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Position workpieces or materials on equipment

Work activity · O*NET

Position workpieces or materials on equipment is an intermediate work activity in the O*NET database — a concrete task that recurs across many occupations , grouped under Handling and Moving Objects. 60 occupations report doing it as part of their work.

What it involves

The most common detailed activities O*NET records under this category, ranked by how many occupation tasks map to each.

  • Mount attachments or tools onto production equipment
  • Mount materials or workpieces onto production equipment
  • Feed materials or products into or through equipment
  • Adjust fabrics or other materials during garment production
  • Maneuver workpieces in equipment during production
  • Position raw materials on processing or production equipment

How AI is applied to this activity

Microsoft's "Working with AI" study mapped real Bing Copilot conversations to O*NET work activities. The figures below are their measurements for this activity — they describe how AI is used today in one assistant's data, not a forecast that the activity will be automated.

AI completes it successfully 100.0% When Copilot attempts this activity, how often it finishes the task
Scope AI handles 8.7% How much of the activity AI carries within a conversation
Positive user feedback 77.8% Share of interactions users rated positively
How often AI is applied here 25th pct Percentile across all measured activities by how often AI performs them

Source: Microsoft "Working with AI" (working-with-ai). A high completion rate means AI can assist the activity in isolation — it does not mean an occupation that performs it is being automated, since every job blends many activities.

Detailed work activities

The more granular units of work O*NET groups under this activity, ordered by how many occupations perform them.

Occupations that perform this activity

Ranked by how many of the occupation's tasks map to this activity.

Occupation Tasks
Sewing Machine Operators 6
Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 5
Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing 5
Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 4
Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 4
Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 4
Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 4
Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials 4
Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood 4
Shoe Machine Operators and Tenders 4
Etchers and Engravers 3
Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 3
Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders 3
Forging Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 3
Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 3
Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 3
Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 3
Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 3
Textile Winding, Twisting, and Drawing Out Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 3
Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 2
Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators 2
Cutters and Trimmers, Hand 2
Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 2
Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 2
Gem and Diamond Workers 2
Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers 2
Machinists 2
Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians 2
Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators 2
Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 2
Potters, Manufacturing 2
Print Binding and Finishing Workers 2
Printing Press Operators 2
Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 2
Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers 2
Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters 2
Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers 2
Textile Bleaching and Dyeing Machine Operators and Tenders 2
Textile Cutting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 2
Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 2

Showing 40 of 60 occupations.

Exposure quadrant: AI task-overlap percentile vs Median pay AI task-overlap (horizontal) versus median pay (vertical), each as a percentile across all scored occupations, for 40 occupations in occupations that perform Position workpieces or materials on equipment.. Overlap measures shared tasks with AI, not automation. Lower overlap · higher pay Higher overlap · higher pay Higher overlap · lower pay Lower overlap · lower pay Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters Textile Winding, Twisting, and Drawing Out Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic Print Binding and Finishing Workers Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders Machinists Gem and Diamond Workers Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators AI task-overlap percentile → ↑ Median pay
Occupations that perform Position workpieces or materials on equipment., by AI task-overlap and median pay

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "Position workpieces or materials on equipment." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/activities/position-workpieces-or-materials-on-equipment

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Position workpieces or materials on equipment. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/activities/position-workpieces-or-materials-on-equipment

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-position-workpieces-or-materials-on-equipment,
  title  = {Position workpieces or materials on equipment},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/activities/position-workpieces-or-materials-on-equipment}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.