Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door
In short: today's best AI models could do about 1% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about the same by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The people and hands-on work, about 99% of the time, stays with people.
Install, repair, and maintain mechanical regulating and controlling devices, such as electric meters, gas regulators, thermostats, safety and flow valves, and other mechanical governors.
48,240 people do this job in the US. $74,340 a year.
A typical 40-hour week
Not yet reviewed task by task- AI could take on1 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people39 h
Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 1 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 39 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Record maintenance information, including test results, material usage, and repairs made (under an hour).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 1%
- 1%
- 98%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 1%. Today's estimate: 1%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, no reportable share went to this job's tasks in May 2026; 0 of its 32 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.0047% to none (released February and March 2025); 0.0025% to none (August 2025 to February 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.0047% | 616 of 708 | 2 of 32 |
| Released March 2025 | none | n/a | 0 of 32 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.0025% | 606 of 655 | 1 of 32 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 32 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 32 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 32 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 32 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 85% of this job's working time as physical work. For 65% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 61% in a purpose-built cell, 4% in any setting. 0.73 of 3, the 247th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 15%
- No robot shown 20%
- In a purpose-built cell 61%
- In any setting 4%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
The tasks
Sorted by . 32 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Repair electric meters and components, such as transformers and relays, and replace metering devices, dial glasses, and faulty or incorrect wiring, using hand tools.Done daily by most who do it.Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 17% | 2.1 h38 min to 3.8 h | Stays with people | |
| Disassemble and repair mechanical control devices or valves, such as regulators, thermostats, or hydrants, using power tools, hand tools, and cutting torches.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 12% | 1.7 h38 min to 4.2 h | Stays with people | |
| Mount and install meters and other electric equipment such as time clocks, transformers, and circuit breakers, using electricians' hand tools.Done daily by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Averex robotic wiring centre (Kiesling Maschinentechnik) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 8% | 1.7 h50 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Install, inspect and test electric meters, relays, and power sources to detect causes of malfunctions and inaccuracies, using hand tools and testing equipment.Done daily by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Automatic Verification System (AVS) for smart meters, Shandong Electric Power Metrology Center (built by Shenzhen CLOU Electronics) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 8% | 1.7 h38 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Dismantle meters, and replace or adjust defective parts such as cases, shafts, gears, disks, and recording mechanisms, using soldering irons and hand tools.Done more than yearly by most who do it.Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 2.1 h38 min to 3.8 h | Stays with people | |
| Disconnect or remove defective or unauthorized meters, using hand tools.Done daily by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Intelligent inspection robot for automatic energy meter verification line (Jin, Zhang, Cheng et al.) (demonstrated). Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 38 min13 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Test valves and regulators for leaks and accurate temperature and pressure settings, using precision testing equipment.Done more than weekly by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Test Industry pressure test bench 624 (robotic valve test bench) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 50 min17 min to 1.9 h | Stays with people | |
| Install regulators and related equipment such as gas meters, odorization units, and gas pressure telemetering equipment.Done more than monthly by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, RND Automation Modular Assembly Platform (Epson T3/G3 SCARA and C8 six-axis robots, MagneMotion transfer) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 2.5 h1.3 h to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Calibrate instrumentation, such as meters, gauges, and regulators, for pressure, temperature, flow, and level.Done more than weekly by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Modular domestic gas meter test bench (sonic-nozzle type) (Dutco Tennant LLC) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Replace defective parts, such as bellows, range springs, and toggle switches, and reassemble units according to blueprints, using cam presses and hand tools.Done more than weekly by most who do it.Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 1.7 h38 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Investigate instances of illegal tapping into service lines.Done more than yearly by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, KITOV CORE / CORE+ robotic visual inspection system (Kitov.ai) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 1.7 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Cut seats to receive new orifices, tap inspection ports, and perform other repairs to salvage usable materials, using hand tools and machine tools.Done more than monthly by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, NEWEN CONTOUR-BB CNC valve seat & guide machine (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 1.3 h38 min to 2.1 h | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Electric Motor, Power Tool, and Related Repairers3% now, 3% by 2028
- Industrial Machinery Mechanics13% now, 13% by 2028
- Engine and Other Machine Assemblers9% now, 9% by 2028
- Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators21% now, 22% by 2028
- Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay19% now, 19% by 2028
- Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers4% now, 4% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 1% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 1% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five. Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Record maintenance information, including test results, material usage, and repairs made (100% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Repair electric meters and components, such as transformers and relays, and replace metering devices, dial glasses, and faulty or incorrect wiring, using hand tools; Disassemble and repair mechanical control devices or valves, such as regulators, thermostats, or hydrants, using power tools, hand tools, and cutting torches; and Mount and install meters and other electric equipment such as time clocks, transformers, and circuit breakers, using electricians' hand tools. Together such tasks are about 99% of the working time.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026, no reportable share went to this job's tasks. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 0%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 85% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 65% of the working time, 4% in any setting. Its index is 0.73 of 3. One example: Landis+Gyr E351 FOCUS AXe-SD electric meter with integrated remote service switch (CL200/CL320) for "turn meters on or off to establish or close service". A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 32 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, each classed as desk, people or body work, and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
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