Position structural components
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 | 10 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 10 occupations that perform it.
- Position, align, and secure structural parts or related assemblies to boiler frames, tanks, or vats of pressure vessels, following blueprints.
- Cut out damaged areas, drill holes for reinforcing rods, and position reinforcing rods to repair concrete, using power saw and drill.
- Repair concrete by cutting out damaged areas, drilling holes for reinforcing rods, and positioning reinforcing rods, using power saw and drill.
- Position, join, align, or seal structural components, such as concrete wall sections or pipes.
- Drive pilings to provide support for buildings or other structures, using heavy equipment with a pile driver head.
- Position and secure steel bars, rods, cables, or mesh in concrete forms, using fasteners, rod-bending machines, blowtorches, or hand tools.
- Maneuver completed roofing units into position for installation.
- Pull, push, or pry structural steel members into approximate positions for bolting into place.
- Position and hold timbers, lumber, or paneling in place for fastening or cutting.
- Align posts, by lines or sighting, and verify vertical alignment of posts, using plumb bobs or spirit levels.
- Space and fasten together rods in forms according to blueprints, using wire and pliers.
- Unload and position prefabricated steel units for hoisting, as needed.
- Set metal or wooden posts in upright positions in postholes.
- Cut and fit wire mesh or fabric, using hooked rods, and position fabric or mesh in concrete to reinforce concrete.
- Ride on girders or other structural steel members to position them, or use rope to guide them into position.
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
10 occupations in the O*NET database perform this activity. Each one has a full breakdown of its other tasks.
Work that goes with it
O*NET groups these under “Position materials or components for assembly”. 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.