Read work orders or blueprints to determine specified tolerances and sequences of operations for machine setup.

“Read work orders or blueprints to determine specified tolerances and sequences of operations for machine setup.” is a core task performed by Forging Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic. Among the occupation's 13 rated tasks, workers place it 13th by importance (#1 most important). About 99% of workers say it is relevant to their job.

This is a single occupation-specific task statement from O*NET. The figures below describe how central the task is to the job and what independent studies measure about AI and this kind of work — not a prediction that the task will be automated.

Work activities this task rolls up to

O*NET groups concrete tasks into broader work activities shared across many occupations.

• Read documents or materials to inform work processes. in Getting Information

AI exposure

The OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rates this task E2. Exposure with tools — software built on top of a language model (not the model alone) could cut the time by at least half.

Exposure measures whether a model could meaningfully speed the task up — it is an estimate of overlap with model capabilities, not a measure of whether the work will be done by software. The study's intermediate score (β) for this task is 0.50. Automation potential label: T1.

Other tasks in this occupation

• Position and move metal wires or workpieces through a series of dies that compress and shape stock to form die impressions. · importance 4.5
• Measure and inspect machined parts to ensure conformance to product specifications. · importance 4.4
• Set up, operate, or tend presses and forging machines to perform hot or cold forging by flattening, straightening, bending, cutting, piercing, or other operations to taper, shape, or form metal. · importance 4.4
• Turn handles or knobs to set pressures and depths of ram strokes and to synchronize machine operations. · importance 4.4
• Install, adjust, and remove dies, synchronizing cams, forging hammers, and stop guides, using overhead cranes or other hoisting devices, and hand tools. · importance 4.3
• Start machines to produce sample workpieces, and observe operations to detect machine malfunctions and to verify that machine setups conform to specifications. · importance 4.3
• Confer with other workers about machine setups and operational specifications. · importance 4.1
• Trim and compress finished forgings to specified tolerances. · importance 4.1
• Remove dies from machines when production runs are finished. · importance 4.0
• Repair, maintain, and replace parts on dies. · importance 3.9
• Select, align, and bolt positioning fixtures, stops, and specified dies to rams and anvils, forging rolls, or presses and hammers. · importance 3.8
• Sharpen cutting tools and drill bits, using bench grinders. · importance 3.5

See all tasks on the Forging Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic page.

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-task-10079,
  title  = {Read work orders or blueprints to determine specified tolerances and sequences of operations for machine setup.},
  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/tasks/task-10079}
}