AI Automation Index

Will AI Replace Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters?

Task-level automation exposure for Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters: 15 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.

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Developed & audited by Gini Loh

Automation Exposure

10% weighted task index

15 of 15 tasks scored

Median Salary

$42,360 / year

BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation

Employment Level

Medium

44,330 people hold this job — size, not growth

Projected 2025–35

+2.4% employment change

4,400 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.

$25,560 – $56,140

Highest medians

Washington $56,140

Hawaii $52,000

New York $52,000

Maine $48,410

Arizona $47,990

Lowest medians

Puerto Rico $25,560

Missouri $34,630

West Virginia $35,930

Delaware $36,070

South Dakota $36,500

State figures come from the 47-3015 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 10%

Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.

Physical work 100%

Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.

Judgment & influence 8%

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 13/100 Low

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

15 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) 0%

0 tasks

Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 8%

1 tasks

Low exposure (below 35%) 92%

14 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

#4861 · Core · 5% automatable

Fit or assist in fitting valves, couplings, or assemblies to tanks, pumps, or systems, using hand tools.

physical manipulation — Physical assisting of skilled trades on site

Assist skilled construction or extraction personnel. Install building fixtures.

#4859 · Core · 4% automatable

Mount brackets and hangers on walls and ceilings to hold pipes, and set sleeves or inserts to provide support for pipes.

physical manipulation — Hands-on plumbing in structures

Install plumbing or piping.

#20144 · Core · 10% automatable

Perform rough-ins, repair and replace fixtures and water heaters, and locate, repair, or remove leaking or broken pipes.

physical manipulation — Plumbing repair is manual dexterity in situ

Maintain plumbing structures or fixtures.

#4864 · Core · 7% automatable

Cut pipe and lift up to fitters.

physical manipulation — Manual moving of construction materials on site

Move construction or extraction materials to locations where they are needed. Cut metal components for installation.

#4858 · Core · 11% automatable

Measure, cut, thread and assemble new pipe, placing the assembled pipe in hangers or other supports.

physical manipulation — Physical measurement for assembly fitting

Measure materials or objects for installation or assembly. Cut metal components for installation. Install plumbing or piping.

#4862 · Core · 6% automatable

Assist pipe fitters in the layout, assembly, and installation of piping for air, ammonia, gas, and water systems.

physical manipulation — Physical assisting of skilled trades on site

Assist skilled construction or extraction personnel.

#4860 · Core · 39% automatable

Requisition tools and equipment, select type and size of pipe, and collect and transport materials and equipment to work site.

decision support — Construction material selection needs code and site judgment

Select construction materials. Move construction or extraction materials to locations where they are needed. Order construction or extraction materials or equipment.

#4865 · Core · 5% automatable

Disassemble and remove damaged or worn pipe.

physical manipulation — Hands-on removal of worn materials

Remove worn, damaged or outdated materials from work areas.

#4857 · Core · 9% automatable

Cut or drill holes in walls or floors to accommodate the passage of pipes.

physical manipulation — Drilling construction materials is hands-on tool work

Cut openings in existing structures. Drill holes in construction materials.

#4866 · Core · 10% automatable

Clean shop, work area, and machines, using solvent and rags.

physical manipulation — Equipment and facility cleaning is hands-on

Clean equipment or facilities.

#4863 · Core · 4% automatable

Excavate and grade ditches, and lay and join pipe for water and sewer service.

physical manipulation — Hands-on plumbing in structures

Dig holes or trenches. Install plumbing or piping.

#4868 · Supplemental · 10% automatable

Immerse pipe in chemical solution to remove dirt, oil, and scale.

physical manipulation — Equipment and facility cleaning is hands-on

Clean equipment or facilities.

#4869 · Supplemental · 10% automatable

Clean and renew steam traps.

physical manipulation — Equipment and facility cleaning is hands-on

Clean equipment or facilities. Maintain plumbing structures or fixtures.

#4870 · Supplemental · 6% automatable

Fill pipes with sand or resin to prevent distortion, and hold pipes during bending and installation.

physical manipulation — Physical assisting of skilled trades on site

Assist skilled construction or extraction personnel.

#4867 · Supplemental · 5% automatable

Install gas burners to convert furnaces from wood, coal, or oil.

physical manipulation — Physical assembly of products by hand

Assemble products or production equipment.

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Community Sentiment

Do you agree?

Do you agree with the AI automation risk score calculated for this occupation?

Method

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

See the full method →

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