Occupational Health and Safety Specialists
In short: today's best AI models could do about 40% 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 54% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 46% of the time, stays with people.
Review, evaluate, and analyze work environments and design programs and procedures to control, eliminate, and prevent disease or injury caused by chemical, physical, and biological agents or ergonomic factors. May conduct inspections and enforce adherence to laws and regulations governing the health and safety of individuals. May be employed in the public or private sector.
140,610 people do this job in the US. $90,150 a year.
Reviewed on September 30, 2026: what each task is made of, and what handing it over would ask.
A typical 40-hour week
- AI could take on0 h
- A person checks AI's work16 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet5 h
- Stays with people19 h
Occupational Health and Safety Specialists, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 0 hours, 16 hours become checking its work, 5 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 19 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Develop hygiene programs (about 4 h, a person checks); Recommend protective measures (about 4 h, a person checks); Analyze incident data (about 2 h, a person checks).
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.
- 52%
- 1%
- 3%
- 8%
- 35%
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.
What handing it over would take, now
The 40% within reach splits by what a model would need. The dates, pace and reliability follow the controls above. Estimates.
of the working time. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
of the working time. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
is conversation short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the total.
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, 10%. Today's estimate: 40%.
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, 0.12% went to this job's tasks in May 2026, the 152nd largest of the 447 jobs that showed up at all; 1 of its 22 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.002% to none (released February and March 2025); 0.0024% to 0.0053% (August 2025 to February 2026); 0.12% to 0.12% (April to May 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.002% | 698 of 708 | 1 of 22 |
| Released March 2025 | none | n/a | 0 of 22 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.0024% | 617 of 655 | 1 of 22 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.0056% | 564 of 672 | 2 of 22 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.0053% | 567 of 677 | 2 of 22 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.12% | 145 of 434 | 1 of 22 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.12% | 152 of 447 | 1 of 22 |
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 49% of this job's working time as physical work. For 23% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 6% in a purpose-built cell, 17% in a structured facility. 0.40 of 3, the 343rd highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 51%
- No robot shown 26%
- In a purpose-built cell 6%
- In a structured facility 17%
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.
What changes for the people in this job
From the task-by-task review, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five. It says which parts of the work stay with people and which change, not whether anyone keeps a job: that depends on decisions no data set can see.
What stays with people
46% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Develop hygiene programs, the hands-on work, 13%
- Inspect workplaces for compliance, the hands-on work, 9%
- Investigate accidents, the in-person work, 5%
- Investigate ventilation and lighting, the hands-on work, 3%
- Conduct safety training, the in-person work, 3%
- Inspect for safety and first-aid equipment, the hands-on work, 3%
What becomes checking the machine
53% of the working time: desk work a model could do by then, in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs. A person checks it.
- Develop hygiene programs, severe if wrong, 20%
- Recommend protective measures, severe if wrong, 10%
- Analyze incident data, costly if wrong, 4%
- Write reports, costly if wrong, 4%
- Investigate accidents, severe if wrong, 3%
- Inspect workplaces for compliance, severe if wrong, 2%
What to learn
- Judgment where errors are severe. Some tasks are severe if wrong. Knowing when not to trust an output matters more there than speed.
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself. The tasks under What becomes checking the machine, where a mistake costs something, stay a person's to check: spotting what a draft gets wrong is a skill of its own.
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts. About 52% of the time is documents and data, the part models reach first: writing a clear brief, giving the right material, and checking what comes back.
- The hands-on craft. About 35% of the time is hands-on work, which no model here does; robots are rated separately on this page.
- Handling protected records. Much of the work touches protected personal records: knowing what may be shared with a model, and how, is part of the job.
Your own version of this job: read it against your job description. The headline is free; the full personal report, every task with its timeline and what to learn, is $19 (a sample).
