Maintain construction tools or equipment
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 | Repairing and Maintaining Electronic Equipment (4.A.3.b.5) |
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.
- 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.
- Repair and maintain equipment, making emergency adjustments or assisting with major repairs as necessary.
- Maintain equipment, making repairs or modifications when necessary.
- Arrange or store materials, machines, tools, or equipment.
- Maintain tools, vehicles, and equipment and keep parts and supplies in order.
- Maintain tools and equipment.
- Lubricate machines, change oil, or fill hydraulic reservoirs to specified levels.
- Service, adjust, and make minor repairs to equipment, machines, and attachments.
- Clean and maintain tools and equipment.
- Clean or make minor repairs to machines or equipment.
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.
- Construction Laborers
- Helpers--Brickmasons, Blockmasons, Stonemasons, and Tile and Marble Setters
- Helpers--Electricians
- Helpers--Roofers
- Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators
- Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators
- Pile Driver Operators
- Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators
- Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners
- Sheet Metal Workers
- Weatherization Installers and Technicians
Work that goes with it
O*NET groups these under “Maintain tools 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.