AI Automation Index

Will AI Replace Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic?

Task-level automation exposure for Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic: 33 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.

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Developed & audited by Gini Loh

Automation Exposure

19% weighted task index

33 of 33 tasks scored

Median Salary

$43,960 / year

BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation

Employment Level

Medium

32,410 people hold this job — size, not growth

Projected 2025–35

-9.7% employment change

2,500 openings a year · BLS line item

Pay by state

BLS OEWS publishes 40 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.

$33,730 – $70,910

Highest medians

Iowa $70,910

Washington $58,000

Mississippi $52,090

Arkansas $51,140

Oklahoma $49,330

Lowest medians

Alabama $33,730

Louisiana $34,040

Kentucky $34,680

Connecticut $37,220

Nevada $37,460

State figures come from the 51-4193 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 19%

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

Physical work 71%

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

Judgment & influence 3%

Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.

Routine administration 4%

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 22/100 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

33 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) 7%

2 tasks

Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 3%

1 tasks

Low exposure (below 35%) 90%

30 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

#10311 · Core · 8% automatable

Immerse workpieces in coating solutions or liquid metal or plastic for specified times.

physical manipulation — Immersing workpieces in solutions by hand

Immerse objects or workpieces in cleaning or coating solutions.

#10326 · Core · 10% automatable

Adjust dials to regulate flow of current and voltage supplied to terminals to control plating processes.

physical manipulation — Physical electrical flow adjustment, safety-critical

Adjust flow of electricity to tools or production equipment.

#10309 · Core · 25% automatable

Inspect coated or plated areas for defects, such as air bubbles or uneven coverage.

visual inspection — Finish inspection is physical/sensory quality check

Inspect finishes of workpieces or finished products.

#10312 · Core · 12% automatable

Set up, operate, or tend plating or coating machines to coat metal or plastic products with chromium, zinc, copper, cadmium, nickel, or other metal to protect or decorate surfaces.

physical manipulation — Manual spray/coating control requires dexterity and judgment

Operate painting or coating equipment.

#10319 · Core · 27% automatable

Observe gauges to ensure that machines are operating properly, making adjustments or stopping machines when problems occur.

visual inspection — Sensor/vision monitoring possible, but physical verification and accountability remain human

Monitor equipment operation to ensure proper functioning. Operate painting or coating equipment.

#10318 · Core · 6% automatable

Remove objects from solutions at periodic intervals and observe objects to verify conformance to specifications.

physical manipulation — Physically extracting parts from production equipment

Remove products or workpieces from production equipment.

#10316 · Core · 82% automatable

Maintain production records.

data analysis — Record production data into structured logs

Record operational or production data.

#10342 · Core · 10% automatable

Remove excess materials or impurities from objects, using air hoses or grinding machines.

physical manipulation — Grinding requires hands-on control and feel

Trim excess material from workpieces. Operate grinding equipment.

#10328 · Core · 28% automatable

Examine completed objects to determine thicknesses of metal deposits, or measure thicknesses by using instruments such as micrometers.

physical manipulation — Hands-on dimensional measurement of workpieces

Measure dimensions of completed products or workpieces to verify conformance to specifications.

#10327 · Core · 9% automatable

Rinse coated objects in cleansing liquids and dry them with cloths, centrifugal driers, or by tumbling in sawdust-filled barrels.

physical manipulation — Hands-on cleaning of physical workpieces

Clean workpieces or finished products.

#10323 · Supplemental · 50% automatable

Determine sizes and compositions of objects to be plated, and amounts of electrical current and time required.

decision support — Method selection aided; engineering judgment human

Determine metal or plastic production methods.

#10314 · Supplemental · 30% automatable

Test machinery to ensure that it is operating properly.

physical manipulation — Operating production equipment physically on site

Conduct test runs of production equipment.

#10329 · Supplemental · 25% automatable

Measure or weigh materials, using rulers, calculators, and scales.

physical manipulation — Physical measuring and dispensing of ingredients

Measure ingredients or substances to be used in production processes.

#10331 · Supplemental · 22% automatable

Measure, mark, and mask areas to be excluded from plating.

physical manipulation — Marking reference points requires hands-on measurement

Measure materials to mark reference points, cutting lines, or other indicators.

