AI exposure: Electric Motor, Power Tool, and Related Repairers
Repair, maintain, or install electric motors, wiring, or switches.
Reading this score
computedAt 12.2% of weighted task load, Electric Motor, Power Tool, and Related Repairers sits at the 19th percentile, below the point where a job's centre of gravity has moved. 80.6% of what this role does is untouched, meaning current systems cannot produce that work at all, whatever the commercial incentive.
What holds the line here is embodiment. Across this occupation's 31 tasks it averages 2.79 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 Record repairs required, parts used, and labor time, at 73.3%. The least is Sharpen tools such as saws, picks, shovels, screwdrivers, and scoops, either manually or by..., at 0.0%. A gap of 73.3% 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 installation, maintenance and repair occupations, this one is less exposed than the median of 13.8% across the group's 50 roles, with 28 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 31 tasks, 4 are currently banded exposed, 0 assisted and 27 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 | 0.60 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 2.79 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 0.31 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 0.69 | 0-3 |
| Context | 1.19 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 1.13 | 0-3 |
Task by task
31 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record repairs required, parts used, and labor time. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 4.16 | exposed |
| Read service guides to find information needed to perform repairs. | 55.0% | 20.0% | 25.0% | 3.96 | exposed |
| Maintain stocks of parts. | 30.0% | 20.0% | 50.0% | 3.93 | exposed |
| Inspect and test equipment to locate damage or worn parts and diagnose malfunctions, or read work orders or schematic drawings to determine required repairs. | 26.7% | 23.3% | 50.0% | 4.53 | exposed |
| Measure velocity, horsepower, revolutions per minute (rpm), amperage, circuitry, and voltage of units or parts to diagnose problems, using ammeters, voltmeters, wattmeters, and other testing devices. | 15.0% | 10.0% | 75.0% | 4.21 | untouched |
| Adjust working parts, such as fan belts, contacts, and springs, using hand tools and gauges. | 15.0% | 10.0% | 75.0% | 4.06 | untouched |
| Verify and adjust alignments and dimensions of parts, using gauges and tracing lathes. | 15.0% | 10.0% | 75.0% | 4.25 | untouched |
| Set machinery for proper performance, using computers. | 15.0% | 10.0% | 75.0% | 3.99 | untouched |
| Test equipment for overheating, using speed gauges and thermometers. | 15.0% | 10.0% | 75.0% | 3.95 | untouched |
| Lift units or parts such as motors or generators, using cranes or chain hoists, or signal crane operators to lift heavy parts or subassemblies. | 12.5% | 12.5% | 75.0% | 4.19 | untouched |
| Inspect electrical connections, wiring, relays, charging resistance boxes, and storage batteries, following wiring diagrams. | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 3.95 | untouched |
| Test battery charges, and replace or recharge batteries as necessary. | 5.4% | 7.1% | 87.5% | 2.86 | untouched |
| Reassemble repaired electric motors to specified requirements and ratings, using hand tools and electrical meters. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.23 | untouched |
| Repair and rebuild defective mechanical parts in electric motors, generators, and related equipment, using hand tools and power tools. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.20 | untouched |
| Disassemble defective equipment so that repairs can be made, using hand tools. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.08 | untouched |
| Lubricate moving parts. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.98 | untouched |
| Scrape and clean units or parts, using cleaning solvents and equipment such as buffing wheels. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.91 | untouched |
| Weld, braze, or solder electrical connections. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.63 | untouched |
| Steam-clean polishing and buffing wheels to remove abrasives and bonding materials, and spray, brush, or recoat surfaces as necessary. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.01 | untouched |
| Reface, ream, and polish commutators and machine parts to specified tolerances, using machine tools. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.94 | untouched |
| Cut and form insulation, and insert insulation into armature, rotor, or stator slots. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.92 | untouched |
| Assemble electrical parts such as alternators, generators, starting devices, and switches, following schematic drawings and using hand, machine, and power tools. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.85 | untouched |
| Solder, wrap, and coat wires to ensure proper insulation. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.81 | untouched |
| Rewire electrical systems, and repair or replace electrical accessories. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.76 | untouched |
| Clean cells, cell assemblies, glassware, leads, electrical connections, and battery poles, using scrapers, steam, water, emery cloths, power grinders, or acid. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.65 | untouched |
| Rewind coils on cores in slots, or make replacement coils, using coil-winding machines. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.64 | untouched |
| Remove and replace defective parts such as coil leads, carbon brushes, and wires, using soldering equipment. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.57 | untouched |
| Hammer out dents and twists in tools and equipment. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.36 | untouched |
| Seal joints with putty, mortar, and asbestos, using putty extruders and knives. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.20 | untouched |
| Repair and operate battery-charging equipment. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.19 | untouched |
| Sharpen tools such as saws, picks, shovels, screwdrivers, and scoops, either manually or by using bench grinders and emery wheels. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.17 | 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.