Job Check
Maintenance Workers, Machinery
Lubricate machinery, change parts, or perform other routine machinery maintenance.
10 main tasks · most important first
Your main tasks and AI
Importance- 01Dismantle machines and remove parts for repair, using hand tools, chain falls, jacks, cranes, or hoists.Mostly human for now
- 02Reassemble machines after the completion of repair or maintenance work.Mostly human for now
- 03Record production, repair, and machine maintenance information.AI could speed this up a lot
- 04Lubricate or apply adhesives or other materials to machines, machine parts, or other equipment according to specified procedures.Mostly human for now
- 05Install, replace, or change machine parts and attachments, according to production specifications.Mostly human for now
- 06Set up and operate machines, and adjust controls to regulate operations.Mostly human for now
- 07Collaborate with other workers to repair or move machines, machine parts, or equipment.Mostly human for now
- 08Read work orders and specifications to determine machines and equipment requiring repair or maintenance.AI could speed this up a lot
- 09Inspect or test damaged machine parts, and mark defective areas or advise supervisors of repair needs.Mostly human for now
- 10Start machines and observe mechanical operation to determine efficiency and to detect problems.Mostly human for now
Tasks from O*NET® 31.0 (US Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0, changed by us), most important first. “Already use” comes from Anthropic’s data on real work chats with Claude; “could speed up” from task ratings made with GPT-4 in 2023.
Four studies, side by side
None is a forecast of job lossToo little dataNot enough work use was seen to measure. This does not mean the job is safe from AI.Anthropic, 2026
14%of this job’s tasks an AI model could do in half the time, counting tasks that need extra tools as half (rated in 2023).Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin and Rock, 2023
Above 30% of jobsin how often and how well AI helped with this job’s work in Microsoft Copilot chats (2024 data).Microsoft Research (Tomlinson et al.), 2025
Above 72% of jobsin how much of this job’s physical work robots have been shown to do, from factories to homes (2026).Anthropic, 2026
Your human edge
The main tasks with no real AI use seen and no big speed-up expected. This is where your skill counts most today.
- Dismantle machines and remove parts for repair, using hand tools, chain falls, jacks, cranes, or hoists.
- Reassemble machines after the completion of repair or maintenance work.
- Lubricate or apply adhesives or other materials to machines, machine parts, or other equipment according to specified procedures.