Inspect equipment or systems
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 | 9 occupations |
| Tool categories that apply | None |
| O*NET activity | Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials (4.A.1.b.2) |
What this looks like on the job
Not our paraphrase. These are real task statements recorded against this activity, spread across the 9 occupations that perform it.
- Diagnose performance problems by reviewing reports or documentation from customers or field engineers or by inspecting malfunctioning or damaged products.
- Verify compliance of developed applications with architectural standards and established practices.
- Inspect marine equipment and machinery to draw up work requests and job specifications.
- Inspect oil and gas wells to determine that installations are completed.
- Inspect or monitor energy systems, including heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) or daylighting systems to determine energy use or potential energy savings.
- Inspect, diagnose, maintain, and operate test setups and equipment to detect malfunctions.
- Examine structures or vehicles such as aircraft, trains, nuclear reactors, bridges, dams, and pipelines, using non-destructive testing techniques.
- Inspect and monitor audio or video surveillance equipment to ensure it is working appropriately.
- Analyze the layout, instrumentation, or function of electrical generation or transmission facilities.
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
9 occupations in the O*NET database perform this activity. Each one has a full breakdown of its other tasks.
- Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians
- Aerospace Engineers
- Energy Engineers, Except Wind and Solar
- Gambling Surveillance Officers and Gambling Investigators
- Marine Engineers and Naval Architects
- Non-Destructive Testing Specialists
- Petroleum Engineers
- Power Plant Operators
- Radio Frequency Identification Device Specialists
Work that goes with it
O*NET groups these under “Inspect commercial, industrial, or production systems or equipment”. 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.