The tasks
Sorted by . 22 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Develop or maintain hygiene programs, such as noise surveys, continuous atmosphere monitoring, ventilation surveys, or asbestos management plans.Surveys and plans on paper, with monitoring on site.Done more than monthly by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 33% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 2.5 work days | Documents 60%, hands-on 40% | 33%Desk part half by now |
| Inspect or evaluate workplace environments, equipment, or practices to ensure compliance with safety standards and government regulations.Inspecting the workplace against the standards, with notes.Done more than monthly by most who do it. Robots: in a structured facility, Boston Dynamics Spot + Orbit (AI visual inspection) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 11% | 3.3 h50 min to 1.3 work days | Hands-on 80%, documents 20% | 16%Desk part half by now |
| Recommend measures to help protect workers from potentially hazardous work methods, processes, or materials.Recommendations worked out and written.Done daily by most who do it. | 10% | 1.7 h25 min to 5 h | Documents 100% | 94%Half by now |
| Investigate accidents to identify causes or to determine how such accidents might be prevented in the future.The scene examined, people interviewed, and the findings written.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 8% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 2.5 work days | Documents 40%, in person 30%, hands-on 30% | 22%Desk part half by now |
| Analyze incident data to identify trends in injuries, illnesses, accidents, or other hazards.Injury and accident data analyzed for trends.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 4% | 3.3 h1.3 h to 1.3 work days | Documents 100% | 91%Half by now |
| Investigate the adequacy of ventilation, exhaust equipment, lighting, or other conditions that could affect employee health, comfort, or performance.Checking the conditions on site, with the findings written.Done more than yearly by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 2.5 h1.1 h to 6.7 h | Hands-on 70%, documents 30% | 29%Desk part half by now |
| Write reports.Reports written.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 1.7 h50 min to 6.7 h | Documents 100% | 99%Half by now |
| Conduct safety training or education programs and demonstrate the use of safety equipment.Training sessions and equipment demonstrations in person.Done more than yearly by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 2.5 h1.3 h to 6.7 h | In person 80%, documents 20% | 20%Desk part half by now |
| Provide new-employee health and safety orientations and develop materials for these presentations.Orientations in person, with the materials developed.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 3% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | In person 60%, documents 40% | 38%Desk part half by now |
| Collaborate with engineers or physicians to institute control or remedial measures for hazardous or potentially hazardous conditions or equipment.Conversations to settle the remedial measures, with the write-up.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 3% | 2.5 h50 min to 1.3 work days | Conversation 70%, documents 30% | 26%Desk part half by now |
| Inspect specified areas to ensure the presence of fire prevention equipment, safety equipment, or first-aid supplies.Walking the areas to check the equipment is there.Done more than monthly by most who do it. Robots: in a structured facility, Spot + Orbit (perimeter / health & safety checks) (Boston Dynamics) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Coordinate "right-to-know" programs regarding hazardous chemicals or other substances.Program documents and conversations to run it.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 3% | 3.3 h50 min to 1.3 work days | Documents 60%, conversation 40% | 48%Desk part 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. Made of: how the task's time splits among five kinds of doing. Only the documents and systems parts can count as within reach, so a task that is 30% documents can be at most 30% 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.
- Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors35% now, 73% by 2028
- Occupational Health and Safety Technicians56% now, 60% by 2028
- Environmental Compliance Inspectors58% now, 63% by 2028
- Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health34% now, 65% by 2028
- Construction and Building Inspectors49% now, 51% by 2028
- Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health21% now, 68% 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 Occupational Health and Safety Specialists is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 40% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 54% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (52% to 54% across the three paces the site shows). 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 Occupational Health and Safety Specialists 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: Develop hygiene programs (33% of the task's time now, 60% by the end of 2028); Recommend protective measures (94% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028); and Analyze incident data (91% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028).
- Which tasks of Occupational Health and Safety Specialists stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Inspect for safety and first-aid equipment; Investigate health complaints and inspect; and Collect air and dust samples. Together such tasks are about 7% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Occupational Health and Safety Specialists learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are judgment where errors are severe; reviewing work you did not do yourself; and briefing a model and checking its drafts. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 46% of the working time stays with people, 53% becomes checking a model's work and 0% could be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Occupational Health and Safety Specialists?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026 and tied to a work task, 0.12% went to this job's tasks, the 152nd largest share of the 447 jobs that showed up; 1 of its 22 tasks appeared. 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 Occupational Health and Safety Specialists?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 49% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 23% of the working time, 17% in a structured facility. Its index is 0.40 of 3. One example: Boston Dynamics Spot + Orbit (AI visual inspection) for "inspect workplaces for compliance". 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 22 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, reviewed one task at a time on September 30, 2026 for what each is made of (documents, business systems, conversation, in person, hands-on), 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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