Install machine or equipment replacement parts
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 | 11 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 11 occupations that perform it.
- Adjust, repair, or replace malfunctioning components or assemblies, using hand tools or soldering irons.
- Install and align repaired or replacement parts for subsequent riveting or welding, using clamps and wrenches.
- Remove damaged sections of vehicles using metal-cutting guns, air grinders and wrenches, and install replacement parts using wrenches or welding equipment.
- Install new foam dams on pinchwelds, if required.
- Test and replace electrical components and wiring, using test meters, soldering equipment, and hand tools.
- Install expansion and control valves, using acetylene torches and wrenches.
- Install, replace, or change machine parts and attachments, according to production specifications.
- Disassemble malfunctioning equipment and remove, repair, or replace defective parts, such as motors, clutches, or transformers.
- Perform routine maintenance on boilers, such as replacing burners or hoses, installing replacement parts, or reinforcing structural weaknesses to ensure optimal boiler efficiency.
- Install or replace machinery, equipment, and new or replacement parts and instruments, using hand or power tools.
- Change water filters.
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
11 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
- Avionics Technicians
- Farm Equipment Mechanics and Service Technicians
- Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers
- Helpers--Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
- Maintenance and Repair Workers, General
- Maintenance Workers, Machinery
- Medical Equipment Repairers
- Wellhead Pumpers
Work that goes with it
O*NET groups these under “Assemble equipment or components”. 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.