Adjust equipment controls to regulate flow of production materials or products.

Adjust equipment controls to regulate flow of production materials or products. is a detailed work activity in O*NET — a concrete unit of work shared across 16 occupations and seen in 26 occupation-specific tasks. It rolls up into the broader work activity Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance. in Handling and Moving Objects .

Detailed work activities are the most granular shared layer in O*NET's work-activity hierarchy (Generalized → Intermediate → Detailed → occupation-specific task). The figures below describe how this activity shows up across the economy and what independent studies measure about AI and this kind of work — not a prediction that the work will be automated.

AI exposure

Of the 26 tasks under this activity that the OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rated, 0 (0%) are flagged as directly exposed to language models (E1) or exposed via model-powered tools (E2).

Exposure estimates overlap with model capabilities — whether a model could speed the task up — not whether the work will be done by software. Observed AI use is augmentation and assistance today, not jobs replaced.

Member tasks

Occupation-specific tasks O*NET maps to this detailed work activity, most important first.

• Pour and regulate the flow of molten metal into molds and forms to produce ingots or other castings, using ladles or hand-controlled mechanisms. · Pourers and Casters, Metal · importance 4.7 · no direct exposure
• Adjust ink fountain flow rates. · Printing Press Operators · importance 4.6 · no direct exposure
• Observe gauges, dials, and product characteristics, and adjust controls to maintain appropriate temperature, pressure, and flow of ingredients. · Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders · importance 4.6 · no direct exposure
• Adjust machine components according to specifications such as widths, lengths, and thickness of materials and amounts of glue, cement, or adhesive required. · Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders · importance 4.5 · no direct exposure
• Adjust machine components to regulate speeds, pressures, and temperatures, and amounts, dimensions, and flow of materials or ingredients. · Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders · importance 4.5 · no direct exposure
• Pull levers to lift ladle stoppers and to allow molten steel to flow into ingot molds to specified heights. · Pourers and Casters, Metal · importance 4.5 · no direct exposure
• Start machines, and turn valves or move controls to feed, admit, apply, or transfer materials and adhesives, and to adjust temperature, pressure, and time settings. · Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders · importance 4.5 · no direct exposure
• Turn valves to regulate flow of products or byproducts through agitator tanks, storage drums, or neutralizer tanks. · Chemical Plant and System Operators · importance 4.5 · no direct exposure
• Adjust machine feed and speed, change cutting tools, or adjust machine controls when automatic programming is faulty or if machines malfunction. · Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators · importance 4.4 · no direct exposure
• Turn valves or move controls to admit, drain, separate, filter, clarify, mix, or transfer materials. · Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders · importance 4.3 · no direct exposure
• Observe flow of finish across finish rollers, and turn valves to adjust flow to specifications. · Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass Fibers · importance 4.3 · no direct exposure
• Set up or adjust machine controls to regulate conditions such as material flow, temperature, or pressure. · Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders · importance 4.3 · no direct exposure
• Read dials and gauges on panel control boards to ascertain temperatures, alkalinities, and densities of mixtures, and turn valves to obtain specified mixtures. · Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders · importance 4.2 · no direct exposure
• Turn valves or start pumps to add ingredients or drain products from equipment and to transfer products for storage, cooling, or further processing. · Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders · importance 4.2 · no direct exposure
• Start machinery, such as pumps, feeders, or conveyors, and turn valves to heat, admit, or transfer products, refrigerants, or mixes. · Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders · importance 4.2 · no direct exposure
• Open valves, gates, or chutes or use shovels to load or remove products from ovens or other equipment. · Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders · importance 4.1 · no direct exposure
• Set up or operate glue machines by filling glue reservoirs, turning switches to activate heating elements, or adjusting glue flow or conveyor speed. · Print Binding and Finishing Workers · importance 4.1 · no direct exposure
• Attach hoses or nozzles to machines, using wrenches and pliers, and make adjustments to obtain the proper dispersion of spray. · Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders · importance 4.0 · no direct exposure
• Turn dials, handwheels, valves, or switches to regulate conveyor speeds, machine temperature, air pressure and circulation, and the flow or spray of coatings or paints. · Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders · importance 4.0 · no direct exposure
• Load materials into extruding and forming machines, using hand tools, and adjust feed mechanisms to set feed rates. · Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass Fibers · importance 4.0 · no direct exposure
• Open valves to drain slurry from mixers into storage tanks. · Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders · importance 4.0 · no direct exposure
• Weigh packages and adjust freezer air valves or switches on filler heads to obtain specified amounts of product in each container. · Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders · importance 4.0 · no direct exposure
• Monitor environmental factors, such as humidity and temperature, that may impact equipment performance and make necessary adjustments. · Printing Press Operators · importance 4.0 · no direct exposure
• Press metering-pump buttons and turn valves to stop flow of polymers. · Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass Fibers · importance 3.9 · no direct exposure
• Start machines and turn handwheels or valves to engage feeding, cooling, and lubricating mechanisms. · Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic · importance 3.9 · no direct exposure
• Mix and test solutions, and turn valves to fill tanks with solutions. · Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic · importance 3.6 · no direct exposure

Occupations that perform this

• Pourers and Casters, Metal
• Printing Press Operators
• Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders
• Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
• Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders
• Chemical Plant and System Operators
• Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators
• Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
• Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass Fibers
• Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders
• Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders
• Print Binding and Finishing Workers
• Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
• Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
• Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
• Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

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.

• O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

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

@misc{singulariki-adjust-equipment-controls-to-regulate-flow-of-production-materials-or-products,
  title  = {Adjust equipment controls to regulate flow of production materials or products.},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/detailed-activities/adjust-equipment-controls-to-regulate-flow-of-production-materials-or-products}
}