AI exposure: Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers
Assemble, fit, fasten, and install parts of airplanes, space vehicles, or missiles, such as tails, wings, fuselage, bulkheads, stabilizers, landing gear, rigging and control equipment, or heating and ventilating systems.
Reading this score
computedAircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers is among the least exposed occupations measured, at 3.4% of weighted task load, rank 892 of 923. 94.2% of this job is work current AI systems cannot produce at all. That is not a statement about skill or value. It is a statement about what these systems can and cannot do.
What holds the line here is embodiment. Across this occupation's 26 tasks it averages 2.92 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, the work has to happen in physical space. A language model cannot move matter. Until the robotics to do this work is both good enough and cheap enough to deploy widely, capability in software does not reach it.
The most exposed thing this job does is Read blueprints, illustrations, or specifications to determine layouts, sequences of..., at 30.0%. The least is Install mechanical linkages and actuators, at 0.0%. A gap of 30.0% between two parts of the same job is the reason this index publishes at task level. An occupation-wide number would have hidden both.
Within production occupations, this one is less exposed than the median of 16.2% across the group's 107 roles, with 102 scoring higher. Being in an exposed family does not make a particular job exposed, and the reverse holds too.
What would move this score. Of 26 tasks, 1 are currently banded exposed, 0 assisted and 25 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take robotics cheap and reliable enough to deploy at scale, not a better language model. The score is re-computed every quarter against a fresh capability reference, and the change is published rather than quietly applied.
Where the score comes from
judgedEvery task is scored through the standardised work activities it maps to. These are this occupation’s averages on the six rubric dimensions. Capability is what AI can do; the other five are what stands in the way.
| Dimension | Mean | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | 0.19 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 2.92 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 0.15 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 0.46 | 0-3 |
| Context | 0.80 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 1.26 | 0-3 |
Task by task
26 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Read blueprints, illustrations, or specifications to determine layouts, sequences of operations, or identities or relationships of parts. | 30.0% | 20.0% | 50.0% | 4.60 | exposed |
| Set up or operate machines or systems to crimp, cut, bend, form, swage, flare, bead, burr, or straighten tubing, according to specifications. | 15.8% | 9.2% | 75.0% | 3.87 | untouched |
| Inspect or test installed units, parts, systems, or assemblies for fit, alignment, performance, defects, or compliance with standards, using measuring instruments or test equipment. | 11.7% | 13.3% | 75.0% | 4.58 | untouched |
| Fabricate parts needed for assembly or installation, using shop machinery or equipment. | 8.8% | 3.8% | 87.5% | 4.08 | untouched |
| Swage fittings onto cables, using swaging machines. | 4.3% | 4.1% | 91.7% | 3.77 | untouched |
| Assemble parts, fittings, or subassemblies on aircraft, using layout tools, hand tools, power tools, or fasteners, such as bolts, screws, rivets, or clamps. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.44 | untouched |
| Mark identifying information on tubing or cable assemblies, using etching devices, labels, rubber stamps, or other methods. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.39 | untouched |
| Adjust, repair, rework, or replace parts or assemblies to ensure proper operation. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.34 | untouched |
| Attach brackets, hinges, or clips to secure or support components or subassemblies, using bolts, screws, rivets, chemical bonding, or welding. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.33 | untouched |
| Assemble prefabricated parts to form subassemblies. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.27 | untouched |
| Clean aircraft structures, parts, or components, using aqueous, semi-aqueous, aliphatic hydrocarbon, or organic solvent cleaning products or techniques to reduce carbon or other harmful emissions. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.24 | untouched |
| Align, fit, assemble, connect, or install system components, using jigs, fixtures, measuring instruments, hand tools, or power tools. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.18 | untouched |
| Cut, trim, file, bend, or smooth parts to ensure proper fit and clearance. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.07 | untouched |
| Clean, oil, or coat system components, as necessary, before assembly or attachment. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.05 | untouched |
| Cut cables and tubing, using master templates, measuring instruments, and cable cutters or saws. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.03 | untouched |
| Set, align, adjust, or synchronize aircraft armament or rigging or control system components to established tolerances or requirements, using sighting devices and hand tools. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.58 | untouched |
| Join structural assemblies, such as wings, tails, or fuselage. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.57 | untouched |
| Capture or segregate waste material, such as aluminum swarf, machine cutting fluid, or solvents, for recycling or environmentally responsible disposal. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.40 | untouched |
| Position and align subassemblies in jigs or fixtures, using measuring instruments and following blueprint lines and index points. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.35 | untouched |
| Layout and mark reference points and locations for installation of parts or components, using jigs, templates, or measuring and marking instruments. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.20 | untouched |
| Fit and fasten sheet metal coverings to surface areas or other sections of aircraft prior to welding or riveting. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.17 | untouched |
| Verify dimensions of cable assemblies or positions of fittings, using measuring instruments. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.13 | untouched |
| Place and connect control cables to electronically controlled units, using hand tools, ring locks, cotter keys, threaded connectors, turnbuckles, or related devices. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.93 | untouched |
| Manually install structural assemblies or signal crane operators to position assemblies for joining. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.89 | untouched |
| Assemble prototypes or integrated-technology demonstrators of new or emerging environmental technologies for aircraft. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.88 | untouched |
| Install mechanical linkages and actuators, using tensiometers to verify tension of cables. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.88 | untouched |
Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean.
Occupations either side of this one
The four closest scores in the same occupational family, then the four closest anywhere in the index.
Read this carefully. Exposure is not displacement. A high score means current AI systems can produce this work, not that anyone will stop paying a person to do it. Adoption depends on economics, regulation and inertia that this index deliberately does not model. How the score is built.
What this means in practice
Most of this work is not reachable by current systems, so the immediate pressure is on the administrative edges of the role rather than its core: the scheduling, the reporting, the written records. That is where time is recovered.