Home / Tasks / Measure materials or objects for installation or assembly
In 6 of the 19 jobs that do this, AI or robots already show up on it, most often as robots doing it. In the other 13, there's no evidence yet. Jobs spend a median of 39m of an 8-hour shift on it, and about 1.8 million U.S. workers hold these jobs.
Every job that does this
Each job words the task its own way. Minutes are that job's estimate for a typical shift; the label is the evidence for that job's version.
| Job and its version of the task | Per shift | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanical Insulation WorkersMeasure and cut insulation for covering surfaces, using tape measures, handsaws, knives, and scissors. | 1h 36m | No evidence yet |
| Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and WallMeasure and cut insulation for covering surfaces, using tape measures, handsaws, power saws, knives, or scissors. | 1h 21m | No evidence yet |
| Helpers for Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and SteamfittersMeasure, cut, thread and assemble new pipe, placing the assembled pipe in hangers or other supports. | 1h 11m | No evidence yet |
| Carpet InstallersRoll out, measure, mark, and cut carpeting to size with a carpet knife, following floor sketches and allowing extra carpet for final fitting. | 1h 7m | No evidence yet |
| Derrick Operators, Oil and GasWeigh clay, and mix with water and chemicals to make drilling mud, using portable mixers. | 52m | No evidence yet |
| CarpentersMeasure and mark cutting lines on materials, using a ruler, pencil, chalk, and marking gauge. | 47m | No evidence yet |
| Helpers for ElectriciansMeasure, cut, and bend wire and conduit, using measuring instruments and hand tools. | 47m | No evidence yet |
| Sheet Metal WorkersLay out, measure, and mark dimensions and reference lines on material, such as roofing panels, using calculators, scribes, dividers, squares, or rulers. | 40m | No evidence yet |
| PaperhangersMeasure and cut strips from rolls of wallpaper or fabric, using shears or razors. | 39m | No evidence yet |
| Drywall and Ceiling Tile InstallersMeasure and mark surfaces to lay out work, according to blueprints or drawings, using tape measures, straightedges or squares, and marking devices. | 39m | Robots |
| Floor LayersMeasure and mark guidelines on surfaces or foundations, using chalk lines and dividers. | 33m | Robots |
| Brickmasons and BlockmasonsMeasure distance from reference points and mark guidelines to lay out work, using plumb bobs and levels. | 27m | Robots |
| Terrazzo Workers and FinishersMeasure 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. | 25m | No evidence yet |
| GlaziersMeasure mirrors and dimensions of areas to be covered to determine work procedures. | 24m | Robots |
| Plumbers, Pipefitters, and SteamfittersLocate and mark the position of pipe installations, connections, passage holes, or fixtures in structures, using measuring instruments such as rulers or levels. | 23m | Robots |
| Helpers for CarpentersPerform tie spacing layout and measure, mark, drill or cut. | 12m | No evidence yet |
| BoilermakersLocate and mark reference points for columns or plates on boiler foundations, following blueprints and using straightedges, squares, transits, or measuring instruments. | 12m | No evidence yet |
| Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and GasWeigh clay, and mix with water and chemicals to make drilling mud. | 9m | Robots |
| Tile and Stone SettersMeasure and cut metal lath to size for walls and ceilings, using tin snips. | 6m | No evidence yet |
How to read this
This task type comes from O*NET's detailed work activities, which link similar tasks across jobs. A label applies to one job's version of the task: AI use comes from real AI conversations (Anthropic Economic Index) and robot evidence from deployments in real workplaces. "No evidence yet" may just mean the task is rare in the data. How we keep time.
See all 250 shared tasks, or find any job on the big clock.