Design new equipment to aid in the repair or maintenance of machines, mechanical equipment, or building structures.

“Design new equipment to aid in the repair or maintenance of machines, mechanical equipment, or building structures.” is a core task performed by Maintenance and Repair Workers, General. Among the occupation's 30 rated tasks, workers place it 23rd by importance (#8 most important). About 73% 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.

• Design industrial systems or equipment. in Drafting, Laying Out, and Specifying Technical Devices, Parts, and Equipment

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

• Perform routine maintenance, such as inspecting drives, motors, or belts, checking fluid levels, replacing filters, or doing other preventive maintenance actions. · importance 4.3
• Inspect, operate, or test machinery or equipment to diagnose machine malfunctions. · importance 4.0
• Adjust functional parts of devices or control instruments, using hand tools, levels, plumb bobs, or straightedges. · importance 3.9
• Repair machines, equipment, or structures, using tools such as hammers, hoists, saws, drills, wrenches, or equipment such as precision measuring instruments or electrical or electronic testing devices. · importance 3.9
• Order parts, supplies, or equipment from catalogs or suppliers. · importance 3.8
• Perform routine maintenance on boilers, such as replacing burners or hoses, installing replacement parts, or reinforcing structural weaknesses to ensure optimal boiler efficiency. · importance 3.8
• Diagnose mechanical problems and determine how to correct them, checking blueprints, repair manuals, or parts catalogs, as necessary. · importance 3.8
• Assemble, install, or repair wiring, electrical or electronic components, pipe systems, plumbing, machinery, or equipment. · importance 3.8
• Clean or lubricate shafts, bearings, gears, or other parts of machinery. · importance 3.7
• Provide groundskeeping services, such as landscaping or snow removal. · importance 3.7
• Maintain or repair specialized equipment or machinery located in cafeterias, laundries, hospitals, stores, offices, or factories. · importance 3.7
• Estimate costs to repair machinery, equipment, or building structures. · importance 3.7
• Record type and cost of maintenance or repair work. · importance 3.7
• Operate cutting torches or welding equipment to cut or join metal parts. · importance 3.7

See all tasks on the Maintenance and Repair Workers, General 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-20679,
  title  = {Design new equipment to aid in the repair or maintenance of machines, mechanical equipment, or building structures.},
  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-20679}
}