AI exposure: Terrazzo Workers and Finishers
Apply a mixture of cement, sand, pigment, or marble chips to floors, stairways, and cabinet fixtures to fashion durable and decorative surfaces.
Reading this score
computedTerrazzo Workers and Finishers is among the least exposed occupations measured, at 2.8% of weighted task load, rank 897 of 923. 96.1% 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 2.88 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 Modify mixing, grouting, grinding, or cleaning procedures, according to type of installation or..., at 55.0%. The least is Signal truck driver to position truck to facilitate pouring concrete and move chute to direct..., at 0.0%. A gap of 55.0% 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 construction and extraction occupations, this one is less exposed than the median of 5.1% across the group's 61 roles, with 40 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 | 0.12 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 2.88 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 0.13 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 0.33 | 0-3 |
| Context | 1.04 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 0.84 | 0-3 |
Task by task
26 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Modify mixing, grouting, grinding, or cleaning procedures, according to type of installation or material used. | 55.0% | 20.0% | 25.0% | 4.31 | exposed |
| Measure designated amounts of ingredients for terrazzo or grout, according to standard formulas and specifications, using graduated containers and scales, and load ingredients into portable mixer. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.59 | untouched |
| Grind surfaces with a power grinder, or polish surfaces with polishing or surfacing machines. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.44 | untouched |
| Cut metal division strips and press them into the terrazzo base for joints or changes of color to form designs or patterns or to help prevent cracks. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.42 | untouched |
| Blend marble chip mixtures, place into panels, and push a roller over the surface to embed the chips. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.32 | untouched |
| Spread, level, or smooth concrete or terrazzo mixtures to form bases or finished surfaces, using rakes, shovels, hand or power trowels, hand or power screeds, or floats. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.21 | untouched |
| Grind curved surfaces or areas inaccessible to surfacing machine, such as stairways or cabinet tops, with portable hand grinder. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.19 | untouched |
| Wash polished terrazzo surface, using cleaner and water, and apply sealer and curing agent according to manufacturer's specifications, using brush or sprayer. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.19 | untouched |
| Position and secure moisture membrane and wire mesh in preparation for pouring base materials for terrazzo installation. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.08 | untouched |
| Fill slight grinding depressions with matching grout material and hand-trowel for a smooth, uniform surface. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.01 | untouched |
| Clean installation site, mixing and storage areas, tools, machines, and equipment, and store materials and equipment. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.00 | untouched |
| Sprinkle colored marble or stone chips, powdered steel, or coloring powder over surface to produce prescribed finish. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.00 | untouched |
| Wet surface to prepare for bonding, fill holes and cracks with grout or slurry, and smooth with a trowel. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.95 | untouched |
| Mix cement, sand, and water to produce concrete, grout, or slurry, using hoe, trowel, tamper, scraper, or concrete-mixing machine. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.95 | untouched |
| Chip, scrape, or grind high spots, ridges, or rough projections to finish concrete, using pneumatic chisel, hand chisel, or other hand tools. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.94 | untouched |
| Mold expansion joints and edges, using edging tools, jointers, or straightedges. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.84 | untouched |
| Move terrazzo installation materials, tools, machines, or work devices to work areas, manually or using wheelbarrow. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.84 | untouched |
| Clean chipped area, using wire brush, and feel and observe surface to determine if it is rough or uneven. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.45 | untouched |
| Repair concrete by cutting out damaged areas, drilling holes for reinforcing rods, and positioning reinforcing rods, using power saw and drill. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.64 | untouched |
| Precast terrazzo blocks in wooden forms. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.29 | untouched |
| Wet concrete surface and rub with stone to smooth surface and obtain specified finish. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.22 | untouched |
| Build wooden molds, clamping molds around areas to be repaired, or setting up frames to the proper depth and alignment. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.18 | untouched |
| Spread roofing paper on surface of foundation and spread concrete onto roofing paper with trowel to form terrazzo base. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 2.95 | untouched |
| Produce rough concrete surface, using broom. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 2.91 | untouched |
| Remove frames when the foundation is dry. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 2.89 | untouched |
| Signal truck driver to position truck to facilitate pouring concrete and move chute to direct concrete on forms. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 2.76 | 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.