Community Sentiment
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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Hoist and Winch Operators?
Task-level automation exposure for Hoist and Winch Operators: 13 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
16%
weighted task index
13 of 13 tasks scored
Median Salary
$56,450 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Low
2,600 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+0.2%
employment change
300 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 17 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$21,890 – $118,210
Highest medians
Illinois $118,210
Hawaii $107,100
Maryland $99,840
Minnesota $78,400
New York $74,980
Lowest medians
Puerto Rico $21,890
Florida $33,570
Wisconsin $36,560
Virginia $37,020
Georgia $37,870
State figures come from the 53-7041 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 16%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 83%
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 36/100
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
13 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%
12 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
#4985 · Core · 22% automatable
Signal and assist other workers loading or unloading materials.
interpersonal — Material-handling coordination tied to physical operations
Load shipments, belongings, or materials. Communicate with others to coordinate material handling or movement.
#4981 · Core · 30% automatable
Observe equipment gauges and indicators and hand signals of other workers to verify load positions or depths.
visual inspection — Gauge reading requires physical presence
Monitor equipment gauges or displays to ensure proper operation.
#4980 · Core · 10% automatable
Start engines of hoists or winches and use levers and pedals to wind or unwind cable on drums.
physical manipulation — Crane/hoist operation demands real-time physical control
Operate cranes, hoists, or other moving or lifting equipment.
#4987 · Core · 10% automatable
Apply hand or foot brakes and move levers to lock hoists or winches.
physical manipulation — Crane/hoist operation demands real-time physical control
Operate cranes, hoists, or other moving or lifting equipment.
#4990 · Core · 8% automatable
Repair, maintain, and adjust equipment, using hand tools.
physical manipulation — Physical maintenance of material moving equipment
Maintain material moving equipment in good working condition.
#4991 · Core · 10% automatable
Tend auxiliary equipment, such as jacks, slings, cables, or stop blocks, to facilitate moving items or materials for further processing.
physical manipulation — Crane/hoist operation demands real-time physical control
Operate cranes, hoists, or other moving or lifting equipment.
#4979 · Core · 10% automatable
Move levers, pedals, and throttles to stop, start, and regulate speeds of hoist or winch drums in response to hand, bell, buzzer, telephone, loud-speaker, or whistle signals, or by observing dial indicators or cable marks.
physical manipulation — Crane/hoist operation demands real-time physical control
Operate cranes, hoists, or other moving or lifting equipment.
#4984 · Core · 58% automatable
Select loads or materials according to weight and size specifications.
decision support — Project material selection needs spec and site judgment
Select project materials.
#4983 · Core · 8% automatable
Move or reposition hoists, winches, loads and materials, manually or using equipment and machines such as trucks, cars, and hand trucks.
physical manipulation — Manual moving of materials and supplies
Move materials, equipment, or supplies. Position material handling equipment.
#4986 · Core · 10% automatable
Attach, fasten, and disconnect cables or lines to loads, materials, and equipment, using hand tools.
physical manipulation — Connecting cables is hands-on installation
Connect cables or electrical lines.
#4988 · Core · 8% automatable
Oil winch drums so that cables will wind smoothly.
physical manipulation — Physical maintenance of material moving equipment
Maintain material moving equipment in good working condition.
#4982 · Supplemental · 10% automatable
Operate compressed air, diesel, electric, gasoline, or steam-driven hoists or winches to control movement of cableways, cages, derricks, draglines, loaders, railcars, or skips.
physical manipulation — Crane/hoist operation demands real-time physical control
Operate cranes, hoists, or other moving or lifting equipment.
#4989 · Supplemental · 3% automatable
Climb ladders to position and set up vehicle-mounted derricks.
situated mobility — Climbing ladders requires physical balance
Climb ladders or vehicles to perform duties.
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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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