AI exposure: Insulation Workers, Mechanical
Apply insulating materials to pipes or ductwork, or other mechanical systems in order to help control and maintain temperature.
Reading this score
computedAt 12.3% of weighted task load, Insulation Workers, Mechanical sits at the 19th percentile, below the point where a job's centre of gravity has moved. 77.7% of what this role does is untouched, meaning current systems cannot produce that work at all, whatever the commercial incentive.
What holds the line here is embodiment. Across this occupation's 9 tasks it averages 2.33 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, the work has to happen in physical space. A language model cannot move matter. Until the robotics to do this work is both good enough and cheap enough to deploy widely, capability in software does not reach it.
The most exposed thing this job does is Select appropriate insulation, at 40.0%. The least is Prepare surfaces for insulation application by brushing or spreading on adhesives, cement, or..., at 0.0%. A gap of 40.0% between two parts of the same job is the reason this index publishes at task level. An occupation-wide number would have hidden both.
Within construction and extraction occupations, this one is more exposed than most. The median across the 61 roles in the group is 5.0%, and only 7 of them score higher than this. Occupational families are not uniform, and the spread inside them is often wider than the gap between them.
What would move this score. Of 9 tasks, 3 are currently banded exposed, 0 assisted and 6 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take robotics cheap and reliable enough to deploy at scale, not a better language model. The score is re-computed every quarter against a fresh capability reference, and the change is published rather than quietly applied.
Where the score comes from
judgedEvery task is scored through the standardised work activities it maps to. These are this occupation’s averages on the six rubric dimensions. Capability is what AI can do; the other five are what stands in the way.
| Dimension | Mean | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | 0.89 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 2.33 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 0.00 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 0.94 | 0-3 |
| Context | 1.28 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 1.44 | 0-3 |
Task by task
9 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Select appropriate insulation, such as fiberglass, Styrofoam, or cork, based on the heat retaining or excluding characteristics of the material. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 4.41 | exposed |
| Determine the amounts and types of insulation needed, and methods of installation, based on factors such as location, surface shape, and equipment use. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 4.26 | exposed |
| Read blueprints and specifications to determine job requirements. | 30.0% | 20.0% | 50.0% | 4.18 | exposed |
| Measure and cut insulation for covering surfaces, using tape measures, handsaws, knives, and scissors. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.68 | untouched |
| Apply, remove, and repair insulation on industrial equipment, pipes, ductwork, or other mechanical systems such as heat exchangers, tanks, and vessels, to help control noise and maintain temperatures. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.44 | untouched |
| Fit insulation around obstructions, and shape insulating materials and protective coverings as required. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.38 | untouched |
| Cover, seal, or finish insulated surfaces or access holes with plastic covers, canvas strips, sealants, tape, cement, or asphalt mastic. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.21 | untouched |
| Install sheet metal around insulated pipes with screws to protect the insulation from weather conditions or physical damage. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.20 | untouched |
| Prepare surfaces for insulation application by brushing or spreading on adhesives, cement, or asphalt, or by attaching metal pins to surfaces. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.12 | untouched |
Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean.
Occupations either side of this one
The four closest scores in the same occupational family, then the four closest anywhere in the index.
Read this carefully. Exposure is not displacement. A high score means current AI systems can produce this work, not that anyone will stop paying a person to do it. Adoption depends on economics, regulation and inertia that this index deliberately does not model. How the score is built.
What this means in practice
Most of this work is not reachable by current systems, so the immediate pressure is on the administrative edges of the role rather than its core: the scheduling, the reporting, the written records. That is where time is recovered.