Repair non-engine automotive or vehicle 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 | Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment (4.A.3.b.4) |
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.
- Install, repair, or replace safety glass and related materials, such as back glass heating elements, on vehicles or equipment.
- Repair, reline, replace, and adjust brakes.
- Diagnose and repair vehicle heating and cooling systems.
- Examine car roofs for wear and damage, and repair defective sections, using roofing material, cement, nails, and waterproof paint.
- Set starter locks and align and repair steering or throttle controls, using gauges, screwdrivers, or wrenches.
- Repair or adjust motorcycle subassemblies, such as forks, transmissions, brakes, or drive chains, according to specifications.
- Remove damaged exterior panels, and repair and replace structural frame members.
- Repair leaks in valve seats or bellows of automotive heater thermostats, using soft solder, flux, and acetylene torches.
- Disassemble malfunctioning equipment and remove, repair, or replace defective parts, such as motors, clutches, or transformers.
- Repair ships, bridge foundations, or other structures below the water line, using caulk, bolts, and hand tools.
- Replace or adjust motorized or manual window-raising mechanisms.
- Tear down, repair, and rebuild faulty assemblies, such as power systems, steering systems, and linkages.
- Install or repair accessories.
- Repair, fabricate, and install steel or wood fittings, using blueprints, shop sketches, and instruction manuals.
- Replace defective parts, using hand tools, arbor presses, flexible power presses, or power tools.
- Repair or replace parts such as pistons, rods, gears, valves, and bearings.
- Repair or adjust seats, doors, or windows.
- Repair car upholstery.
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.
- Automotive Glass Installers and Repairers
- Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics
- Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists
- Commercial Divers
- Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door
- Medical Equipment Repairers
- Motorboat Mechanics and Service Technicians
- Motorcycle Mechanics
- Rail Car Repairers
- Recreational Vehicle Service Technicians
Work that goes with it
O*NET groups these under “Repair vehicle components”. In practice they tend to be done by the same person, in the same sitting.
| Activity | Jobs |
|---|---|
| Repair defective engines or engine components | 8 |
| Rebuild parts or components | 4 |
| Replace vehicle glass | 3 |
| Repair tires | 3 |
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.