Determine production equipment settings.

Determine production equipment settings. is a detailed work activity in O*NET — a concrete unit of work shared across 5 occupations and seen in 6 occupation-specific tasks. It rolls up into the broader work activity Determine operational methods or procedures. in Making Decisions and Solving Problems .

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 6 tasks under this activity that the OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rated, 4 (67%) 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.

• Determine the sequence of machine operations, and select the proper cutting tools needed to machine workpieces into the desired shapes. · Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers · importance 4.6 · direct LLM exposure
• Determine reference points, machine cutting paths, or hole locations, and compute angular and linear dimensions, radii, and curvatures. · Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers · importance 4.3 · direct LLM exposure
• Determine setup procedures and select machine dies and parts, according to specifications. · Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic · importance 4.3 · no direct exposure
• Determine product specifications and materials, work methods, and machine setup requirements, according to blueprints, oral or written instructions, drawings, or work orders. · Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing · importance 4.2 · exposure with tools
• Determine machine settings, and move bars or levers to reproduce designs on rollers or plates. · Etchers and Engravers · importance 4.1 · no direct exposure
• Select cutting speeds, feed rates, and depths of cuts, applying knowledge of metal properties and shop mathematics. · Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic · importance 4.0 · direct LLM exposure

Occupations that perform this

• Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers
• Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
• Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing
• Etchers and Engravers
• Milling and Planing 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-determine-production-equipment-settings,
  title  = {Determine production equipment settings.},
  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/determine-production-equipment-settings}
}