Operate detonation equipment.

Operate detonation equipment. is a detailed work activity in O*NET — a concrete unit of work shared across 4 occupations and seen in 6 occupation-specific tasks. It rolls up into the broader work activity Operate construction or excavation equipment. in Controlling Machines and Processes .

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, 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.

• Place explosive charges in holes or other spots; then detonate explosives to demolish structures or to loosen, remove, or displace earth, rock, or other materials. · Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters · importance 4.6 · no direct exposure
• Light fuses, drop detonating devices into wells or boreholes, or activate firing devices with plungers, dials, or buttons, in order to set off single or multiple blasts. · Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters · importance 4.2 · no direct exposure
• Set charges of explosives to split rock. · Rock Splitters, Quarry · importance 3.8 · no direct exposure
• Operate specialized equipment to remove obstructions by backing off or severing pipes by chemical or explosive action. · Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas · importance 3.8 · no direct exposure
• Perforate well casings or sidewalls of boreholes with explosive charges. · Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas · importance 3.7 · no direct exposure
• Blast rock formations and rocky areas with dynamite to facilitate posthole digging. · Fence Erectors · importance 3.7 · no direct exposure

Occupations that perform this

• Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters
• Rock Splitters, Quarry
• Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas
• Fence Erectors

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-operate-detonation-equipment,
  title  = {Operate detonation equipment.},
  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/operate-detonation-equipment}
}