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Prepare industrial materials for processing or use

Work activity · O*NET

Prepare industrial materials for processing or use is an intermediate work activity in the O*NET database — a concrete task that recurs across many occupations , grouped under Handling and Moving Objects. 42 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.

  • Prepare hazardous waste for processing or disposal
  • Heat material or workpieces to prepare for or complete production
  • Immerse objects or workpieces in cleaning or coating solutions
  • Prepare materials for processing
  • Prepare explosives for detonation
  • Prepare fabrics or materials for processing or production
  • Melt metal, plastic, or other materials to prepare for production
  • Ignite fuel to activate heating 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 95.8% When Copilot attempts this activity, how often it finishes the task
Scope AI handles 8.3% How much of the activity AI carries within a conversation
Positive user feedback 73.7% 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
Hazardous Materials Removal Workers 11
Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters 7
Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 5
Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers 4
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers 4
Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders 3
Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials 3
Biofuels Processing Technicians 2
Dental Laboratory Technicians 2
Helpers--Production Workers 2
Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 2
Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators 2
Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters 2
Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 2
Automotive Body and Related Repairers 1
Automotive Glass Installers and Repairers 1
Biomass Plant Technicians 1
Carpenters 1
Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 1
Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas 1
Etchers and Engravers 1
Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators 1
Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders 1
Glass Blowers, Molders, Benders, and Finishers 1
Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 1
Helpers--Extraction Workers 1
Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers 1
Machinists 1
Materials Engineers 1
Nanotechnology Engineering Technologists and Technicians 1
Occupational Health and Safety Specialists 1
Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians 1
Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders 1
Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators 1
Photonics Technicians 1
Pourers and Casters, Metal 1
Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas 1
Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas 1
Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers 1
Textile Bleaching and Dyeing Machine Operators and Tenders 1

Showing 40 of 42 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 Prepare industrial materials for processing or use.. Overlap measures shared tasks with AI, not automation. Lower overlap · higher pay Higher overlap · higher pay Higher overlap · lower pay Lower overlap · lower pay Helpers--Extraction Workers Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders Helpers--Production Workers Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders Biofuels Processing Technicians Biomass Plant Technicians Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators Occupational Health and Safety Specialists Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators Nanotechnology Engineering Technologists and Technicians Materials Engineers AI task-overlap percentile → ↑ Median pay
Occupations that perform Prepare industrial materials for processing or use., 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. "Prepare industrial materials for processing or use." 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/prepare-industrial-materials-for-processing-or-use

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Prepare industrial materials for processing or use. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/activities/prepare-industrial-materials-for-processing-or-use

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-prepare-industrial-materials-for-processing-or-use,
  title  = {Prepare industrial materials for processing or use},
  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/prepare-industrial-materials-for-processing-or-use}
}

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