Clean equipment or facilities
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 | 25 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 25 occupations that perform it.
- Feed and water animals, and clean and disinfect pens, cages, yards, and hutches.
- Clean work areas, and maintain grounds and landscaping.
- Clean stalls, pens, and equipment, using disinfectant solutions, brushes, shovels, water hoses, or pumps.
- Wash decks, conveyors, knives, and other equipment, using brushes, detergents, and water.
- Maintain campsites or recreational areas, replenishing firewood or other supplies and cleaning kitchens or restrooms.
- Clean pressure vessel equipment, using scrapers, wire brushes, and cleaning solvents.
- Clean installation site, mixing and storage areas, tools, machines, and equipment, and store materials and equipment.
- Lubricate, clean, or repair machinery, equipment, or tools.
- Inspect, clean, maintain, and repair equipment, using mechanics' hand tools, or report malfunctions to supervisors.
- Clean, lubricate, and refill equipment.
- Modify, clean, or maintain pipe systems, units, fittings, or related machines or equipment, using hand or power tools.
- Clean job sites.
- Clean work areas, machines, or equipment, to maintain a clean and safe job site.
- Clean work areas and equipment.
- Clean shop, work area, and machines, using solvent and rags.
- Inspect, clean, and repair drainage systems, bridges, tunnels, and other structures.
- Clean tracks or clear ice or snow from tracks or switch boxes.
- Operate sewer cleaning equipment, including power rodders, high-velocity water jets, sewer flushers, bucket machines, wayne balls, and vac-alls.
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
25 occupations in the O*NET database perform this activity. Each one has a full breakdown of its other tasks.
- Animal Breeders
- Boilermakers
- Construction Laborers
- Continuous Mining Machine Operators
- Derrick Operators, Oil and Gas
- Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas
- Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters
- Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse
- Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals
- Fishing and Hunting Workers
- Forest and Conservation Workers
- Helpers--Carpenters
- Helpers--Painters, Paperhangers, Plasterers, and Stucco Masons
- Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
- Helpers--Roofers
- Highway Maintenance Workers
- Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators
- Pile Driver Operators
- Plasterers and Stucco Masons
- Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
- Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators
- Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas
- Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners
- Terrazzo Workers and Finishers
- Weatherization Installers and Technicians
Work that goes with it
O*NET groups these under “Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas”. 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.