Apply adhesives to construction materials
Little of this can be handed to software today.
This happens in the physical world, so software agents do not touch it. Automation here means robotics and machinery, which is a different market from the one mapped on this site, on a much slower clock.
| How automatable | Barely automatable |
|---|---|
| Kind of work | Physical, manual and inspection work |
| Jobs that do it | 12 occupations |
| Tool categories that apply | None |
| O*NET activity | Performing General Physical Activities (4.A.3.a.1) |
What this looks like on the job
Not our paraphrase. These are real task statements recorded against this activity, spread across the 12 occupations that perform it.
- Apply adhesive cement to floor or wall material to join and adhere foundation material.
- Apply mortar to tile back, position the tile, and press or tap with trowel handle to affix tile to base.
- Spread and smooth cementing material over tape, using trowels or floating machines to blend joints with wall surfaces.
- Assemble and cement sections of stained glass together.
- Prepare surfaces for insulation application by brushing or spreading on adhesives, cement, or asphalt, or by attaching metal pins to surfaces.
- Apply adhesives to the backs of paper strips, using brushes, or dunk strips of prepasted wallcovering in water, wiping off any excess adhesive.
- Connect pipe pieces and seal joints, using welding equipment, cement, or glue.
- Cut, miter, and glue piping insulation to insulate plumbing pipes and fittings.
- Cement or nail flashing strips of metal or shingle over joints to make them watertight.
- Glue and clamp edges or joints of assembled parts.
- Bond wood reinforcing strips to decks and cabin structures of watercraft, using resin-saturated fiberglass.
- Prepare surfaces for tiling by attaching lath or waterproof paper, or by applying a cement mortar coat to a metal screen.
- Use mechanical applicators that spread compounds and embed tape in one operation.
- Apply thinned glue to waterproof porous surfaces, using brushes, rollers, or pasting machines.
- Cut tile or linoleum to fit and spread adhesives on flooring for installation.
- Mask off mold areas not to be laminated, using cellophane, wax paper, masking tape, or special sprays containing mold-release substances.
- Spread mastic or other adhesive base on roof deck to form base for promenade tile, using serrated spreader.
- Mix paste, using paste powder and water, and brush paste onto surfaces.
What we would actually use
Nothing in our landscape addresses this work. That is the honest answer rather than a padded list: this activity needs a person present, or a machine rather than a software agent.
Nothing on this site applies. Automation here is robotics and machinery, a different market on a much slower clock, and no software subscription moves it.
Chosen for the cheapest thing that does the job, not the best funded. Nothing on this site is sponsored, and the full landscape is there when you want to disagree with us.
How people actually do it
No workflow names this activity yet, but these automate the same kind of work, with the prompts to paste and what to keep for yourself.
Who does this work
12 occupations in the O*NET database perform this activity. Each one has a full breakdown of its other tasks.
Work that goes with it
O*NET groups these under “Perform general construction or extraction activities”. In practice they tend to be done by the same person, in the same sitting.
Method. The activity, its taxonomy placement and the occupations that perform it come straight from the public-domain O*NET 30.3 database. The automatability band is ours: we map each of O*NET’s 41 generalized work activities to how much of its output current software can produce, assuming a person still reviews and owns the result. It is a coarse three-way judgment on purpose. A precise-looking percentage here would be invented.