Cut materials according to specifications or needs
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 | 16 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 16 occupations that perform it.
- Cut and form insulation, and insert insulation into armature, rotor, or stator slots.
- Measure, cut, and install frameworks and conduit to support and connect wiring, control panels, and junction boxes, using hand tools.
- Trim and shape replacement body sections to specified sizes and fits and secure sections in place, using adhesives, hand tools, and power tools.
- Cut and tape plastic separating film to outside repair areas to avoid damaging surrounding surfaces during repair procedure and remove tape and wash surfaces after repairs are complete.
- Hold cut or uneven edges of glass against automated abrasive belts to shape or smooth edges.
- Open and close doors, windows, or drawers to test their operation, trimming edges to fit, as necessary.
- Cut door stops or angle irons to fit openings.
- Cut seats to receive new orifices, tap inspection ports, and perform other repairs to salvage usable materials, using hand tools and machine tools.
- Measure, cut, thread, or bend pipe or tubing, using pipe fitter's tools.
- Measure, cut, and thread pipe, and connect it to feeder lines and equipment or appliances, using rules and hand tools.
- Cut and weld metal to repair broken metal parts, fabricate new parts, or assemble new equipment.
- Measure furnace walls to determine dimensions and cut required number of sheets from plastic block, using saws.
- Trim trees that could be hazardous to the functioning of cables or wires.
- Cut new or duplicate keys, using key cutting machines.
- Open and close doors, windows, and drawers to test their operation, trimming edges to fit, using jackplanes or drawknives.
- Fit garments on clients, altering as needed.
- Remove upholstery, accessories, electrical window-and-seat-operating equipment, and trim to gain access to vehicle bodies and fenders.
- Cut flat safety glass according to specified patterns or perform precision pattern making and glass cutting to custom fit replacement windows.
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
16 occupations in the O*NET database perform this activity. Each one has a full breakdown of its other tasks.
- Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians
- Automotive Body and Related Repairers
- Automotive Glass Installers and Repairers
- Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door
- Electric Motor, Power Tool, and Related Repairers
- Electrical and Electronics Installers and Repairers, Transportation Equipment
- Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers
- Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers
- Home Appliance Repairers
- Industrial Machinery Mechanics
- Locksmiths and Safe Repairers
- Manufactured Building and Mobile Home Installers
- Mechanical Door Repairers
- Recreational Vehicle Service Technicians
- Refractory Materials Repairers, Except Brickmasons
- Sewers, Hand
Work that goes with it
O*NET groups these under “Cut materials”. 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.