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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic?
Task-level automation exposure for Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic: 18 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
26%
weighted task index
18 of 18 tasks scored
Median Salary
$46,550 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Medium
67,000 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
-10.8%
employment change
4,500 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 49 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$31,400 – $57,290
Highest medians
Oregon $57,290
Minnesota $51,780
Massachusetts $50,910
Vermont $50,640
West Virginia $49,950
Lowest medians
Puerto Rico $31,400
New Mexico $38,020
Alabama $38,170
Oklahoma $38,570
Louisiana $38,650
State figures come from the 51-4033 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.
What the score is made of
Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.
Automation potential 26%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 65%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 6%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 0%
Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.
Rewritten by O*NET 0%
Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.
Consequence of error 30/100
Moderate
O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.
Constituent Task Mix
18 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.
High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 16%
3 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 12%
2 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 72%
13 tasks
How would you survive?
Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.
Simulate Upskilling →Constituent Tasks
#10145 · Core · 18% automatable
Measure workpieces and lay out work, using precision measuring devices.
physical manipulation — Hands-on dimensional measurement of workpieces
Measure dimensions of completed products or workpieces to verify conformance to specifications. Lay out parts to prepare for assembly.
#10140 · Core · 28% automatable
Inspect or measure finished workpieces to determine conformance to specifications, using measuring instruments, such as gauges or micrometers.
physical manipulation — Hands-on dimensional measurement of workpieces
Measure dimensions of completed products or workpieces to verify conformance to specifications.
#10144 · Core · 12% automatable
Set and adjust machine controls according to product specifications, using knowledge of machine operation.
physical manipulation — Grinding requires hands-on control and feel
Operate grinding equipment.
#10143 · Core · 38% automatable
Observe machine operations to detect any problems, making necessary adjustments to correct problems.
visual inspection — Malfunction detection relies on live physical observation
Watch operating equipment to detect malfunctions.
#10149 · Core · 9% automatable
Activate machine start-up switches to grind, lap, hone, debar, shear, or cut workpieces, according to specifications.
physical manipulation — Grinding requires hands-on control and feel
Reshape metal workpieces to established specifications. Operate grinding equipment. Operate cutting equipment.
#10147 · Core · 73% automatable
Study blueprints, work orders, or machining instructions to determine product specifications, tool requirements, and operational sequences.
information retrieval — Parse specs and materials from orders
Read work orders or other instructions to determine product specifications or materials requirements. Review blueprints or other instructions to determine operational methods or sequences.
#10141 · Core · 8% automatable
Lift and position workpieces, manually or with hoists, and secure them in hoppers or on machine tables, faceplates, or chucks, using clamps.
physical manipulation — Rigging and lifting loads with cranes is hands-on
Mount materials or workpieces onto production equipment. Lift materials or workpieces using cranes or other lifting equipment.
#10150 · Core · 12% automatable
Move machine controls to index workpieces, and to adjust machines for pre-selected operational settings.
physical manipulation — Grinding requires hands-on control and feel
Operate grinding equipment.
#10146 · Core · 55% automatable
Select machine tooling to be used, using knowledge of machine and production requirements.
decision support — Equipment selection against specs; human verifies fit
Select production equipment according to product specifications.
#10148 · Core · 5% automatable
Mount and position tools in machine chucks, spindles, or other tool holding devices, using hand tools.
physical manipulation — Mounting tools requires hands-on setup
Mount attachments or tools onto production equipment.
#10142 · Core · 12% automatable
Set up, operate, or tend grinding and related tools that remove excess material or burrs from surfaces, sharpen edges or corners, or buff, hone, or polish metal or plastic workpieces.
physical manipulation — Grinding requires hands-on control and feel
Operate grinding equipment.
#10152 · Core · 72% automatable
Compute machine indexings and settings for specified dimensions and base reference points.
data analysis — Dimension calculations from given specs
Calculate dimensions of workpieces, products, or equipment.
#10156 · Core · 28% automatable
Repair or replace machine parts, using hand tools, or notify engineering personnel when corrective action is required.
text generation — Notifying maintenance needs is routine messaging
Replace worn equipment components. Repair production equipment or tools. Notify others of equipment repair or maintenance needs.
#10151 · Core · 13% automatable
Brush or spray lubricating compounds on workpieces, or turn valve handles and direct flow of coolant against tools and workpieces.
physical manipulation — Physical valve/control manipulation for coolant
Adjust equipment controls to regulate coolant flow. Apply lubricants or coolants to workpieces.
#10157 · Supplemental · 70% automatable
Maintain stocks of machine parts and machining tools.
data analysis — Materials inventory records and forecasting automatable
Maintain inventories of materials, equipment, or products.
#10155 · Supplemental · 5% automatable
Adjust air cylinders and setting stops to set traverse lengths and feed arm strokes.
physical manipulation — Manual fixture adjustment
Set equipment guides, stops, spacers, or other fixtures.
#10153 · Supplemental · 5% automatable
Slide spacers between buffs on spindles to set spacing.
physical manipulation — Manual fixture adjustment
Set equipment guides, stops, spacers, or other fixtures.
#10154 · Supplemental · 5% automatable
Thread and hand-feed materials through machine cutters or abraders.
physical manipulation — Feeding materials into equipment is physical
Feed materials or products into or through equipment.
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How this was scored
- 1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
- 2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
- 3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
- 4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.
Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.
Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast
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