Repair worn, damaged, or defective mechanical parts.

Repair worn, damaged, or defective mechanical parts. is a detailed work activity in O*NET — a concrete unit of work shared across 26 occupations and seen in 38 occupation-specific tasks. It rolls up into the broader work activity Repair tools or equipment. in Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical 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 38 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 0.004% 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.

• Repair or replace musical instrument parts and components, such as strings, bridges, felts, and keys, using hand and power tools. · Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners · importance 4.6 · no direct exposure
• Repair or replace broken, damaged, or worn parts on timepieces, using lathes, drill presses, and hand tools. · Watch and Clock Repairers · importance 4.5 · no direct exposure
• Repair and replace damaged or worn parts. · Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines · importance 4.5 · no direct exposure
• Repair or replace defective parts such as magnetos, water pumps, gears, pistons, and carburetors, using hand tools. · Outdoor Power Equipment and Other Small Engine Mechanics · importance 4.4 · no direct exposure
• Adjust, repair, or replace malfunctioning components or assemblies, using hand tools or soldering irons. · Avionics Technicians · importance 4.4 · no direct exposure
• Diagnose and repair furnace or air conditioning systems. · Recreational Vehicle Service Technicians · importance 4.4 · no direct exposure
• Repair or replace defective parts, using hand tools, milling and woodworking machines, lathes, welding equipment, grinders, or saws. · Farm Equipment Mechanics and Service Technicians · importance 4.4 · no direct exposure
• Service and repair domestic electrical or gas appliances, such as clothes washers, refrigerators, stoves, and dryers. · Home Appliance Repairers · importance 4.3 · no direct exposure
• Repair or replace broken or malfunctioning components of machinery or equipment. · Industrial Machinery Mechanics · importance 4.2 · no direct exposure
• Repair or replace defective equipment, components, or wiring. · Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers · importance 4.2 · no direct exposure
• Repair, adjust, or replace electrical or mechanical components or parts, using hand tools, power tools, or soldering or welding equipment. · Computer, Automated Teller, and Office Machine Repairers · importance 4.2 · no direct exposure
• Replace or repair worn, defective, or damaged components, using hand tools, gauges, and testing equipment. · Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians · importance 4.2 · no direct exposure
• Overhaul and test machines or equipment to ensure operating efficiency. · Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines · importance 4.2 · no direct exposure
• Adjust, maintain, and repair or replace subassemblies, such as transmissions and crawler heads, using hand tools, jacks, and cranes. · Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines · importance 4.2 · no direct exposure
• Reline or repair ladles and pouring spouts with refractory clay, using trowels. · Refractory Materials Repairers, Except Brickmasons · importance 4.2 · no direct exposure
• Shape old parts and replacement parts to improve tone or intonation, using hand tools, lathes, or soldering irons. · Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners · importance 4.1 · no direct exposure
• Test and repair track circuits. · Signal and Track Switch Repairers · importance 4.1 · no direct exposure
• Repair or replace defective or worn parts such as bearings, pistons, and gears, using hand tools, torque wrenches, power tools, and welding equipment. · Rail Car Repairers · importance 4.1 · no direct exposure
• Disassemble mechanical or electrical locking devices, and repair or replace worn tumblers, springs, and other parts, using hand tools. · Locksmiths and Safe Repairers · importance 4.1 · no direct exposure
• Repair or replace worn or broken door parts, using hand tools. · Mechanical Door Repairers · importance 4.0 · no direct exposure
• Weld, repair, and fabricate equipment or machinery. · Millwrights · importance 4.0 · no direct exposure
• Maintain, repair, and rebuild aircraft structures, functional components, and parts, such as wings and fuselage, rigging, hydraulic units, oxygen systems, fuel systems, electrical systems, gaskets, or seals. · Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians · importance 4.0 · no direct exposure
• Perform mechanical overhauls and refrigerant reclaiming. · Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers · importance 4.0 · no direct exposure
• Fit bearings to adjust, repair, or overhaul mobile mechanical, hydraulic, and pneumatic equipment. · Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines · importance 4.0 · no direct exposure
• Repair and service air conditioning, heating, engine cooling, and electrical systems. · Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics · importance 4.0 · no direct exposure
• Repair or adjust equipment, machines, or defective components, replacing worn parts, such as gaskets or seals in watertight electrical equipment. · Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment · importance 4.0 · no direct exposure
• Repair cracks in wood or metal instruments, using pinning wire, lathes, fillers, clamps, or soldering irons. · Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners · importance 3.9 · no direct exposure
• Disassemble and repair mechanical control devices or valves, such as regulators, thermostats, or hydrants, using power tools, hand tools, and cutting torches. · Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door · importance 3.9 · no direct exposure
• Overhaul or replace carburetors, blowers, generators, distributors, starters, and pumps. · Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics · importance 3.9 · no direct exposure
• Adjust and repair coin, vending, or amusement machines and meters and replace defective mechanical and electrical parts, using hand tools, soldering irons, and diagrams. · Coin, Vending, and Amusement Machine Servicers and Repairers · importance 3.8 · no direct exposure
• Repair shop equipment, metal furniture, or hospital equipment, including welding broken parts or replacing missing parts, or bring item into local shop for major repairs. · Medical Equipment Repairers · importance 3.8 · no direct exposure
• Remove, inspect, repair, and install in-flight refueling stores and external fuel tanks. · Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians · importance 3.6 · no direct exposure
• Repair or remove and replace system components. · Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters · importance 3.6 · no direct exposure
• Replace or repair metal, wood, leather, glass, or other lining in machines, or in equipment compartments or containers. · Maintenance Workers, Machinery · importance 3.5 · no direct exposure
• Repair or rework parts, using machine tools such as lathes, mills, drills, or grinders. · Motorboat Mechanics and Service Technicians · importance 3.3 · no direct exposure
• Repair hydraulic or air pumps. · Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters · importance 3.2 · no direct exposure
• Repair or rebuild transmissions. · Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics · no direct exposure
• Repair or service heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to improve efficiency, such as by changing filters, cleaning ducts, and refilling non-toxic refrigerants. · Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers · no direct exposure

Occupations that perform this

• Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners
• Watch and Clock Repairers
• Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines
• Outdoor Power Equipment and Other Small Engine Mechanics
• Avionics Technicians
• Farm Equipment Mechanics and Service Technicians
• Recreational Vehicle Service Technicians
• Home Appliance Repairers
• Industrial Machinery Mechanics
• Computer, Automated Teller, and Office Machine Repairers
• Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians
• Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers
• Refractory Materials Repairers, Except Brickmasons
• Signal and Track Switch Repairers
• Rail Car Repairers
• Locksmiths and Safe Repairers
• Mechanical Door Repairers
• Millwrights
• Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment
• Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics
• Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door
• Medical Equipment Repairers
• Coin, Vending, and Amusement Machine Servicers and Repairers
• Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
• Maintenance Workers, Machinery
• Motorboat Mechanics and Service 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-repair-worn-damaged-or-defective-mechanical-parts,
  title  = {Repair worn, damaged, or defective mechanical parts.},
  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/repair-worn-damaged-or-defective-mechanical-parts}
}