AI Automation Index

Will AI Replace Textile Bleaching and Dyeing Machine Operators and Tenders?

Task-level automation exposure for Textile Bleaching and Dyeing Machine Operators and Tenders: 23 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.

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Automation Exposure

26% weighted task index

23 of 23 tasks scored

Median Salary

$38,180 / year

BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation

Employment Level

Low

5,310 people hold this job — size, not growth

Projected 2025–35

-12.5% employment change

600 openings a year · BLS line item

Pay by state

BLS OEWS publishes 14 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.

$29,850 – $45,930

Highest medians

Rhode Island $45,930

Michigan $44,720

Mississippi $43,640

Georgia $41,960

South Carolina $39,410

Lowest medians

Florida $29,850

Wisconsin $30,930

Alabama $33,190

New Jersey $36,570

California $36,670

State figures come from the 51-6061 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 46%

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

Judgment & influence 0%

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 16/100 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

23 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) 12%

3 tasks

Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 14%

3 tasks

Low exposure (below 35%) 74%

17 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

#23982 · Core · 25% automatable

Weigh ingredients, such as dye, to be mixed together for use in textile processing.

physical manipulation — Physical measuring and dispensing of ingredients

Measure ingredients or substances to be used in production processes.

#14127 · Core · 10% automatable

Start and control machines and equipment to wash, bleach, dye, or otherwise process and finish fabric, yarn, thread, or other textile goods.

physical manipulation — Hands-on operation of garment treatment machinery

Operate garment treatment equipment.

#14124 · Core · 42% automatable

Observe display screens, control panels, equipment, and cloth entering or exiting processes to determine if equipment is operating correctly.

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

Monitor equipment operation to ensure proper functioning.

#14122 · Core · 65% automatable

Notify supervisors or mechanics of equipment malfunctions.

text generation — Notifying maintenance needs is routine messaging

Notify others of equipment repair or maintenance needs.

#14126 · Core · 25% automatable

Monitor factors such as temperatures and dye flow rates to ensure that they are within specified ranges.

visual inspection — Physical product flaw monitoring is on-machine

Monitor equipment operation to ensure that products are not flawed.

#14121 · Core · 10% automatable

Add dyes, water, detergents, or chemicals to tanks to dilute or strengthen solutions, according to established formulas and solution test results.

physical manipulation — Applying solutions to equipment is manual

Apply solutions to production equipment.

#14128 · Core · 22% automatable

Examine and feel products to identify defects and variations from coloring and other processing standards.

visual inspection — Textile inspection is tactile and visual, hands-on

Inspect textile products.

#14123 · Core · 14% automatable

Adjust equipment controls to maintain specified heat, tension, and speed.

physical manipulation — Manual temperature control adjustment

Operate garment treatment equipment. Adjust temperature controls of ovens or other heating equipment.

#14138 · Core · 8% automatable

Soak specified textile products for designated times.

physical manipulation — Immersing workpieces in solutions by hand

Immerse objects or workpieces in cleaning or coating solutions.

#14134 · Core · 18% automatable

Inspect machinery to determine necessary adjustments and repairs.

visual inspection — Physical inspection of production machinery in situ

Inspect production equipment.

#14133 · Core · 55% automatable

Confer with coworkers to get information about order details, processing plans, or problems that occur.

interpersonal — Colleague information exchange is relational, contextual

Exchange information with colleagues.

#14136 · Supplemental · 4% automatable

Sew ends of cloth together, by hand or using machines, to form endless lengths of cloth to facilitate processing.

physical manipulation — Sewing clothing requires fine manual dexterity

Sew clothing or other articles.

#14142 · Supplemental · 4% automatable

Ravel seams that connect cloth ends when processing is completed.

physical manipulation — Sewing materials is tactile hands-on craft

Sew materials.

#14131 · Supplemental · 6% automatable

Remove dyed articles from tanks and machines for drying and further processing.

physical manipulation — Physically extracting parts from production equipment

Remove products or workpieces from production equipment.

#14132 · Supplemental · 61% automatable

Study guides, charts, and specification sheets, and confer with supervisors to determine machine setup requirements.

visual inspection — Blueprint setup reading partial, human confirms

Study blueprints or other instructions to determine equipment setup requirements. Exchange information with colleagues.

#14125 · Supplemental · 30% automatable

Prepare dyeing machines for production runs, and conduct test runs of machines to ensure their proper operation.

physical manipulation — Operating production equipment physically on site

Conduct test runs of production equipment.

#14137 · Supplemental · 55% automatable

Key in processing instructions to program electronic equipment.

physical manipulation — Command entry often needs physical equipment interface

Enter commands, instructions, or specifications into equipment.

#14130 · Supplemental · 22% automatable

Test solutions used to process textile goods to detect variations from standards.

physical manipulation — Chemical/physical testing requires lab manipulation

Test chemical or physical characteristics of materials or products.

#14129 · Supplemental · 82% automatable

Record production information such as fabric yardage processed, temperature readings, fabric tensions, and machine speeds.

data analysis — Record production data into structured logs

Record operational or production data.

#14139 · Supplemental · 5% automatable

Thread ends of cloth or twine through specified sections of equipment prior to processing.

physical manipulation — Feeding materials into equipment is physical

Feed materials or products into or through equipment.

#14140 · Supplemental · 7% automatable

Mount rolls of cloth on machines, using hoists, or place textile goods in machines or pieces of equipment.

physical manipulation — Rigging and lifting loads with cranes is hands-on

Load materials into production equipment. Lift materials or workpieces using cranes or other lifting equipment.

#14143 · Supplemental · 5% automatable

Install, level, and align components such as gears, chains, dies, cutters, and needles.

physical manipulation — Mounting tools requires hands-on setup

Mount attachments or tools onto production equipment. Install mechanical components in production equipment.

#14141 · Supplemental · 8% automatable

Perform machine maintenance, such as cleaning and oiling equipment, and repair or replace worn or defective parts.

physical manipulation — Hands-on repair of production machinery

Clean production equipment. Repair production equipment or tools. Maintain production or processing equipment.

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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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