Maintain complete records of engineering department activities, including machine operations.

“Maintain complete records of engineering department activities, including machine operations.” is a core task performed by Ship Engineers. Among the occupation's 17 rated tasks, workers place it 10th by importance (#8 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.

• Maintain operational records. in Documenting/Recording Information

AI exposure

The OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rates this task E1. Direct exposure — a language model could plausibly cut the time to do this task 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 1.00. Automation potential label: T3.

Other tasks in this occupation

• Monitor engine, machinery, or equipment indicators when vessels are underway, and report abnormalities to appropriate shipboard staff. · importance 4.8
• Monitor the availability, use, or condition of lifesaving equipment or pollution preventatives to ensure that international regulations are followed. · importance 4.8
• Monitor and test operations of engines or other equipment so that malfunctions and their causes can be identified. · importance 4.7
• Start engines to propel ships, and regulate engines and power transmissions to control speeds of ships, according to directions from captains or bridge computers. · importance 4.7
• Perform or participate in emergency drills, as required. · importance 4.6
• Perform general marine vessel maintenance or repair work, such as repairing leaks, finishing interiors, refueling, or maintaining decks. · importance 4.5
• Maintain or repair engines, electric motors, pumps, winches, or other mechanical or electrical equipment, or assist other crew members with maintenance or repair duties. · importance 4.5
• Operate or maintain off-loading liquid pumps or valves. · importance 4.4
• Maintain electrical power, heating, ventilation, refrigeration, water, or sewerage systems. · importance 4.2
• Install engine controls, propeller shafts, or propellers. · importance 4.2
• Clean engine parts and keep engine rooms clean. · importance 4.2
• Record orders for changes in ship speed or direction, and note gauge readings or test data, such as revolutions per minute or voltage output, in engineering logs or bellbooks. · importance 4.0
• Order and receive engine room stores, such as oil or spare parts, maintain inventories, and record usage of supplies. · importance 4.0
• Act as a liaison between a ship's captain and shore personnel to ensure that schedules and budgets are maintained and that the ship is operated safely and efficiently. · importance 4.0

See all tasks on the Ship Engineers 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-14557,
  title  = {Maintain complete records of engineering department activities, including machine operations.},
  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-14557}
}