Maintenance Workers, Machinery
Lubricate machinery, change parts, or perform other routine machinery maintenance.
60,020 people do this job in the US. $60,850 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 7%
- 0%
- 93%
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, 1%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 6%. Today's estimate: 7%.
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 . 18 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dismantle machines and remove parts for repair, using hand tools, chain falls, jacks, cranes, or hoists.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 17% | 1.7 h25 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Reassemble machines after the completion of repair or maintenance work.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 15% | 2.1 h38 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Collaborate with other workers to repair or move machines, machine parts, or equipment.Done daily by most who do it. | 11% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Install, replace, or change machine parts and attachments, according to production specifications.Done daily by most who do it. | 8% | 50 min17 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Clean machines and machine parts, using cleaning solvents, cloths, air guns, hoses, vacuums, or other equipment.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 50 min13 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Set up and operate machines, and adjust controls to regulate operations.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Remove hardened material from machines or machine parts, using abrasives, power and hand tools, jackhammers, sledgehammers, or other equipment.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 5% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Inspect or test damaged machine parts, and mark defective areas or advise supervisors of repair needs.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 38 min13 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Replace or repair metal, wood, leather, glass, or other lining in machines, or in equipment compartments or containers.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 1.7 h38 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Start machines and observe mechanical operation to determine efficiency and to detect problems.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Transport machine parts, tools, equipment, and other material between work areas and storage, using cranes, hoists, or dollies.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 33 min13 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Inventory and requisition machine parts, equipment, and other supplies so that stock can be maintained and replenished.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | 95%Half by now |
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.
- Industrial Machinery Mechanics15% now, 17% by 2028
- Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic18% now, 18% by 2028
- Electric Motor, Power Tool, and Related Repairers3% now, 3% by 2028
- Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic13% now, 13% by 2028
- Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines5% now, 5% by 2028
- Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners6% now, 6% 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).