Direct ground workers engaged in activities such as moving stakes or markers, or changing positions of towers.

“Direct ground workers engaged in activities such as moving stakes or markers, or changing positions of towers.” is a supplemental task performed by Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining. Among the occupation's 16 rated tasks, workers place it 5th by importance (#12 most important). About 50% 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.

• Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures. in Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates

AI exposure

The OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rates this task E0. No direct exposure — current language models give little or no time savings on this task.

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 0.00. Automation potential label: T0.

Other tasks in this occupation

• Move levers, depress foot pedals, and turn dials to operate power machinery, such as power shovels, stripping shovels, scraper loaders, or backhoes. · importance 4.6
• Set up or inspect equipment prior to operation. · importance 4.6
• Become familiar with digging plans, machine capabilities and limitations, and efficient and safe digging procedures in a given application. · importance 4.4
• Observe hand signals, grade stakes, or other markings when operating machines so that work can be performed to specifications. · importance 4.4
• Operate machinery to perform activities such as backfilling excavations, vibrating or breaking rock or concrete, or making winter roads. · importance 4.2
• Receive written or oral instructions regarding material movement or excavation. · importance 4.0
• Direct workers engaged in placing blocks or outriggers to prevent capsizing of machines when lifting heavy loads. · importance 4.0
• Move materials over short distances, such as around a construction site, factory, or warehouse. · importance 4.0
• Measure and verify levels of rock or gravel, bases, or other excavated material. · importance 4.0
• Create or maintain inclines or ramps. · importance 3.9
• Lubricate, adjust, or repair machinery and replace parts, such as gears, bearings, or bucket teeth. · importance 3.9
• Adjust dig face angles for varying overburden depths and set lengths. · importance 3.7
• Handle slides, mud, or pit cleanings or maintenance. · importance 3.7
• Drive machines to work sites. · importance 3.7

See all tasks on the Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining 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-12790,
  title  = {Direct ground workers engaged in activities such as moving stakes or markers, or changing positions of towers.},
  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-12790}
}