AI exposure: Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Set up, operate, or tend welding, soldering, or brazing machines or robots that weld, braze, solder, or heat treat metal products, components, or assemblies. Includes workers who operate laser cutters or laser-beam machines.
Reading this score
computedAt 16.5% of weighted task load, Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders sits at the 27th percentile, below the point where a job's centre of gravity has moved. 74.4% 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 29 tasks it averages 2.45 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 information on specified production reports, at 73.3%. The least is Dress electrodes, 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 48 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 29 tasks, 6 are currently banded exposed, 1 assisted and 22 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 | 0.97 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 2.45 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 0.21 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 0.72 | 0-3 |
| Context | 1.01 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 1.12 | 0-3 |
Task by task
29 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record operational information on specified production reports. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 4.03 | exposed |
| Compute and record settings for new work, applying knowledge of metal properties, principles of welding, and shop mathematics. | 64.2% | 23.3% | 12.5% | 3.80 | exposed |
| Turn and press knobs and buttons or enter operating instructions into computers to adjust and start welding machines. | 55.0% | 20.0% | 25.0% | 3.91 | exposed |
| Select torch tips, alloys, flux, coil, tubing, or wire, according to metal types or thicknesses, data charts, or records. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 3.97 | exposed |
| Read blueprints, work orders, or production schedules to determine product or job instructions or specifications. | 41.7% | 20.8% | 37.5% | 4.20 | exposed |
| Observe meters, gauges, or machine operations to ensure that soldering or brazing processes meet specifications. | 30.0% | 20.0% | 50.0% | 3.74 | exposed |
| Select, position, align, and bolt jigs, holding fixtures, guides, or stops onto machines, using measuring instruments and hand tools. | 25.0% | 12.5% | 62.5% | 3.83 | untouched |
| Give directions to other workers regarding machine set-up and use. | 20.0% | 30.0% | 50.0% | 3.86 | assisted |
| Set dials and timing controls to regulate electrical current, gas flow pressure, heating or cooling cycles, or shut-off. | 18.8% | 18.8% | 62.5% | 3.93 | untouched |
| Immerse completed workpieces into water or acid baths to cool and clean components. | 18.3% | 6.7% | 75.0% | 2.96 | untouched |
| Devise or build fixtures or jigs used to hold parts in place during welding, brazing, or soldering. | 15.8% | 9.2% | 75.0% | 3.48 | untouched |
| Anneal finished workpieces to relieve internal stress. | 15.0% | 10.0% | 75.0% | 3.74 | untouched |
| Conduct trial runs before welding, soldering, or brazing, and make necessary adjustments to equipment. | 11.7% | 13.3% | 75.0% | 3.90 | untouched |
| Prepare metal surfaces or workpieces, using hand-operated equipment, such as grinders, cutters, or drills. | 10.0% | 6.7% | 83.3% | 3.95 | untouched |
| Clean, lubricate, maintain, and adjust equipment to maintain efficient operation, using air hoses, cleaning fluids, and hand tools. | 4.8% | 3.5% | 91.7% | 3.83 | untouched |
| Inspect, measure, or test completed metal workpieces to ensure conformance to specifications, using measuring and testing devices. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.15 | untouched |
| Correct problems by adjusting controls or by stopping machines and opening holding devices. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.02 | untouched |
| Set up, operate, or tend welding machines that join or bond components to fabricate metal products or assemblies. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.02 | untouched |
| Lay out, fit, or connect parts to be bonded, calculating production measurements, as necessary. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.96 | untouched |
| Mark weld points and positions of components on workpieces, using rules, squares, templates, or scribes. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.95 | untouched |
| Assemble, align, and clamp workpieces into holding fixtures to bond, heat-treat, or solder fabricated metal components. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.91 | untouched |
| Remove completed workpieces or parts from machinery, using hand tools. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.81 | untouched |
| Transfer components, metal products, or assemblies, using moving equipment. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.60 | untouched |
| Add chemicals or materials to workpieces or machines to facilitate bonding or to cool workpieces. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.05 | untouched |
| Tend auxiliary equipment used in welding processes. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.87 | untouched |
| Load or feed workpieces into welding machines to join or bond components. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.74 | untouched |
| Fill hoppers and position spouts to direct flow of flux or manually brush flux onto seams of workpieces. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.60 | untouched |
| Start, monitor, and adjust robotic welding production lines. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.51 | untouched |
| Dress electrodes, using tip dressers, files, emery cloths, or dressing wheels. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.21 | 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.