Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

Set up, operate, or tend machines to crush, grind, or polish materials, such as coal, glass, grain, stone, food, or rubber.

The occupation "Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders" has an automation risk of 57.8%, which closely aligns with its base risk of 58.3%. This moderate risk level indicates that a significant portion of the job’s tasks may soon be performed by machines or automated systems. The work primarily involves repetitive and routine processes, which are increasingly subject to automation in modern manufacturing environments. For example, advanced sensors, computer vision, and robotics can observe machine operations, identify malfunctions, and correct issues with high precision. As the industry adopts more automated equipment, many core responsibilities can be handled efficiently with minimal human intervention. Looking at the most automatable tasks, these revolve around monitoring and maintaining the production process. Tasks such as "observing the operation of equipment to ensure continuity of flow, safety, and efficient operation, and to detect malfunctions" are already being addressed by automated monitoring systems and real-time analytics. Similarly, cleaning, adjusting, and maintaining equipment, as well as tending pumps and conveyors, are increasingly automated using smart robotics and self-regulating machinery. These activities do not usually require complex decision-making or nuanced human judgment, making them highly vulnerable to replacement by technology. Despite the significant overlap between job duties and automation, certain functions remain more resistant to full automation. These include setting mill gauges to specify the fineness of grind, turning valves to regulate material moisture, and manually loading materials into machinery using hand tools. Such tasks can demand tactile feedback, situational awareness, and real-time problem-solving that current machines struggle to replicate reliably. Furthermore, the bottleneck skill for this occupation is "Originality," rated at a low 1.9% and 1.8%, emphasizing that creative problem-solving is rarely required. As a result, while the automation risk is relatively high, some hands-on and judgment-based aspects of the occupation provide limited protection against full automation in the near future.