. The points are added together from each of the nine factors, and a point-grade conversion table enables the determination of the appropriate grade level for the position based on its point total. The FES includes several standards to determine the point value of each factor (e.g., point range 1105 to 1350 = grade 6 = GS-6).
The Primary Standard is a standard used to assign point levels to each of the nine factors of a position description in the FES point factor format. Factor levels in the Primary Standard are described in broad conceptual terms and are applicable to a great variety of nonsupervisory positions. Thus, for each description of work for a factor, the Primary Standard can be used to assign a point value. The Primary Standard is contained in appendix 3 of the Introduction to the Position Classification Standards document (see the References section on the next page for a description of the document and how to obtain a copy).
In contrast to the point factor format used by the FES, the narrative format is an example of another type of format. Narrative position descriptions generally describe the nature of the work and level of responsibility and include four different kinds of information. First, the introduction includes a statement of the purpose of the position and how each position is related to the organization. Second, the major duties and responsibilities section includes the important, regular, and recurring duties and responsibilities performed by employees in the position. Third, the controls over the position section describes how the work is assigned, the level and nature of supervision, and the evaluation of the employee’s performance. Fourth and finally, the narrative position description includes a statement of any special qualification requirements, such as, areas of knowledge, skills, education, certification required for the position that are not obvious from the first three sections.
Standards written in the narrative format describe the nature of the work and the level of responsibility for each grade included in the standard. For example, the Engineering Technician Standard is written in narrative format. At each grade, GS-1 through GS-11, the Engineering Technician Standard includes a description of the nature of the work and the level of responsibility. The appropriate grade level is assigned by a determination of the work as a whole, in contrast to assigning and summing points as in the point factor format. That is, the unclassified position is written in the narrative format and the appropriate grade for the position is determined by aligning the unclassified position with the closest matching grade of the standard. To use this method, the work described in the standard must be highly similar to the work in the unclassified position.
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