#10310 · Supplemental · 9% automatable

Immerse objects to be coated or plated into cleaning solutions, or spray objects with conductive solutions to prepare them for plating.

physical manipulation — Applying finishes requires hands-on coating work

Immerse objects or workpieces in cleaning or coating solutions. Apply protective or decorative finishes to workpieces or products.

#10335 · Supplemental · 66% automatable

Read production schedules to determine setups of equipment and machines.

visual inspection — Blueprint setup reading partial, human confirms

Study blueprints or other instructions to determine equipment setup requirements.

#10330 · Supplemental · 8% automatable

Suspend objects, such as parts or molds from cathode rods, or negative terminals, and immerse objects in plating solutions.

physical manipulation — Immersing workpieces in solutions by hand

Immerse objects or workpieces in cleaning or coating solutions.

#10324 · Supplemental · 8% automatable

Suspend sticks or pieces of plating metal from anodes, or positive terminals, and immerse metal in plating solutions.

physical manipulation — Immersing workpieces in solutions by hand

Immerse objects or workpieces in cleaning or coating solutions.

#10317 · Supplemental · 12% automatable

Adjust controls to set temperatures of coating substances and speeds of machines and equipment.

physical manipulation — Manual spray/coating control requires dexterity and judgment

Operate painting or coating equipment.

#10325 · Supplemental · 28% automatable

Monitor and measure thicknesses of electroplating on component parts to verify conformance to specifications, using micrometers.

physical manipulation — Hands-on dimensional measurement of workpieces

Measure dimensions of completed products or workpieces to verify conformance to specifications.

#10315 · Supplemental · 10% automatable

Operate hoists to place workpieces onto machine feed carriages or spindles.

physical manipulation — Crane/hoist operation demands real-time physical control

Operate cranes, hoists, or other moving or lifting equipment.

#10313 · Supplemental · 5% automatable

Position and feed materials into processing machines, by hand or by using automated equipment.

physical manipulation — Feeding materials into equipment is physical

Feed materials or products into or through equipment.

#10337 · Supplemental · 5% automatable

Position objects to be plated in frames, or suspend them from positive or negative terminals of power supplies.

physical manipulation — Mounting workpieces is physical loading

Mount materials or workpieces onto production equipment.

#10345 · Supplemental · 9% automatable

Operate sandblasting equipment to roughen and clean surfaces of workpieces.

physical manipulation — Hands-on cleaning of physical workpieces

Clean workpieces or finished products.

#10322 · Supplemental · 8% automatable

Clean and maintain equipment, using water hoses and scrapers.

physical manipulation — Physical production equipment maintenance

Clean production equipment. Maintain production or processing equipment.

#10343 · Supplemental · 9% automatable

Clean workpieces, using wire brushes.

physical manipulation — Hands-on cleaning of physical workpieces

Clean workpieces or finished products.

#10332 · Supplemental · 14% automatable

Mix and test solutions, and turn valves to fill tanks with solutions.

physical manipulation — Hands-on production flow control

Mix substances to create chemical solutions. Adjust equipment controls to regulate flow of production materials or products.

#10340 · Supplemental · 10% automatable

Replace worn parts and adjust equipment components, using hand tools.

physical manipulation — Hands-on removal and fitting of worn components

Replace worn equipment components.

#10333 · Supplemental · 3% automatable

Place plated or coated materials on racks and transfer them to ovens to dry for specified periods of time.

physical manipulation — Manual loading into hot ovens or furnaces

Load items into ovens or furnaces.

#10338 · Supplemental · 5% automatable

Measure and set stops, rolls, brushes, and guides on automatic feeders and conveying equipment or coating machines, using micrometers, rules, and hand tools.

physical manipulation — Manual fixture adjustment

Set equipment guides, stops, spacers, or other fixtures.

#10320 · Supplemental · 7% automatable

Position containers to receive parts, and load or unload materials in containers, using dollies or handtrucks.

physical manipulation — Physical placement of containers for material flow

Load materials into production equipment. Position containers to receive materials or workpieces.

#10321 · Supplemental · 8% automatable

Perform equipment maintenance, such as cleaning tanks and lubricating moving parts of conveyors.

physical manipulation — Physical production equipment maintenance

Clean production equipment. Maintain production or processing equipment. Lubricate production equipment.

#10339 · Supplemental · 8% automatable

Preheat workpieces in ovens.

physical manipulation — Heating workpieces requires physical operation

Heat material or workpieces to prepare for or complete production.

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Community Sentiment

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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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