AI exposure: Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Set up, operate, or tend more than one type of cutting or forming machine tool or robot.
Reading this score
computedAt 18.8% of weighted task load, Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic sits at the 32th percentile, below the point where a job's centre of gravity has moved. 70.8% 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 21 tasks it averages 2.43 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 Record operational data, at 73.3%. The least is Align layout marks with dies or blades, at 0.0%. A gap of 73.3% 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 production occupations, this one is more exposed than most. The median across the 107 roles in the group is 16.1%, and only 38 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 21 tasks, 7 are currently banded exposed, 0 assisted and 14 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 | 1.21 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 2.43 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 0.41 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 0.45 | 0-3 |
| Context | 1.13 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 1.00 | 0-3 |
Task by task
21 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record operational data, such as pressure readings, lengths of strokes, feed rates, or speeds. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 3.61 | exposed |
| Compute data, such as gear dimensions or machine settings, applying knowledge of shop mathematics. | 55.0% | 20.0% | 25.0% | 3.88 | exposed |
| Write programs for computer numerical control (CNC) machines to cut metal and plastic materials. | 47.5% | 27.5% | 25.0% | 3.67 | exposed |
| Read blueprints or job orders to determine product specifications and tooling instructions and to plan operational sequences. | 41.7% | 20.8% | 37.5% | 4.33 | exposed |
| Select the proper coolants and lubricants and start their flow. | 33.3% | 16.7% | 50.0% | 3.99 | exposed |
| Start machines and turn handwheels or valves to engage feeding, cooling, and lubricating mechanisms. | 33.3% | 16.7% | 50.0% | 3.86 | exposed |
| Select, install, and adjust alignment of drills, cutters, dies, guides, and holding devices, using templates, measuring instruments, and hand tools. | 27.8% | 13.9% | 58.3% | 4.33 | untouched |
| Observe machine operation to detect workpiece defects or machine malfunctions, adjusting machines as necessary. | 26.7% | 23.3% | 50.0% | 4.22 | exposed |
| Make minor electrical and mechanical repairs and adjustments to machines and notify supervisors when major service is required. | 20.0% | 17.5% | 62.5% | 3.90 | untouched |
| Move controls or mount gears, cams, or templates in machines to set feed rates and cutting speeds, depths, and angles. | 16.7% | 8.3% | 75.0% | 3.80 | untouched |
| Set up and operate machines, such as lathes, cutters, shears, borers, millers, grinders, presses, drills, or auxiliary machines, to make metallic and plastic workpieces. | 15.0% | 10.0% | 75.0% | 4.20 | untouched |
| Remove burrs, sharp edges, rust, or scale from workpieces, using files, hand grinders, wire brushes, or power tools. | 8.3% | 4.2% | 87.5% | 3.95 | untouched |
| Instruct other workers in machine set-up and operation. | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 3.68 | untouched |
| Perform minor machine maintenance, such as oiling or cleaning machines, dies, or workpieces, or adding coolant to machine reservoirs. | 4.8% | 3.5% | 91.7% | 3.95 | untouched |
| Inspect workpieces for defects, and measure workpieces to determine accuracy of machine operation, using rules, templates, or other measuring instruments. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.56 | untouched |
| Position, adjust, and secure stock material or workpieces against stops, on arbors, or in chucks, fixtures, or automatic feeding mechanisms, manually or using hoists. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.37 | untouched |
| Change worn machine accessories, such as cutting tools or brushes, using hand tools. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.08 | untouched |
| Set machine stops or guides to specified lengths as indicated by scales, rules, or templates. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.05 | untouched |
| Extract or lift jammed pieces from machines, using fingers, wire hooks, or lift bars. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.48 | untouched |
| Measure and mark reference points and cutting lines on workpieces, using traced templates, compasses, and rules. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.13 | untouched |
| Align layout marks with dies or blades. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.49 | 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.