Apply sealants or other protective coatings
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 | 17 occupations |
| Tool categories that apply | None |
| O*NET activity | Handling and Moving Objects (4.A.3.a.2) |
What this looks like on the job
Not our paraphrase. These are real task statements recorded against this activity, spread across the 17 occupations that perform it.
- Spray or spread refractory material over brickwork to protect against deterioration.
- Apply filler compound and coats of finish to floors to seal wood.
- Apply a sealer to make grout stain- and water-resistant.
- Apply hardening and sealing compounds to cure surface of concrete, and waterproof or restore surface.
- Wash polished terrazzo surface, using cleaner and water, and apply sealer and curing agent according to manufacturer's specifications, using brush or sprayer.
- Spray materials, such as water, sand, steam, vinyl, paint, or stucco, through hoses to clean, coat, or seal surfaces.
- Spread sealing compound between boards or panels or over cracks, holes, nail heads, or screw heads, using trowels, broadknives, or spatulas.
- Cover, seal, or finish insulated surfaces or access holes with plastic covers, canvas strips, sealants, tape, cement or asphalt mastic.
- Waterproof buildings, using waterproofers or caulking.
- Apply thinned glue to waterproof porous surfaces, using brushes, rollers, or pasting machines.
- Apply weather seal, such as pipe flashings and sealants, to roof penetrations and structural devices.
- Cover exposed nailheads with roofing cement or caulking to prevent water leakage or rust.
- Apply weather sealing to array, building, or support mechanisms.
- Apply caulk, sealants, or other agents to installed surfaces.
- Place tiles, nail them to roof boards, and cover nailheads with roofing cement.
- Spray ties, fishplates, or joints with oil to protect them from weathering.
- Waterproof or restore concrete surfaces, using appropriate compounds.
- Apply caulking compounds by hand or caulking guns to protect against entry of water or air.
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
17 occupations in the O*NET database perform this activity. Each one has a full breakdown of its other tasks.
- Brickmasons and Blockmasons
- Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers
- Construction Laborers
- Floor Sanders and Finishers
- Helpers--Brickmasons, Blockmasons, Stonemasons, and Tile and Marble Setters
- Helpers--Roofers
- Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall
- Insulation Workers, Mechanical
- Painters, Construction and Maintenance
- Paperhangers
- Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators
- Roofers
- Solar Photovoltaic Installers
- Solar Thermal Installers and Technicians
- Tapers
- Terrazzo Workers and Finishers
- Tile and Stone Setters
Work that goes with it
O*NET groups these under “Apply protective solutions or coatings”. 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.