Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Set up, operate, or tend machines to crush, grind, or polish materials, such as coal, glass, grain, stone, food, or rubber.
26,000 people do this job in the US. $48,540 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 6%
- 0%
- 94%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h 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, 3%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 6%. Today's estimate: 6%.
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.
The tasks
Sorted by . 21 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Observe operation of equipment to ensure continuity of flow, safety, and efficient operation, and to detect malfunctions.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 21% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Clean, adjust, and maintain equipment, using hand tools.Done daily by most who do it. | 12% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Tend accessory equipment, such as pumps and conveyors, to move materials or ingredients through production processes.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 10% | 21 min8 min to 38 min | Stays with people | |
| Transfer materials, supplies, and products between work areas, using moving equipment and hand tools.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Weigh or measure materials, ingredients, or products at specified intervals to ensure conformance to requirements.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 13 min4 min to 29 min | Stays with people | |
| Clean work areas.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 17 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Examine materials, ingredients, or products, visually or with hands, to ensure conformance to established standards.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 17 min4 min to 33 min | Stays with people | |
| Reject defective products and readjust equipment to eliminate problems.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 25 min8 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Dislodge and clear jammed materials or other items from machinery and equipment, using hand tools.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 4% | 25 min8 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Add or mix chemicals and ingredients for processing, using hand tools or other devices.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 4% | 21 min8 min to 42 min | Stays with people | |
| Inspect chains, belts, or scrolls for signs of wear.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 17 min8 min to 38 min | Stays with people | |
| Move controls to start, stop, or adjust machinery and equipment that crushes, grinds, polishes, or blends materials.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 8 min2 min to 17 min | 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.
- Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic18% now, 18% by 2028
- Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand11% now, 11% by 2028
- Machine Feeders and Offbearers5% now, 5% by 2028
- Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders7% now, 7% by 2028
- Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners6% now, 6% by 2028
- Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders14% now, 14% 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).