Will AI replace Maintenance and Repair Workers, General?
Estimated risk score: 20 out of 100
Very low replacement risk
Estimate from published task research, not reviewed by a person · how we estimate
Within about 19 points for 4 in 5 of the jobs we checked (1 to 39).
For the occupation as a whole, from ratings of its 30 O*NET tasks published in 2023 and calibrated to our hand scores. A specialty inside it can sit higher or lower.
O*NET-SOC 49-9071.00 · Installation, Maintenance, and Repair
Tasks rated in 2023 as ones AI could do or speed up
Tasks a GPT-4-class model could do, or do in half the time or less: 2 of its 30 rated tasks. In O*NET’s words.
- Record type and cost of maintenance or repair work.
- Order parts, supplies, or equipment from catalogs or suppliers.
Tasks rated in 2023 as not sped up by AI
Tasks such a model was rated as not speeding up or taking over: 24 of its 30 rated tasks; the first 6 are shown. In O*NET’s words.
- Adjust functional parts of devices or control instruments, using hand tools, levels, plumb bobs, or straightedges.
- Align and balance new equipment after installation.
- Assemble, install, or repair wiring, electrical or electronic components, pipe systems, plumbing, machinery, or equipment.
- Clean or lubricate shafts, bearings, gears, or other parts of machinery.
- Dismantle machines, equipment, or devices to access and remove defective parts, using hoists, cranes, hand tools, or power tools.
- Fabricate or repair counters, benches, partitions, or other wooden structures, such as sheds or outbuildings.
What the job is
Perform work involving the skills of two or more maintenance or craft occupations to keep machines, mechanical equipment, or the structure of a building in repair. Duties may involve pipe fitting; HVAC maintenance; insulating; welding; machining; carpentry; repairing electrical or mechanical equipment; installing, aligning, and balancing new equipment; and repairing buildings, floors, or stairs.
Also called: Facilities Technician, Handy Man, Pool Technician, Building Mechanic, Building Repairer, Mechanical Expert, Mechanics Handyman, Mechanical Adjuster.
Source. This site includes information from the O*NET 30.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. (O*NET, CC BY 4.0.) Task ratings: Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin and Rock (2023), “GPTs are GPTs: An Early Look at the Labor Market Impact Potential of Large Language Models”, data used under the MIT licence (licence texts). Our change: we averaged the ratings over this occupation’s tasks and calibrated them to our 0–100 scale. It is not a prediction about any one person and not career advice. Disagree? Write to hello@yourstopwashit.com. How we estimate