Maintain production or processing 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 | 38 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 38 occupations that perform it.
- Disassemble and assemble motors, and repair and maintain electrical components and machinery parts, using hand tools.
- Maintain production equipment and machinery.
- Check equipment to ensure that it meets health and safety regulations, and perform maintenance or cleaning, as necessary.
- Troubleshoot, maintain, and make minor repairs to equipment.
- Repair, maintain, and replace parts on dies.
- Maintain machine tools in proper operational condition.
- Repair and maintain metal forms and equipment, using hand tools, sledges, and bars.
- Perform maintenance work such as cleaning and oiling machines.
- Perform minor machine maintenance, such as oiling or cleaning machines, dies, or workpieces, or adding coolant to machine reservoirs.
- Clean, lubricate, maintain, and adjust equipment to maintain efficient operation, using air hoses, cleaning fluids, and hand tools.
- Repair, replace, and maintain furnace equipment as needed, using hand tools.
- Perform equipment maintenance, such as cleaning tanks and lubricating moving parts of conveyors.
- Perform basic maintenance, such as cleaning and lubricating machine parts.
- Maintain, adjust, and clean equipment, and perform minor repairs.
- Clean and maintain pressing machines, using cleaning solutions and lubricants.
- Perform equipment maintenance tasks such as replacing needles, sanding rough areas of needles, or cleaning and oiling sewing machines.
- Perform routine equipment maintenance such as cleaning and lubricating machines or replacing broken needles.
- Perform machine maintenance, such as cleaning and oiling equipment, and repair or replace worn or defective parts.
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
38 occupations in the O*NET database perform this activity. Each one has a full breakdown of its other tasks.
- Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders
- Bakers
- Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders
- Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers
- Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators
- Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
- Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
- Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass Fibers
- Forging Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
- Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders
- Gas Plant Operators
- Glass Blowers, Molders, Benders, and Finishers
- Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand
- Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
- Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers
- Machinists
- Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
- Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
- Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
- Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers
- Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers
- Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators
- Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
- Pourers and Casters, Metal
- Power Plant Operators
- Prepress Technicians and Workers
- Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials
- Semiconductor Processing Technicians
- Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
- Sewing Machine Operators
- Shoe Machine Operators and Tenders
- Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators
- Team Assemblers
- Textile Bleaching and Dyeing Machine Operators and Tenders
- Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners
- Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators
- Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
- Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing
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.