Operate industrial equipment.

Operate industrial equipment. is a detailed work activity in O*NET — a concrete unit of work shared across 11 occupations and seen in 14 occupation-specific tasks. It rolls up into the broader work activity Operate industrial processing or production 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 14 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).

The Anthropic Economic Index observes real AI use on 1 of these tasks, with a mean mapped-usage share of 0.002% per task.

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.

• Select, calibrate, or operate equipment used in the non-destructive testing of products or materials. · Non-Destructive Testing Specialists · importance 4.6 · no direct exposure
• Set up mechanical, hydraulic, or electric test equipment in accordance with engineering specifications, standards, or test procedures. · Automotive Engineering Technicians · importance 4.2 · no direct exposure
• Operate machinery used in the production process, or assist machine operators. · Helpers--Production Workers · importance 4.2 · no direct exposure
• Operate or tend machines to wash and remove impurities from items such as barrels or kegs, glass products, tin plate surfaces, dried fruit, pulp, animal stock, coal, manufactured articles, plastic, or rubber. · Cleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operators and Tenders · importance 4.0 · no direct exposure
• Start machines or equipment to begin production processes. · Helpers--Production Workers · importance 3.9 · no direct exposure
• Operate mechanical hoppers and provide assistance in their adjustment and repair. · Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators · importance 3.8 · no direct exposure
• Operate, test, or maintain robotic equipment used for green production applications, such as waste-to-energy conversion systems, minimization of material waste, or replacement of human operators in dangerous work environments. · Electro-Mechanical and Mechatronics Technologists and Technicians · importance 3.8 · no direct exposure
• Install, calibrate, operate, or maintain robots. · Robotics Engineers · importance 3.7 · no direct exposure
• Prepare test stations, instrumentation, or data acquisition systems for use in specific tests of fuel cell components or systems. · Fuel Cell Engineers · importance 3.7 · no direct exposure
• Press buttons to activate cleaning equipment or machines. · Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment · importance 3.5 · no direct exposure
• Set up or operate prototype or test apparatus, such as control consoles, collimators, recording equipment, or cables. · Photonics Technicians · importance 3.5 · no direct exposure
• Operate or tend automated assembling equipment, such as robotics and fixed automation equipment. · Electromechanical Equipment Assemblers · importance 3.5 · no direct exposure
• Select, purchase, set up, operate, or troubleshoot state-of-the-art laser cutting equipment. · Photonics Engineers · importance 2.1 · no direct exposure
• Set up and operate production equipment in accordance with current good manufacturing practices and standard operating procedures. · Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians · no direct exposure

Occupations that perform this

• Non-Destructive Testing Specialists
• Automotive Engineering Technicians
• Helpers--Production Workers
• Cleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operators and Tenders
• Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators
• Electro-Mechanical and Mechatronics Technologists and Technicians
• Fuel Cell Engineers
• Robotics Engineers
• Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment
• Electromechanical Equipment Assemblers
• Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians

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
• Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

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

@misc{singulariki-operate-industrial-equipment,
  title  = {Operate industrial equipment.},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/detailed-activities/operate-industrial-equipment}
}