Operate vehicles or material-moving equipment.

Operate vehicles or material-moving equipment. is a detailed work activity in O*NET — a concrete unit of work shared across 18 occupations and seen in 22 occupation-specific tasks. It rolls up into the broader work activity Operate transportation equipment or vehicles. in Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment .

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 22 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.

• Crank trailer landing gear up or down to safely secure vehicles. · Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers · importance 4.6 · no direct exposure
• Operate and maintain mobile dispatch vehicles and equipment. · Public Safety Telecommunicators · importance 4.6 · no direct exposure
• Move controls to drive gasoline- or electric-powered trucks, cars, or tractors and transport materials between loading, processing, and storage areas. · Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators · importance 4.5 · no direct exposure
• Maneuver trucks into loading or unloading positions, following signals from loading crew and checking that vehicle and loading equipment are properly positioned. · Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers · importance 4.5 · no direct exposure
• Drive loaded shuttle cars to ramps and move controls to discharge loads into mine cars or onto conveyors. · Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining · importance 4.5 · no direct exposure
• Drive trucks with capacities greater than 13 tons, including tractor-trailer combinations, to transport and deliver products, livestock, or other materials. · Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers · importance 4.5 · no direct exposure
• Walk, ride bicycles, drive vehicles, or use public conveyances to reach destinations to deliver messages or materials. · Couriers and Messengers · importance 4.4 · no direct exposure
• Drive trucks, following established routes, through residential streets or alleys or through business or industrial areas. · Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors · importance 4.3 · no direct exposure
• Drive trucks to deliver such items as food, medical supplies, or newspapers. · Driver/Sales Workers · importance 4.3 · no direct exposure
• Drive trucks to weigh stations before and after loading and along routes in compliance with state regulations. · Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers · importance 4.3 · no direct exposure
• Move containers of mail, using equipment, such as forklifts and automated "trains". · Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators · importance 4.3 · no direct exposure
• Walk or drive vehicles along established routes to take readings of meter dials. · Meter Readers, Utilities · importance 4.3 · no direct exposure
• Operate industrial trucks, tractors, loaders, and other equipment to transport materials to and from transportation vehicles and loading docks, and to store and retrieve materials in warehouses. · Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders · importance 4.2 · no direct exposure
• Travel to post offices to pick up the mail for routes or pick up mail from postal relay boxes. · Postal Service Mail Carriers · importance 4.1 · no direct exposure
• Drive vehicles with capacities under three tons to transport materials to and from specified destinations, such as railroad stations, plants, residences, offices, or within industrial yards. · Light Truck Drivers · importance 4.0 · no direct exposure
• Drive vehicles or operate machines or equipment to complete work assignments or to assist workers. · First-Line Supervisors of Material-Moving Machine and Vehicle Operators · importance 3.9 · no direct exposure
• Operate fork lifts, skid loaders, or trucks to move or store recyclable materials. · Recycling Coordinators · importance 3.7 · no direct exposure
• Turn valves and open chutes to dump, spray, or release materials from dump cars or storage bins into hoppers. · Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators · importance 3.6 · no direct exposure
• Deliver artwork on courier trips. · Museum Technicians and Conservators · importance 3.4 · no direct exposure
• Operate, drive, or explain the use of mechanical equipment in amusement parks, cruise ships, or other recreational facilities. · Entertainment and Recreation Managers, Except Gambling · importance 3.3 · no direct exposure
• Route received goods to first available flight or to appropriate storage areas or departments, using forklifts, hand trucks, or other equipment. · Cargo and Freight Agents · importance 3.1 · no direct exposure
• Open and close school bus doors for students. · School Bus Monitors · no direct exposure

Occupations that perform this

• Public Safety Telecommunicators
• Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers
• Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators
• Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining
• Couriers and Messengers
• Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors
• Driver/Sales Workers
• Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators
• Meter Readers, Utilities
• Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders
• Postal Service Mail Carriers
• Light Truck Drivers
• First-Line Supervisors of Material-Moving Machine and Vehicle Operators
• Recycling Coordinators
• Museum Technicians and Conservators
• Entertainment and Recreation Managers, Except Gambling
• Cargo and Freight Agents
• School Bus Monitors

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-vehicles-or-material-moving-equipment,
  title  = {Operate vehicles or material-moving 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-vehicles-or-material-moving-equipment}
}