AI exposure: Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Set up, operate, or tend continuous flow or vat-type equipment; filter presses; shaker screens; centrifuges; condenser tubes; precipitating, fermenting, or evaporating tanks; scrubbing towers; or batch stills. These machines extract, sort, or separate liquids, gases, or solids from other materials to recover a refined product. Includes dairy processing equipment operators.
Reading this score
computedAt 19.8% of weighted task load, Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders sits at the 35th percentile, below the point where a job's centre of gravity has moved. 68.9% 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 20 tasks it averages 2.47 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 Maintain logs of instrument readings, test results, or shift production for entry in computer..., at 73.3%. The least is Remove full containers from discharge outlets and replace them with empty containers, 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 28 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 20 tasks, 5 are currently banded exposed, 1 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 | 1.12 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 2.47 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 0.47 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 0.67 | 0-3 |
| Context | 1.06 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 0.97 | 0-3 |
Task by task
20 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maintain logs of instrument readings, test results, or shift production for entry in computer databases. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 4.52 | exposed |
| Communicate processing instructions to other workers. | 60.0% | 15.0% | 25.0% | 4.49 | exposed |
| Monitor material flow or instruments, such as temperature or pressure gauges, indicators, or meters, to ensure optimal processing conditions. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 4.76 | exposed |
| Set up or adjust machine controls to regulate conditions such as material flow, temperature, or pressure. | 33.3% | 16.7% | 50.0% | 4.69 | exposed |
| Turn valves to pump sterilizing solutions or rinse water through pipes or equipment or to spray vats with atomizers. | 33.3% | 16.7% | 50.0% | 4.41 | exposed |
| Turn valves or move controls to admit, drain, separate, filter, clarify, mix, or transfer materials. | 27.8% | 13.9% | 58.3% | 4.40 | untouched |
| Start agitators, shakers, conveyors, pumps, or centrifuge machines. | 25.0% | 12.5% | 62.5% | 4.32 | untouched |
| Operate machines to process materials in compliance with applicable safety, energy, or environmental regulations. | 20.0% | 30.0% | 50.0% | 4.60 | assisted |
| Inspect machines or equipment for hazards, operating efficiency, malfunctions, wear, or leaks. | 13.3% | 11.7% | 75.0% | 4.69 | untouched |
| Test samples to determine viscosity, acidity, specific gravity, or degree of concentration, using test equipment such as viscometers, pH meters, or hydrometers. | 11.7% | 13.3% | 75.0% | 4.54 | untouched |
| Examine samples to verify qualities such as clarity, cleanliness, consistency, dryness, or texture. | 11.7% | 13.3% | 75.0% | 4.47 | untouched |
| Install, maintain, or repair hoses, pumps, filters, or screens to maintain processing equipment, using hand tools. | 4.3% | 4.1% | 91.7% | 4.29 | untouched |
| Collect samples of materials or products for laboratory analysis. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.66 | untouched |
| Clean or sterilize tanks, screens, inflow pipes, production areas, or equipment, using hoses, brushes, scrapers, or chemical solutions. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.49 | untouched |
| Measure or weigh materials to be refined, mixed, transferred, stored, or otherwise processed. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.47 | untouched |
| Dump, pour, or load specified amounts of refined or unrefined materials into equipment or containers for further processing or storage. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.44 | untouched |
| Assemble fittings, valves, bowls, plates, disks, impeller shafts, or other parts to prepare equipment for operation. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.42 | untouched |
| Remove clogs, defects, or impurities from machines, tanks, conveyors, screens, or other processing equipment. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.34 | untouched |
| Connect pipes between vats and processing equipment. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.20 | untouched |
| Remove full containers from discharge outlets and replace them with empty containers. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.91 | 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.